Thursday we explored again by car – this time going up to Fort Shirley accompanied by a local dog who decided to be a guide…. Bit disappointed with this Fort – looks amazing from the outside with the renovated ramparts, the cannons and the buildings….but go inside and it looks like it is being kitted out as a wedding venue rather than a restored historic monument.

After walking back down we got back in our trusty jeep and decided to drive around the volcanic crater. Up and down these roads – some concrete, some tarmac, some mud – through lush greenery and constantly being struck dumb by the views….and terrified by the hairpin bends! Going past the crater we came across a young lady carrying a baby who asked for a lift – so we helped her out and gave her a lift up and down the mountain. Letting her out at her family home a young girl came out and shouted at her ‘ What you doing going with a white man???’… Oh well you can’t win them all! 

Carrying on up and around and we were asked for another lift by a local guy at the bus stop. Admittedly not keen – but Richard has much more faith in human nature than I do – so we picked him up and drove him to his girlfriend’s house. Short tour through the fruit trees in the gardens and his girlfriend opens up an outbuilding and, lo and behold, it is a small bar / rum shop! So we had a beer each and Richard had to sample some local rums until we then moved on again. A really nice couple who are thinking of getting married – but didn’t want to rush it, as they had only been together four years and are in their fifties!!!   Finished our excursion by having a late lunch at the Portsmouth Beach Hotel to be flagged down by the security guard who thanked us for giving his baby a lift home earlier today…. Small world!

Friday morning back out diving again with Don and his cousin Fabian who is a dive master. Fantastic visibility today and almost perfect conditions. We did two dive sites – one where a huge cliff rock fall has created an underwater aquarium with swim throughs, caves and encrusted coral. Saw mostly small stuff including loads of lobsters, reef fish – particularly cute baby trunk fish – a very large spiny puffer and a good-sized eagle ray which swam in out of the blue. Bad news that there are quite a lot of lion fish about – they are not indigenous and are prolific hunters / breeders. There is a kill programme in the Caribbean to eradicate the nuisance but clearly they are gaining ground….. The reef fish need to recognise them as a danger so that they stay clear – and people don’t like to handle them either as they have very toxic spines…. Apparently they are good eating but we haven’t found them on a menu yet!!!

Friday afternoon we had a lazy time and then went ashore to a local beach bar to meet Alexis and the dive guys for a farewell drink. We had a really nice time – listened to the local guy playing live – and had a lot of laughs. When they left I went to settle our bill to find that they had cleared it for us!!!! All we had to pay for was our last two beers…. This generous gesture – especially as we would not get the opportunity to say thank you – completely blew us away. Thanks guys!

Saturday morning up bright and early as we are heading down to Roseau, the capital of Dominica. By 7.15 am we had slipped out of Portsmouth and said goodbye to Alexis on the radio… Headed out to 10 miles offshore as we were told that this is where the whales hang out. Well – we couldn’t sail it despite trying hard due to lack of wind – so got into position, turned the engine off and waited. We saw some disturbance on the water and saw two dolphins going by to join their pod. But no whales. Or at least none that showed themselves. Interestingly though, we were in 2,000 feet of water but there was something under our boat that kept moving our depth gauge from between 25 and 40 feet. Could have been anything but who knows!  As we turned towards Roseau we enjoyed the cloud formations and the rugged coastline to find the wind now completely on our nose so we ended up motoring into the town.

We had already pre-arranged a mooring with SeaCat – this anchorage is way too deep – and his colleague Desmond came out to greet us as we neared the coast. Took us towards the ball and we hooked on quickly.  We then asked him to take us to Customs as we need to hand over our cruising permit to get permission to stay down this end of the island before we move on towards Martinique, our next port of call. We got the formalities out of the way and went ashore for sundowners at the Drop Anchor bar which we are moored directly opposite. Wow sunsets are gorgeous here….and Morphie looks so good enjoying her new anchorage.

Sunday is St Patrick’s Day…and the Drop Anchor’s landlady has an Irish dad….so celebrations are going to be happening here… So boat job morning including loads of washing and cleaning and then ashore to listen to Danny Boy, the Irish Rover and other Irish ditties… Good time had by all, although Richard was a bit melancholy for a while thinking about his family, especially those who are prematurely no longer with us….

Monday everything is quiet – we have noticed this in Dominica, we think the locals party real hard on a Sunday so Monday is a recovery day, with loads of shops closed! But actually there is a cruise ship in so we head into town for a wander about….

Roseau is a mix of old buildings; new cars; some western influences such as Pizza Hut and Subway and loads of people milling around trying to sell the cruise ship passengers tours and t-shirts. We enjoyed people watching although have been a bit concerned about the number of amputees around – apparently, though, this is due to the huge amount of natural sugar in their diet and a consequence of diabetes. But there seemed to be fewer people begging here than we came across in Portsmouth – although perhaps I’ve become immune????

Arriving back into the anchorage Glen and Pam on Blue Pearl – who we last saw in Antigua – have caught up with us as they run down island. We arrange for them to come on board for sundowners and we had a really nice time catching up – and Glen and Richard enjoyed trying all the new rums we now have on board….  Passion fruit, lime, cocoa, coconut to name a few…..

Early to bed and late to rise…..it’s now Tuesday…and we are doing more boat jobs, particularly generating water as we are a bit low. Richard has also given dink’s bottom a good old clean. Anyway…nothing planned for today apart from meeting Glen and Pam later…. We are thinking about what to do before we leave here – there are a couple of things we are considering – and that’s about it.  Oh yes, and we woke up to a rainbow….

Bye for now.

Jan

Sunday afternoon we headed over to the other side of the bay to spend the afternoon on the beach – but as we got closer to the dinghy dock it was clear that most of it was completely wrecked and that waves were breaking through high into the sky…. Hmmmm that’s not a place we could possibly land dink let alone leave him…so we turned around and went back to the other side of the bay and ended up spending a nice few hours in Big Papas catching up with the internet and having a light lunch.

