Caribbean Dreams

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

What luck. I slept like a baby. I dozed off in seconds and was motionless for 8 hours, practically in a coma. For breakfast, Simon and I went to the only open place, a very simple café / bar / internet café / copy shop. But since they're French, they had fresh, warm croissants to die for, and I treated myself to two of them.

Since Birgit didn't come up with a plan on how and when we should help her with the boat, I met Georg and Julia again at noon and we drove to the south to a beach. The first bay was long and quite nice, but very touristy, and the beach was a three-meter wide strip between the road and the sea. A few minutes further, we found a much nicer beach where we had a great shady spot and almost no one else around. We of course set up the hammock in the classical way and then went straight into the (not really) cool water. It was wonderfully beautiful. In the shade with the sea breeze, it was very pleasant, and when we got hungry, we walked to the touristy area and treated ourselves to a fresh coconut ice cream and some fries. Unfortunately, vegetarian food is really hard to come by in French cuisine, so yesterday we had the only dish without fish and meat on the menu: salad.

At 5 pm, I returned to the harbor, took a quick shower, and found Birgit in front of the open engine, knee-deep in oil. It took another 2 hours to clean up, and in the evening Simon cooked leftovers wraps for us. Today, no supermarkets are open and I didn't want salad or fries again.

Now that we are back among people, we quickly meet interesting characters. One of them is Lennart, an 18-year-old high school graduate who is traveling on an extremely low budget. He has been on the road for six months and has spent less than 1,500 euros so far. He is very frugal, often eats food from the trash or pasta with pesto, mostly sleeps outdoors, and has low expectations for his trip. He also has no problem asking for leftover food or a free ride/sleeping place, and he is very successful with it. It probably helps that he is a charismatic, charming, blond curly head. You immediately get into a pleasantly casual conversation and want to soak up some of this guy's carefree easiness. But the aimlessness would bother me in the long run. He also made the Atlantic crossing, with an even smaller sailboat and only three people, but he didn't find it as exhausting as the rest of us. However, on his boat, the course only had to be adjusted every half hour using the wind steering system, and he had a lot of time to read and get bored. That was not possible for us at all. I think there are really very different conditions under which you can make this big leap, and he is probably better able to handle it with his young age.

Thursday, December 26, 2019

We all got up relatively early and wanted to leave by 12 o'clock at the latest, but there was still a lot to do. Unfortunately, Birgit was still in a bad mood because she feels like she has to do everything herself and doesn't like to delegate tasks. But everyone pitched in, shopping, cleaning, and fixing the engine again, and shortly after noon, we set off again.

Our paths should have separated here on Martinique, but since Birgit is going further south anyway, she offered to let us come along for a cost contribution. Since all of us feel like experiencing a bit more Caribbean feeling after the tough journey, the crew will stay together until New Year's Eve. I think it's a good sign that we still enjoy each other's company enough to voluntarily spend more time together. However, a day away from the crew was really necessary and beautiful.

The trip from Martinique to St. Lucia takes about 6 hours and can be quite rough. We sailed pretty close to the wind, against the waves, and for the first half hour, I looked at my phone to use the internet. I immediately felt the bouncing on the waves and feared that I would now be permanently damaged by seasickness. But it was gone as soon as I stopped looking at my phone. The rest of the trip was pleasant rocking, and arriving in Rodney Bay at sunset was a dream. We quickly jumped into the water and now we are in the Caribbean lifestyle.

The next few days could be really nice if we don't get on each other's nerves. There is definitely tension in the air. I look forward to being alone again. Just for a few days, but I will need it soon.

Friday, December 27, 2019

We left before sunrise, shortly after 5 o'clock, to arrive at the next bay in time. Today we're heading to Wallilabou on St. Vincent, about 50 nautical miles or 10 hours away. This is where the beginning of Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed. Since this is one of the most dangerous areas in the Caribbean for sailing, especially near St. Vincent, Birgit was at the helm the whole time. But the trip was quite relaxed for us. Quite a bit of tilt, but still pleasant. We briefly saw the backs of a few brown whales, and there were many birds. We took the opportunity to write profiles for all crew members.

The island looks dreamy. Gentle green jungle hills, small black cliffs and bays, with a few colorful villages on top. At arrival in the afternoon, Alex, a local and a friend of Birgit's, helps us. We don't moor at a dock (there is none) but with an anchor and a shore line, so we have to go ashore (or swim) with the boat.

After disembarking, Alex takes us to the beach and to a nearby waterfall, less than half an hour away. On the way, he shows us all the fruits growing on the island's roadside - coconuts, cocoa, papaya, bananas, nutmeg, limes, oranges... everyone gets to try a star fruit. The sun is almost gone, and we swim alone in the cool pool of the waterfall for a while. On the way back, there is a bit of discontent in the group because while we knew we would give something to Alex for the trip, the price ended up surprising us, especially since we are traveling with different budgets. We will discuss it before the next time. However, Alex is a super friendly, funny local who could tell us many interesting things about the country and its people. Birgit was also surprised by the price when we told her about it.

I think you could spend quite some time on this island. Everything is still very original, there are not many tourists. The temperatures vary by +/- 5°C throughout the year. There are plots of land with simple huts on them for an affordable price (at least for us Europeans) and for two years now, there has even been an international airport. But for now, we will continue traveling.

