TravelTalkOnline Forums Trip Reports (Read Only) Trip Report and Photo Archives Days 15 &16 - Back to St. Lucia

29 Dec. 2011
We left Cumberland Bay early as we had a long sail (over 40 miles) ahead of us. The winds were brisk between St. Vincent and St. Lucia. We made good time, just over 5 hours, and didn’t have to tack until the end. We took a mooring off Harmony Beach, Tony and I rode to Soufriere with Dan and Em as they went to clear in. I had to get more money from the ATM and we wanted to pickup some gifts in town. As we were walking down the street, we heard a shout, Big Sam! from inside the lobby of the Downtown Hotel. It was my friend, Boomer, a local musician. After our shopping was done we all went to the bar for a few drinks and to catch up on the past year.


Having a beer with Boomer

Tony and I decided to walk back to Harmony Beach, rather than have Dan come pick us up. I love the walk along the coast road, the smell of the forest is thick and the views of the sea fantastic. The actual road was still covered in mud from Tomas last year, but it was in better shape than when we last visited.

The fishermans village south of Soufriere


Taking a break on the coast road
We arrived at the beach about an hour before we were to go to dinner, and the swell was breaking on the shore. I called Dan and told him we would just walk down to the restaurant and meet them there. Since we had an hour to kill, we sat on a log and drank some of the Chairmens we had bought, while reflecting back on our trip through the Grenadines.
We got to the restaurant a little early, and there was some confusion about getting the rest of the crew ashore. Benny usually sends a water taxi for us, but tonight there was a German couple apparently managing the restaurant. By 7:10 I called Dan and he asked that I check into the situation. They were being to be routed by boat to Soufriere, then a taxi would take them to the top of the driveway and they would transfer to another vehicle for the final leg; when I called Dan back to inform him the boat was just arriving. In the mean time Tony asked if we could get some appetizers, he told the waitress to just bring whatever we could get quickly, a big mistake! No sooner had he sat down then a plate of fish cakes was brought to the table, they must have been made by mistake earlier as they were barely warm and were as chewy as tennis balls; this is the only disappointment I have ever had with the food during many visits to the restaurant. The rest of the crew finally arrived and I am happy to report the meal was up to the standards we had come to expect. During the meal Benny also arrived, and when we were being shuttled back up to the taxi at the road, I got to ride in Bennys new Hummer, quite the vehicle I might add, with movie screens in the headrests. It became apparent why we weren’t delivered directly to the beach as usual, Benny Jr. has ditched the water taxi for a very nice center console type offshore fishing boat. The powerful motors were barely run above idle to take us back to Skyelark. Nightcaps in the cockpit were the order of the evening as we watched with the heavy smell of sulpher wafting from the volcano on shore.

30 Dec. 2011
Tony and I took the first dingy run into town, Dan and I wanted saltfish sandwiches for breakfast so I picked his up while he made the second run; Tony also tried his first and enjoyed it. After the rest of our bunch had arrived we took a walk to the Botanical Gardens, located just outside of town. We didn’t realize that they did not open until 10:00 am so we waited around dodging the scattered showers, as taxis of tourist started to arrive. The gardens are a nice way to spend a few hours, although I had done it before and wouldn’t have done it again if the others had not been keen on it.

Heliconia in bloom


The mineral falls at the botanical gardens

Rodger and Alex were being picked up to go to the airport at 2:00 pm so they returned to Skyelark early, while Tony and I joined Mike and Keith for a drink at the Piton View Bar. The water taxi arrived as arranged and we said good-bye to our new friends as they left. Shortly after the mooring was slipped and we were off again. We had always wanted to try the Anse De La Ray fish Friday, so the plan was to anchor in the harbor there for the night. We sailed north under jib alone until reaching the small bay. There wasn’t any room for the boat as there is a reef on the north side, some debris poking up through the surface on the south side and a lot of local fishing boats had the center section filled. The harbor is too deep for anchoring in the majority of it. We then decided to head for Marigot Bay and dock at Chateau Mygo. Dan had worked it out with Shiad to allow us to tie there even though we wouldn’t be dining at the restaurant that night. After showers and evening cocktails, we took a taxi to the small fishing village to load up on local treats. We were not disappointed, there were very many different things to try, and even Em was able to eat as one stand sold fish cakes with potatoes, the only fishy thing she will eat. I tried the smoked herring, one stand offered, the boney fish bits were lightly flavored by the smoke. I also had some stewed octopus, turtle and black fish; the latter two resembling beef in both taste and texture.

Enjoying a bowl of smoked herring
Tony had a whole grilled snapper, that was only 15 EC. Mike and Keith tried the stewed conch among other things. One trick I learned is that rather than just ordering a bowl of something (usually around 20 EC), just say “I would like 10 EC of that please” and you will get almost as much saving some loot and also room for more variety. The lobsters that were being grilled were of all sizes and nicely priced accordingly. The atmosphere is much more laid back than the jump up, with a good mix of tourist and local families. Not necessarily the place to go if you are looking for a “street party”, but certainly the place for fresh seafood. We located a taxi to take us back to Marigot and spent a few hours at the bar chatting with the other patrons. There was some unexpected excitement, as someone reported that a yacht was drifting out to sea. Dan and Kevin (one of the skippers for Bateua Mygo) jumped into Skyelarks dingy and soon located the wayward vessel, which was from the Dream Charters fleet. It was no mystery why she had come loose, as they brought in the anchor they found there was only 10 metres of chain out and the 7 metres of water. The charters were dining at the restaurant as all this was unfolding and had left just after Dan and Kevin, they picked them up as they wandered the anchorage trying to remember where they had left the boat. Now the salvage fee for this boat would probably have been around $20000 to $25000 USD, but Kevin is not a very good negotiator and the lucky charters weren’t feeling to generous, so a couple drinks, some thanks and a $200 EC tip were all that was offered. Some might think it crass to expect anything more than that, but keep in mind if anything had happened to the vessel while Dan and Kevin were bringing it back they would have been liable for the cost for the damages. It turned into a late night for most of us and the restaurant made more on the bar tab than they would have from the dinner bill so everyone was happy.