Back on board, got cleaned up, and went ashore for the weekly beach BBQ hosted by the PAYS boat boys for all the cruisers in the bay. Great value – EC$50 each (£12.50) – for as much as you can eat and as much rum punch as you can drink…. Anyway we were enjoying catching up with other sailors and just generally swaying to the beats when all of a sudden all hell broke loose. All the dinghies were surfing huge waves and ending up on top of each other and one had actually sunk – so everyone rushed to take their dinghy off the dock and pull them up the beach. The beach boys were great and kept the local drunk nutters away who were trying to help but actually nearly sunk a dinghy in their inebriated state…. Richard used strong working class language to persuade the local drunk to leave dink alone. Phew – all safe – and relax….and get on with the serious business of partying! Great time had by all……

On Monday morning – sore heads and all – we met up with the others as we planned to visit a waterfall and the rum distillery. Well we found out that the cost of hiring a van for the six of us was cheaper than hiring a cab so we got one and off we went. Arriving at the Macosine distillery we asked for the tour and were told it was not possible today…. Oh well…. Disappointed but we moved on towards Syndicate Milton Falls – and ended up in the Morne Diablotins National Park first – which is where the rare parrot that Dominica have on their flag still lives. The place was deserted, even the office was closed that takes the money / checks the visitor permits. Have we stumbled on a Bank Holiday that we didn’t know about???? Oh well…not going to complain….and we took off for a little trek through a mysterious rainforest full of huge rooted trees and large plants that I recognise from home, except that we keep them warm indoors and in pots, and here they are bigger than us! But the place is utterly devoid of any noise – a bit spooky – expecting bird song and bugs at least – but nothing! Weird… In the car park we found some wild oranges but they were like lemons – eek! Really sour…. 

Moving on we went to the waterfall and clambered up and down paths, across rocks, crossed the flowing river twice, and eventually ended up at our destination……. Oh what a disappointment – this had previously been the water supply but had been found to have high iron content so was no longer in use for this purpose – but the waterfall pool had been fenced off and now opened up again. Pretty place especially without the barbed wire in the way! We snuck through the hole in the fence and enjoyed the moment and then back to the car….. We also enjoyed eating some sweet grapefruits that had fallen onto the path as we walked around. Yummmmm….. 

Driving around looking for somewhere to stop for food and we failed miserably – but with loads of luck we ended up at the Portsmouth Beach Hotel and had a really nice very late lunch watching, from the safety of the shore, the waves bashing up the dock and breaking up into the leaves of the palm trees. Really wild out there….and really enjoyed it as a backdrop to our last meal together. Back at the anchorage we got a water taxi back to Morpheus and bid our fond farewells. Hot Latte Tudes are heading direct to St Croix on Tuesday and Ron and Demi are jumping ship from Jolly Friends and joining them for this 200+ mile passage as they wanted to go to Puerto Rico anyway.

Early night followed and we were up early Tuesday as we are going diving again. Went to two amazing dive sites which are listed in the top 100 in the world – unfortunately the conditions weren’t great with currents and poor visibility due to north swells – but we still had a great time and enjoyed seeing two very different sites. The first one was caves and caverns and we meandered along, under and through different places and then really enjoyed watching the huge amounts of tropical fish playing in our bubbles that had seeped through the rocks and coral. Amazing! The second site was very different with a drop off down steep cliffs and huge tropical fish life….I think I would have called this one the aquarium if I was naming it. We are really enjoying our diving here – no-one else but us in the water and the dive time only restricted by our air consumption….

Tuesday afternoon on board we were lazing around having got Morphie covered in all our dive gear drying in the sun….and we bade final farewell to Hot Latte Tudes as they went past at 4pm to start their passage… And the girls were well behaved but the boys decided to moon at us on the way past and Richard responded in the same way. Men eh??? Still naughty boys at heart… Us girls were much more refined shouting out things like ‘be careful, we’ll miss you!!!’…… Early evening we went ashore for happy hour and to watch the sunset – and then went back on board for a quiet evening and a nice steak salad dinner….

This morning – Wednesday – we decided to explore the island more so have hired a little jeep for a couple of days to take us around. We travelled all the way to the bottom of the island to Roseau, the capital, and up into the mountains of the Morne Trois Pitons National Park (an UNESCO World Heritage Site). More waterfalls, sulphur hot springs, lush rainforests and scary roads which are virtually vertical and come up / down to hairpin bends that defy explanation! This place is so amazingly beautiful – and you really have to be adventurous to explore it fully – and is so wild that I feel like an extra in Jurassic Park and am expecting a dinosaur to pop his head round a tree at any minute! Walking up and down windy paths with mountain goat climbs over huge boulders to waterfalls have become the norm. Enough from me….hope you enjoy some of the photos of our trip today….

Bye for now

Jan

Up bright and early Wednesday morning and Alexis comes by to pick us up for our Indian River tour….along with Ron and Demi who are currently travelling on Jolly Friends….   As we entered the river the engine was shut off and Alexis proceeded to row us around. The river is narrow and winding under a canopy of plants with huge blood tree roots into the water – and the silence is only broken by the sound of the scuttling of land crabs as they move in and out of their holes and the noises of the birds. Boa constrictors live on this island but we didn’t see any… We did, however, see a few hummingbirds but, again, too fast to get a photo! The surface of the river is covered in leaves and flowers as they drift down from the canopy above – feels like being covered in a natural confetti…..

This river is where the Caribs lived and hunted – and local legend is they were cannibalistic too which is why they held off the settlers longer than on other islands. This is also a swamp area that used to breed the malarial mosquito and yellow fever that led to Plymouth being abandoned by the eventual settlers as the islands capital. Glad to note that this is no longer a problem! Along the way we saw the place where Pirates of the Caribbean built and filmed Calypso’s cabin…and at the end of the river we went ashore to go hiking through to a local plantation where we sampled and purchased some locally made very strong rum mixed drinks….as well as bananas and fresh cocoa seeds straight from the pod. On the way back to collect the boat we saw huge numbers of tourists coming up the river – crammed into the boats all wearing life jackets. They did not look happy! I think their experience was really different to ours….