In the evening, we had a barbecue on the boat. Afterwards, the guys and I paddled to the beach for some WiFi and had local sorrel juice at a restaurant, similar to hibiscus juice. The second and third was mixed with rum. Delicious!

Saturday, December 28, 2019

And here I am, 28 years old. This is a beautiful place to celebrate my birthday, even though it would be a bit nicer with my loved ones from home. But I'm not really a big celebrator, so in the morning I escaped to the beach with Nina for a yoga session. Afterwards, we sailed on for a relaxed six hours to the Tobago Cays Marine Park, a protected mini island group with turtles that we are excited about.

Nina outdid herself by baking three surprise cakes for me last night, one vegan and one with eggs. And that, even though we don't have any butter, baking powder, or regular flour left. We had the cakes after lunch at sea, and they were delicious. Afterwards, everyone was in a food coma for a while.

After anchoring between the small green islands, where no one lives and where you are not allowed to spend the night, Dwayne picked us up with his colorful wooden boat for a lobster BBQ. Our chef was Birgit's friend Randy, who also gave us homemade rum punch. The veggie options were also very tasty - well-seasoned carrot vegetables, vegetable rice, and potatoes. For dessert, we had fried bananas and banana bread. The whole thing was prepared and served directly on the beach in an open grill kitchen with colorful beer benches. String lights hung from the trees for lighting.

It was really a beautiful experience, but I have to look up the definition of 'touristy.' It wasn't crowded, about 100 guests and 25 cooks, but for me, I would define it as touristy when something wouldn't exist if there were no tourists who would pay for it. That makes the activity very touristy, since not a single local ate here. For me, on my trip, it will also be about seeing how the locals live and participating in it as much as possible.

Sunday, December 29, 2019

How can I describe this day? We woke up in paradise in the morning and fell asleep in the next paradise in the evening. We were anchored with about 20 other boats between the islands of the marine park and swam to the next island (Baradal) by SUP or simply swimming. The water was clear and blue, slightly green. There were spots with light sand underneath and a few reefs. Around the island, which is about 15 meters high and 250 meters wide, we snorkeled with fish and turtles. The turtles were up to a meter long and not shy, but beautiful as they surfaced and dived again and again. There were several, up to 1.50 meters long iguanas on the island through tropical, green growth. So we spent time there until noon.

Next, we sailed or rather motored a short distance and arrived at the next paradise - Sandy Beach - one hour before sunset. It is a 500-meter long and 50-meter wide, shallow sand strip in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, covered with palm trees. Fortunately, we got a buoy and we are close to the beach, so we can swim over in 5 minutes. We also had good luck with the current, we hardly drifted away. There are times when you can't swim these distances at all. Finally, everyone is relaxed and in a good mood, Birgit has arrived at her future home and is very happy with it. She is currently cooking for us, and we are staring at the incredibly beautiful sunset. The sunburn was definitely worth it.

After dinner together at an authentic, rather empty restaurant with simple but delicious food, we split up. Nina and I didn't feel like partying, and there wasn't much going on in town either. The party apparently started later, I listened to music until around five o'clock. I have to admit, I would have preferred to be with friends or family in a small, cozy circle. But this hustle and bustle around New Year's Eve in general doesn't really appeal to me.

Monday, December 30, 2019

Next dream day. After breakfast, I paddled to the beach with my SUP and my dry bag and walked up and down. There were five other people on the island. Then I sat in the shade of the palm trees and read. A few years ago, my dad told me about a book, 'The Angel Esmeralda.' I think he hasn't read it himself, but he got a recommendation, if I remember correctly. Since then, this book has been on my mental reading list. In La Línea, I bought it on my eBook reader due to a lack of exciting reading material, and today on the beach, I read the first short story. I didn't know anything about the book beforehand. As luck would have it, the story is set in the Caribbean, in the Tobago Cays, St. Vincent, Martinique... The nature, the people, and the relaxed way of life are also described. Unconsciously, I selected the right book at the right place at the right time. Can that be a coincidence?

In the afternoon, we continue on in a relaxed manner to Carriacou, Birgit's future home. We arrive in Tyrell Bay, a very cute, colorful, Caribbean village. I think that currently best reflects the authentic Caribbean that we all imagined. After a short meeting with Birgit's friends and a round of cold drinks, everyone goes their own way in the evening and arrives in their own way. Nina and I explore the village, then we cook together with the guys and exchange all the photos and videos of the past weeks.

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

After turning the boat at the jetty in the morning, we take the day extremely calmly. A bit of splashing around, using the internet and backing up photos, eating leftovers, and discussing the next few days. Today we will celebrate New Year's Eve together, and tomorrow the boat will be tidied up. Then our paths will, at least partially, separate.

Christoph has a tighter schedule and will continue traveling to South America rather quickly. Nina, Simon, and I have a similar route in mind and would like to continue traveling by sea or land. So we have researched ferries and buses. Sailing towards South America is not optimal at this time, and there will be few options. I shouldn't say this, but we are considering, the three of us, taking the ferry to Venezuela and then taking a fast, safe bus to Colombia together. We are busy researching whether and how this would be feasible. But if we do it, we will only do it together.

After having dinner together in an authentic, rather empty restaurant with simple but delicious food, we split up. Nina and I didn't feel like partying somehow, and there wasn't much going on in town. The party apparently started later, I listened to music until around five o'clock. I have to admit, I would have preferred to be with friends or family in a small, cozy circle. But this hustle and bustle around New Year's Eve in general doesn't really appeal to me.