Wednesday night we partied at Big Poppas on the beach who were having their BBQ and live reggae night… Great time had by all. Thursday we had a leisurely day and did boat jobs and went ashore to wander around Plymouth again. A really nice place this – very friendly with almost everyone saying hello. We purchased a few local fruits and vegetables from the ladies who ply their wares along the streets. We also managed to get our new shower bilge pump from the chandlery – hurrah… Quiet night on board.

Friday morning up bright and early and we are off out for an island tour this time. Again with Ron and Demi but also joined by Graeme and Pam who are cruising on their boat Hot Latte Tudes. Met Shadow our driver – who is a Carib – and we took off visiting both the Caribbean and the Atlantic coasts. The whole island is lush and green with amazing tree canopies, wild bamboo, wild coconut palms and the smells of different spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg growing. There are still sugar plantations here as well as a huge amount of bananas being grown – and they are shipped directly from here to the UK. Heard the story about the Pirates of the Caribbean filming inland here too – and they took over a coconut plantation. But to ensure the safety of the cast and crew they cut down all the coconuts – the owner allegedly got £1.2mn for the privilege. But the trees take some time to recover from losing all their fruit and the plantation has never opened again – so a load of locals lost their jobs as a result. Not sure how I feel about that…..

The funniest thing that happened today was that when we pulled up to take photos along came this little van – a baker’s van – who then sold us his freshly baked produce… Amazing in the middle of the rainforest we are scoffing this stuff – Richard said the bread pudding was pretty good! We also went into the Indian territory where Caribs still live to this day and made a few purchases including my stunning new hand-made sun hat! We then stopped for a local lunch of crayfish and moved onto a trek in the national park which ended up at a waterfall where we were able to take a dip in the freezing cold water. It is difficult to express how beautiful this place is – you’ll just have to take my word for it and let the pictures do the talking…..

Friday night sundowners at Blue Bay with the rest of the crowd – and we ended up back on Jolly Friends having sundowners and listening to Ron and Graeme jam on their guitars along with some singing…. We got out early as we are going diving in the morning and have to sort out our gear. Oh yes, did I mention the local beers? It comes in tiny bottles and we end up feeling like giants when we drink it!

Saturday morning we were up early again and waiting for the dive boat to come by to pick us up – oh dear, we’re on island time….and he was around 40 minutes late. But at least he came! We headed off round the corner and picked up a dive buoy and quickly got into the water. There was only Don (the divemaster) Ron and ourselves on this trip – great. All sank to the bottom and meandered down the ledge to about 75 feet / 25 metres – huge huge soft sponges with massive crabs inside; a 4ft barracuda came by; loads and loads of small reef fish with the occasional big shoal of fish visiting. Pristine coral site and finished up back on the ledge in relatively shallow water looking around while we did our safety stop. And under this coral outcrop was a giant spiny pufferfish with its huge black eyes set into white eyelids blinking away looking something like a jersey cow… Fantastic dive had by all…. Back on board, went to shore to pick up the next four tanks, and back out again. Back into the water this time to a wreck which had been towed out and sunk by Don’s father after it was wrecked in the mouth of the Indian River by a hurricane…. Some great coral growing on it and we saw crabs clinging to the structure and a lot of fish milling about… After some time on the wreck we then headed back up to the shallow reef ledge to look at the stuff around – again, pristine coral and fans, with large cactus looking structures coming out of the sand. Loads of fish – with a few of my personal favourites, particularly the lovely trigger fish who was hiding out under a rock, a couple of lobsters, a moray eel and a white spotty eel that looked more like a snake. Not come across anything like him before…. Again another great dive and definitely going to do some more!

Back to Morphie, went into town to get some more drinking vouchers out of the ATM and to collect some new pads made by the local tailor for dink, and back on board we crashed pretty tired out! Went ashore for sundowners with the crowd and then back on board early for a quiet dinner and to bed. Now it’s Sunday so we have rung Mum to wish her Happy Mother’s Day and we’re doing a few boat jobs and then going to head to the beach for the afternoon. Tonight we have a BBQ organised by the PAYS guys on the beach…..

Bye for now

Jan

Well we didn’t go where we had planned – being my usual clumsy self I managed to open a locker, leave the cover on the floor and then promptly walk into it, damaging my little toe!!! Ouch… Not the first time I’ve done this….but the hike over the hill to the beach is starting to look a bit dodgy. So we went exploring by dink again… And this time we ended up in Baie de Marigot having a look around. This bay is very shallow and we had to run the gauntlet of reefs and weed to get ashore. And then we had to wade the last few feet through sea grass, squidgy mud and crabs to pull dink up out of the water.

We did wonder whether it was all worth it – but boy, it was. We came across La Paillote restaurant which was full of locals having lunch with some sounds playing and even a bit of dancing going on…. So we were drawn like moths to a light bulb and ended up having a great time there – and, thankfully, the owner came out and explained the menu as it was quite complicated! Well – the food was fantastic. Chicken curry with lentils for me and a plate of raw smoked fish for Richard…. Yummmm…. All washed down with a nice Sauvignon Blanc.

Not what we were expecting to do that afternoon but we had an amazing time….. We complimented the owner on her restaurant and she explained to us that they have been mentioned in Conde Nast before – what a find tucked away in a little bay in the middle of nowhere! 

Back on board for an early night while we debate what to do next. We had planned to go back to visit Point a Pitre in mainland Guadeloupe so that we could explore – but the weather is against us again….. Wind and tide both in the wrong direction. So we talked it through and decided, actually, what we were going there for was to visit the natural beauty of the island – and Dominica our next stop is famous for this too… So we’ll move on down there instead…… after our final day here on Sunday with a morning of boat jobs and an afternoon with a picnic on the beach combined with some bobbing.

Monday morning up early and went into town to check out of customs and to have our last French breakfast at the patisserie…. This was another day when I managed to get through the whole ordering and purchasing process without a word of English – hurrah! Even Richard is managing to utter the odd word too…. So some progress on the linguistic front but we know that we both have to learn Spanish before we leave the Caribbean whenever that may be. Oh well, that’s another challenge for another day!

We finally slipped from the Iles des Saintes at around 10.30 and started to motor out through the shallow cut between two islands, which would cut off a bit of the journey. Got through there OK and then got out the sails. Oh yes, this was forecast for a low wind day, and guess what? 23 knots was the highest recorded. But who cares???!!!??? We had a great close hauled sail and made the 20+ miles without having to put a single tack in. The water was deep blue – reflecting its depth of almost two miles – and we saw numerous flying fish and at one point a large fish, we think it was a marlin, jump out of the water. But sadly still no signs of any whales even though we have been honing our whale talking skills….. Oh yes, half way across the channel to Dominica, we were hailed on the VHF by a boat we could see coming the other way on the AIS. Another British boat which was passing on ‘hellos’ from Ruth and Dan on Evensong… This couple had been hoping to catch up with us as they headed north but unfortunately our timing was out! What a shame…

Arrived into Portsmouth, Dominica, Monday afternoon and were met by Alexis one of the PAYS boat boys. These guys have created a yacht services organisation which offers mooring assistance; guided tours by boat, taxi and on foot; water taxi to and from shore; as well as offering 24 hour security for the yachts in the area that they patrol. A bargain – and for only £5 a night for the ball! Result….so we took him up on his offer and he helped us pick up a mooring ball. Actually he was a hindrance… we are much better on our own… but at least I didn’t kill him in the process as I was on the helm at the time!!!

We then went ashore to do the customs bit – almost half a mile past the town – and we get to the port dock and it is really high and inhospitable… But we have no choice so we tie dink up, climb up onto the dock, and with fingers crossed we go to the customs shed. We fill in forms with carbon paper inserted – can’t remember the last time I actually saw carbon paper – and eventually got approval from customs. But because we may want to stay longer than two weeks we have to go to immigration too, which is in the police station in town. So back in the dinghy and go to another dock – this time being met by a really nice security guy who helped us fuel up first – and then wandered down to the police station. Immigration weren’t there but they were summoned – we passed over our bit of paper from customs and we are good to go. Although a bit concerned by the couple of guys who came to sign in – the Dominican equivalent of having a tag!

Dominica is a really friendly place and is largely unspoilt with lush green scenery and is actually the only place where you can still come across descendents of the original Carib Indians, the indigenous people of the Caribbean. But it is also very poor and even in the town we saw evidence of people living in corrugated metal shacks with no facilities…. Sometimes it is hard to believe that this is 2013. And this is the first time we have actually been pestered for spare change – nicely and in a non-threatening way – but we were surprised nevertheless. All formalities completed back on board for a quiet evening and even purchased a few bananas from one of the travelling salesmen who peddle their wares around the anchorage…. We put dink back up on his davits for the night – the saying here is lift it, lock it or lose it – and suddenly we heard this big bang. Neither of us knew what it was…. and eventually tracked it down to dink. The cable bridle had snapped. Luckily it held on one side and hadn’t happened when we were underway as this could have been really nasty – and potentially we could have lost our brand new outboard in the process. This is the third thing that has gone wrong recently so hopefully we’re done for a while!

This morning – Tuesday – we were up reasonably early and did a few boat jobs….then went into town to visit the chandlery trying to get another bilge shower pump. But they didn’t have it…. Oh well…. But we did manage to get some new chain to make a bridle with… Again we were hit on by a variety of locals looking for some spare change one of whom was a bit threatening – not to us, but pretending to shoot people with his fingers shaped like a gun was a bit offputting. But we didn’t give him anything and he went away eventually. Anyway…went shopping for a few bits of groceries and ended up in a place called Big Papas on the beach across from Morphie…. Really nice time and had a chat with a few locals, one of whom was a local policeman, and he explained that you always get the occasional nutter / crack-head but that, actually, this is a pretty safe place. Glad to hear it! Back on board now and Alexis has just come by so that we can sort out a few trips ashore….. Really looking forward to exploring this island and our first one tomorrow morning is a boat ride up the Indian River.

Quiet night planned now… Bye for now.

Jan

We arrived safely in the Iles des Saintes on Wednesday and picked up a mooring ball off the town of Bourg Des Saintes on Terre D’en Haut.    Looks really nice and we head off ashore quickly…. Great dinghy dock and no surging so I’m happy already! Had a quick wander around to get our bearings and we really like it here.  Laid back very French vibe. Interesting history too with Napoleonic links and no slaves were imported into these islands as there was no agriculture here.  I particularly liked the old church and the house built like a ship into the cliff….   Clearly these islands now live mainly on tourism – and most of the tourists appear to be French.   After a leisurely few hours back on board, we went ashore again to a water-side bistro for a basic but really enjoyable dinner….. Back on board and had a good night’s sleep – the first in a few days.

Thursday morning we woke up to find a huge cruise ship anchored behind us. We must have slept well not to have heard him come in! Morphie looks tiny…..!

We did a few boat jobs in the morning and then started to get ready to go ashore. But, oh no, the shower bilge pump just died…. We don’t have a spare on board either. Richard spent a few hours trying to isolate the problem to ensure it was a mechanical rather than electrical failure. So having worked it all out we showered off the transom and went ashore in search of parts. There is a small hardware / chandlery type place in town but the guy doesn’t speak English and my school girl French is definitely not up to this challenge. Richard had found the system online that we have and had taken a snapshot of it on the iPad to show the retailers. Good thinking! It worked, but he didn’t have one, although we did pick up some electrical connectors that we already knew we needed. The guy said there was another place we could try up the hill – but we had only 20 minutes to get there before they close for lunch. Oh yes, every shop here closes up for two hours (at least) at lunchtime….. So we leg it up there and with Richard’s pictures we hit silver. Gold would have been exact match part. Silver was the same part in a smaller size. So we are not going to be able to pump out as much water as we did before on a gallon per hour basis, but hey, it will get us out of trouble until we can get the right sized version. Hurrah – a get out of jail card!

While we were out we also walked to the Yacht Club where a guy called Jerome works and he speaks English – allegedly. Well we found Jerome (or so he said) but he didn’t speak English very well and I couldn’t understand his French either. But he was a nice guy I think!

Walking back to the boat and I started to feel quite lightheaded – oh dear, not enough water me thinks. Back on board I go for a lie down and Richard works down the hole and fixes the pump. Yay!!!   We decided to stay on board for the night and had a swim off the back and enjoyed a quiet night eating fresh baguettes, cheese and pate, watching the lovely colours of the sky change as the sun disappears behind the hills.

Friday morning we had a lazy morning on board then packed a freezer bag with fresh ham salad baguettes and a couple of cold beers and took off to explore a nearby beach by dinghy. Not many people around so we had a really nice afternoon bobbing and enjoying being in the water…. Great views too.

Back on board we had another swim off the back, got cleaned up, and headed to town for dinner. When we were out walking the other day we came across a restaurant that got a mention in the cruisers’ guide, the ti Kaz’ la – which is right on the edge of the water and open to the sea. The owner Philippe previously worked as a pastry chef in Grosvenor House and Harrods as well as cheffing at Park Lane’s Gavroche restaurant so gets a great writeup. The menu looked amazing – so we went in for dinner and we got the last table, it was packed out – and spent quite a bit of time working out what all the options were! Had an amazing goats’ cheese sauce with lardon salad for entrees, which we followed up with mahi mahi for Richard and lamb for me. All washed down with a very nice Chablis. Sorry to say my lamb was rough….think it might have died of old age…. Oh well the rest was lovely and we enjoyed both the service and the ambiance…

This morning we got up late and did some more jobs – and Richard fixed our other problem which was a reverse polarity light on the panel when the generator was plugged in and charging. He has taken a lot of advice from a variety of sources and hurrah it worked!   Special thanks to Glen on Blue Pearl for his assistance.    We have had three solar panels and a wind generator installed – which keep our five house batteries and one engine battery ticking over – but we have found that either when we have “no wind” days or “no sun” days our voltage gets a bit low with the fridge and freezer operational 24/7 and charging all our electronic bits and bobs.  Hence why we bought the generator. Our house batteries are gel and very expensive – so this is a way of keeping them going without having to run the engine on a daily basis or having to plug into shore power when we decide to stay in marinas.  Cute little thing and very powerful!

When we have finished charging we are going ashore to explore another beach – this one is a trek away on the other side of the island and bans motorised engines in the bay for environmental reasons – looking forward to it.

Bye for now

Jan

Up before the sun on Monday to do the final preparations for our 50 mile run to Guadeloupe. Dropped the mooring at 6.30 ish and motored out through the channel to leave Jolly Harbour and Antigua behind – bidding a silent farewell to Glen on Blue Pearl as we passed her in the anchorage….

Motored out beyond the immediate hazards, got the sails up and realised that instead of the reach we were expecting, the wind was a bit closer than anticipated. But never mind, up go all three sails, and we head out. The waves are a little lumpy in the shallow water around Antigua – but as we got into the beautiful deep navy water, which was almost two miles deep, the sea flattened. This is as good as it gets and particularly for the last 10 miles when we were accompanied by flying fish and the wind changed so we ended up with the reach we had been looking forward to… On this eight hour sail we did wonder whether we would see whales as this is the time they migrate north with their new calves – but nothing happening. So following the fine example of Dory in Finding Nemo we tried whale talking….but still no show. Oh well, we’ll have to try and improve upon our accents another day!!!

Arrived into Deshaies, Gaudeloupe, at around 3.30 pm and were amazed by how many boats were already there. This is a tiny shallow anchorage if you can get close enough in – but no spots available – so ended up anchoring in nearly 50 feet / 17 metres of water. A bit deep but we had no choice on this occasion. There was very little room and we are a bit closer to other boats than we would like too. We got ourselves cleaned and tidied up and headed into town. There is a large dinghy dock here – but no-one told us that the waves surged up so fiercely that it took out great chunks of the dock as well as foundations of the shorefront properties too!

It was really something to try and dock here – but again, no choice. At least it is still daylight. Mission accomplished we headed off to check in and go for a wander. French customs and immigration is a doddle – here is a computer, fill in your details, stamp, sign, pay €4 and thanks a lot. So we have legally arrived. We grabbed a fresh baguette from the patisserie and went back on board Morphie. This is a very French town – friendly and welcoming people, but very little English spoken. Looks like I’m going to have to brush off the school girl French again…. We are pretty shattered so back on board for a quick bite to eat and an early night.

During the night I awake to engine noises – so pop my head out to see navigation lights right on our stern. These new arrivals were dropping their anchor and it felt like it was in our cockpit! Then a catamaran turned up and dropped close too….. and I wondered what had happened to the little red boat with the solo German guy in who had been our nearest neighbour earlier….and then I spotted him 50 metres off our stern so he must have dragged his anchor earlier. He was gone by morning when we got up so hope he was all right!   As well as all the boat arrivals it was also a rolly anchorage so not a particularly restful night…

Tuesday morning we went ashore to get an internet connection. When I went to buy our car tax online the other day the system said we did not have any car insurance on file – oh yes we do! I’ve got the paperwork to prove it…. Anyway we needed to sort it out so into the internet cafe we go. After doing that, and paying a few bills, we went to the patisserie for breakfast. Had to be done – we are in France after all….. Fantastic pastries and strong coffee – what better way to start the day????   We chatted over breakfast and decided to move on – this is not a place we can leave dink for the day tied to the dock while we get a car and explore. And with the amount of boats around we are not comfortable leaving Morphie either….. So decision made, back on board, and we pick up anchor and leave for another anchorage 10 miles down the coast.

Unfortunately this time the wind was on the nose so we ended up motoring and arrived at the Pigeon Island anchorage a couple of hours later. This is close to the Pigeon Islands (would you believe????) and is a designated marine park named in honour of Jacques Cousteau. So we were hoping to get some diving in here, some snorkelling, and maybe this is the place to base ourselves instead whilst in Guadeloupe?

So went ashore to explore. In this anchorage, the dock was a public one used by all the watersports operators so we pulled dink right up close to the beach – but it was really really surging and not easy to get on and off. Looks like another place not to leave dink unattended too long….. The small beach was darkish sand and not too attractive – and was absolutely rammed with day trippers. We take refuge in a cafe to watch the world go by and are amazed at the diving activity on offer – loads and loads of operators here….

We watched at least five dive boats – crammed with maybe 20 people each – plus glass bottom boats and boats full of snorkelers… All of these boats were heading out simultaneously to the small islands a stone’s throw from the anchorage. Mmmmmmm…. this really doesn’t appeal…… We have done crowded dive sites in Egypt and hoards of people just get in the way, and I always always end up getting someone’s fin in my face, not an experience I am keen to repeat!!! So we make an executive decision that this is not for us – we’ll hold on until we get somewhere else…. Eventually we went back on board for another quiet and early night. And of course the obligatory amazing sunset shot…. But it is not all disappointing, because we have seen three turtles surfacing near Morphie in the anchorage.

This morning we headed off to explore the rest of the west coast of Guadeloupe. The wind was howling until we tried to sail and then it died! Typical… We went close to Basseterre – which was another possible place to base ourselves – but again, with the current surf conditions, it was not tenable. So we decided to go straight to Iles des Saintes today for a while and will sail back up to Pointe a Pitre on the south coast of Guadeloupe later.

These islands are still French so no hassle with customs and immigration to deal with. They are also supposed to be beautiful… As we rounded the bottom of Guadeloupe the wind picked up – and again, feast or famine…. 30 knots of breeze and it got lumpy for a while. Oh well, nothing we aren’t used to by now! So after a few hours we completed our 25 mile trip and have now picked up a mooring ball off Bourg de Saintes on the main island of Terre d’en Haut. Going ashore to explore soon.

Bye for now.

Jan

Friday we headed off to the Jolly Harbour resort beach around lunchtime and had a really nice afternoon bobbing with beer and eating local food from the vendors. On the way back to Morphie we popped over to visit Glen on Blue Moon for sundowners….and then back on board for an early night.

Saturday morning bright and early we are up and waiting for our pre-arranged taxi for 8.00 am. We stand there like lemons and the time ticks over….and a guy in a minibus waves us from across the road to get on board. Richard asks “Are you David?” to which the answer was ‘yes’… So we get on board and then within 5 mins or so we pick up another passenger….oh well.. this often happens with taxis in the Caribbean….. and then another 5 minutes and we pick up a few more… Alarm bells start ringing…and Richard asks again “Are you David, and you are taking us to the Barbuda Express terminal?” He says no man, I’m the local bus…. I get really stressed as I watch the time slip away and worry that we are going to miss the 9 am ferry. Anyway, we get to St John’s market bus terminal and everyone gets off – we ask for directions and he says down here, turn left, four blocks etc etc etc…. We realise that we are not going to make the ferry to Barbuda…….so throw money at it! How about taking us there for EC $20???? (That’s about a fiver…) He says yes straight away and we make the ferry with minutes to spare….phew…..

The ferry is full of both people and cargo. Loads and loads of boxes…. Anyway….the trip is fun for us but not for most of the passengers. There are sick bags everywhere and most people are puking as we pound into the waves. Glad we didn’t put Morphie through this ordeal!!! Finally arrive after almost two hours of pounding into the seas with a lot of very green passengers. We meet the fellow tour people – six Americans travelling together – and they have all been ill. Eventually we get to our first destination – the caves in Barbuda where slaves lived to spot ships at sea in darkness, and would then climb goat-like up to the top of the cliffs to light fires to tempt these poor people into the reefs and disaster. It was a really interesting place with spectacular views across the Atlantic coast and its reef-strewn shoreline.

Moving on we then go through Codrington – which is named after the English guy who leased the land from the crown many moons ago. He set Barbuda up for growing fruit and veg – but the terrain was not good – so he settled for a hunting domain (and wild pigs, goats, horses, deer and cows still roam the island) and also bred slaves for sale to other Caribbean nations. Interestingly, when the slave labour was given their freedom on Barbuda many years ago, they were offered cash for their labours. They said no thanks – give us land to build homes and tend crops. This remains to this day – the land is owned collectively and all Barbuda natives are eligible to claim their plot. Which means, interestingly, that the land has no value and Barbuda nationals have to save up hard to buy materials to build their properties – there are no credit facilities available to them for this purpose.

Onto the largest frigate bird sanctuary in the world – what a spectacular treat! Loads and loads of males showing off their plumage and puffed up red chests hoping to attract a female – along with breeding couples and their newborn chicks standing up straight with their fluffy white heads poking out… This was an amazing place to visit and I would recommend to anyone…..

After visiting the lagoon to see the bird sanctuary we headed out to the famous pink sand beach for lunch and a relax – the sand actually is pretty and normal coloured, but miniscule remnants of red coral mixed up gives a pink hue as the waves move in and out. Pretty stunning surroundings and felt like an oasis away from normal life … reminded us of Anegada in many ways. Had a local lunch on the beach and back to the ferry for our return trip.

On board the conditions were better – fewer passengers and no boxes! Also we had a following sea so it was a much smoother ride – with many of the tourists very thankful. And, to cap it all, on the way back we saw a baby whale breach…but only once and no photos. Sorry….   So back into Antigua, cab back to Jolly Harbour, and an early night aboard.

Sunday morning we checked out of Antigua with customs and immigration so that we free to leave in the morning and we also visited Glen on Blue Pearl who helped us sort out our router problem – it is now working – hurrah!!!! So very very grateful.   

We then spent the afternoon in the swimming pool at the Crows Nest Bar and enjoyed a few hours chatting with some fellow Brits on holiday, Back out to Glen for dinner – he cooked us a great salmon pasta dish – and back on board to get ready for our next adventure tomorrow as we are sailing off to Guadeloupe.

Will be in touch from there…. Bye for now…

Jan

Monday morning we headed into customs and immigration for the 9.00 am opening but the customs guy was late and there was a queue….. Anyway, when he did arrive, the first skipper went in and came out laden with forms to complete and this pattern was repeated until he got to us. We had read that Eseaclear, the online integrated system, was in use in Antigua so we had done all our documentation on line before we left Nevis. So no forms for us – he just had to print and stamp them. Then into immigration and the port authority to purchase our cruising permit and we are off before anyone else is vaguely ready to go…. Result! So we are now legal and can wander around Antigua which is our first of the mountains and mangroves islands. Quick dinghy ride round to check Jolly Harbour out – nothing much has changed from our last time here back in the early 2000s…. but we enjoyed a nice breakfast ashore.

Back on board and Richard is still feeling poorly despite eating – I think he got dehydrated on the trip over and a little sick from being down below in the heat fixing the fan belt, so medicate him accordingly! He soldiered on while we cleaned all the crusty salt from Morphie’s deck and stainless…. but had to lie down afterwards. I carried on cleaning down below and we are back in shape. Phew… one job off of the list. Glenn and Pam came over for sundowners but Richard stayed on the water so you know he’s feeling bad…

Early to bed and a bit of a lie in and Richard is feeling a bit better but still not right…. We went off ashore to sort out loads of other boat chores as we need to do our laundry, get a propane gas tank filled, get petrol for dink and some food for us…. Came back on board having sussed it all out and some bags of shopping (and yes, I finally got some Branston pickle) and I had a nice ploughmans and fed Richard chicken soup. After a few hours of lazing around Richard started to recover and felt OK by the time he had showered to get ready to go out for dinner. We had pizza Tuesday night in the local Italian with Glenn and Pam – and Richard managed to drink wine so obviously through the worst. We had a really nice evening with great food and fantastic company talking about our favourite boats and swapping some hints and tips as we are newbies in the cruising world. They have hired a car for Wednesday and very kindly invited us to join them for the day on a trip round the island. Yes please!

Wednesday we go out as a foursome for the day and drive around the island – after a few visits to some hardware stores (as Richard wants to buy a small petrol Honda generator) we end up in Falmouth Harbour where it just reeks of wealth with superyachts everywhere, including one with a helicopter on the top! Loads of racing boats too including ICAP’s Leopard….. Interesting how many of these monster sailboats are flying the Ensign. Having decided which boats we are all going to have when we win the lottery we head back to the car and spot a local food shack – so we all piled in there for lunch. Richard and Glen get adventurous and eat the goat stew whilst Pam and I were more conservative eating the chicken…. It was lovely.

Onwards to English Harbour where we visited Nelson’s Dockyard and wandered through all the stunning old renovated buildings – really interesting small museum too. This dockyard was completed in 1745 and was our main naval station with hurricane protection – Nelson arrived here in 1784 and eventually took over as naval commander. Apparently he didn’t like it much, and having read about the conditions and the impact of tropical diseases on the men, I’m not surprised really!

Moving on we went up to the hills above Falmouth and English Harbours to the interpretation centre and watched a movie about the history of the island, which was really interesting. Then onto Shirley Heights, which Richard and I remember from the Sunday night jump ups that we went to back in the day! Today it was quiet as a grave but still had fantastic views.

Back in the car and we head off to visit the Devil’s Bridge which is an unusual shaped rock which the sea blows through in certain conditions. Today was one of those days although we remembered it differently….. Back on the road and we found a nice beach bar to have a cold one in.

Heading back to Jolly Harbour and enjoyed the scenery along the way – with green hills, coral reefs, forests and domestic crops – all intermingled with wild goats, cows, hummingbirds and donkeys making an appearance. Really enjoyable day and we quaffed a final cold one back in the harbour and said goodbye to Pam who was flying home on Thursday morning to be a granny again for a short while.

Quiet night on board sorting out washing and doing some by hand…as we have found out that this is a service wash marina. So Morphie now has knickers, bras and boxers hanging from her rails – but all under the cover of darkness – as we really don’t want her to be too embarrassed!  Thursday morning we went shopping again; I finally got my hair cut; dropped off and picked up the laundry; organised the purchase and delivery of the generator; and wandered the complex and found the beach.

Whilst we were there we organised a day trip to Barbuda on the ferry for Saturday. Although the strong winds have now died down north swells are forecast for Sunday so taking Morphie up there didn’t appeal, particularly as the anchorages are pretty exposed and surrounded by reef. And I was determined not to miss Barbuda out, especially as we have already had to sacrifice Montserrat to the weather….

Back on board and I cooked for us and Glenn as he is home alone – only a simple lasagne, nothing special. But Glenn also helped Richard hook up the generator for the first time, so even social events turn into boat jobs!!! We had a good evening and are looking forward to a beach day on Friday after finishing off the long list of jobs that we have still to do…..

Bye for now

Jan

After catching up on our sleep from the restless night in Cockleshell Bay, we did a few boat jobs and then went ashore to have a look round Charlestown.  To be met at the dinghy dock by the local nutter who informed us – or should I say shouted at us – not to lock dink onto the rail. We were going to ignore him until he pointed out the official notice. Mmmmm…. a bit uncomfortable with that…. after all dink is our “car” and we would be in trouble without a means to get to and from shore. But we did as we were told and held our breath that this was a safe place…. First stop was the Pas Bar on the waterfront – free wifi – so we could post the blog and let everyone know we were safe and well.

Charlestown is a quaint oldie worldy town with very narrow streets, some cobbled and really old wooden buildings and a large number of banks. Really friendly feel and we particularly enjoyed buying fresh fruit and vegetables at the local market. While we were out we also fixed up a taxi tour of the island for Saturday as we didn’t want to hire a car for the whole day.

So back to Morphie – stowed the shopping and had a lazy few hours on board. About 5pm we went ashore, which is difficult. The beach has a large incline into the water and we were struggling to pull dink up out of the water line…. luckily Joliffe from Chevys came by to help us. So we went in there for a drink and ended up spending the evening with the owners, Chevy and Amelia (who hails from Leeds)… We had a really chilled, entertaining and informative evening also meeting their friends Peter and Vera. Joliffe cooked us some great chicken wings as well as supplying some home-made jewellery and keeping us stocked up in beers. A very cool and multi-talented dude!

Against my better judgement we ended up going for a pontoonie (maritime for one for the road) in Sunshines next door as Richard was determined that he should have a Killer Bee…. Fine – but we still have to get off that damn beach. The waves were breaking and it looked like a really wet operation in the dark – at which point Richard is determined to get naked to keep his clothes dry! Luckily for the watching population I managed to talk him out of it – but we did get absolutely soaked through. I think the lack of a dinghy dock on this beach is what deters the boaters from coming ashore in the evening……although the puppy crew didn’t seem to mind!

Saturday up early and we head in. Sadly we have to check out of Nevis for an early Sunday departure. The weather forecast is for strong winds and 3m+ seas building from Monday afternoon into next week so we are going to have to modify our plans and leave earlier than we would like – and also miss out on Montserrat as it does not have a safe anchorage in large sea conditions. So it looks like a rough 50 mile passage to Antigua straight into winds and sea – so probably another motor job. Anyway…that’s for another day.   Formalities sorted we meet up with Mr Jones who is going to drive us today. 

We travelled the whole island and historically it has a lot going for it with original plantation houses dating back to the 1670s – many of which are now boutique hotels with antique furnishings – alongside sugar mills; numerous churches with ancient graveyards; and the place where Horatio Nelson married his Nevis sweetheart. We also visited the botanical gardens; natural sulphur springs at the Bath House, where I bathed my feet in very hot natural water; volcanic beaches which sparkle with silver bits; pretty townships; and stunning scenery up into the peak of the mountain. The views were gorgeous too….  I was amused by the “monkey xing” road signs everywhere – Mr Jones, however, thought that they should all be turned into cat and dog food as they are eating a lot of the crops!!   We thought it best not to argue with him on this point…

After the tour we wandered back to the dinghy dock – with a sigh of relief that dink was still there -and Richard decided we should have a final sundowner ashore – so back to the beach landing again!!! This time assisted by a helpful tourist…. Couple of beers and a beautiful sunset later we are back on board (again a bit soggy) to do a proper passage plan and other preparations for our long day on Sunday.

Sunday morning we wake up to an alarm clock – and get ready to leave. By the time the sun starts coming up we are underway along the coast of Nevis getting our last glimpse of Charlestown.

At that point the engine alarm goes off!!!! Eeek….. Checking that we are in a safe position we turned the engine off knowing immediately that we had probably bust a fan belt. Yep…oh dear… I stayed up top watching for hazards and Richard managed to get a new one on in record time. That engine course we did before we left home paid dividends today.  Hurrah – all fixed – and off we go again.

As we came to the bottom of Nevis the seas build and the winds started blowing hard – nothing like the forecast! The waves were pounding over our deck and we quickly had to turn our dorades around as we were getting water coming in through them down below such is the force of water across us …. This carried on for a while but it was obvious that it was caused by shallow shoals where the sea was being pushed up from great depths across the top which increased their ferocity. We just need to get out into deeper water and it should all calm down. And, guess what, it did! So after a couple of hours of pretty rough and bumpy conditions it settled down and we just plowed onwards doing our hourly checks and plots on the charts, enjoying the deep blue of the water and the occasionally show put on by the flying fish.

Then about 30 miles into the journey – more than half way – the seas and wind build again. This time joined by torrential rain…. This is starting to be really really horrible and we are getting battered – even worse than on our BVI to St Martin leg – but at least we can see what is happening as it is daylight.    About a mile off the seas calmed down as we came into shallower water again…   Thank you Neptune – we both needed a boost at this stage.

After a nine hour 48 mile trip we finally made it to Jolly Harbour, Antigua, at just before 4pm – wet, cold, salt encrusted and very very tired. But it was really nice to be welcomed on the radio by Glen and Pam from Blue Pearl who are anchored off. Going into the harbour we realise that we have missed customs for the day so we have picked up a mooring ball, raised the yellow quarantine flag, and will stay on board and recover until morning.

Night night….

Jan

Stayed put Monday as planned and had a really nice chilled few hours people watching all the cruise ship guests and catching up with things online courtesy of the Rum Barrel bar. Internet service here is appalling…..the marina offers two hours complimentary use a day per boat…but it never works. A couple of the bars have it – but are so protective of the passwords that they insist on entering it for you! The best place appears to be the Chinese supermarket as we have seen loads and loads of young men on their computers sitting outside and along the walls. Unfortunately we can’t pick it up from the marina even with my extender kit and I’m not going to stoop to that!

We have made arrangements with Wayne to get fuel delivered this afternoon between 2 and 3pm. Richard went off to the petrol station earlier with him to pay – so fingers crossed it all works out. Wayne is a young guy who lost the use of one arm when he got mugged. He is very resourceful and can fix anything you need whilst in the marina. As well as sorting out the fuel he’s also taken a couple of bags of laundry for his mum to do this afternoon… Anyway, diesel turns up on the back of a truck, but the hose isn’t long enough – so we have to decant 25 gallons into one 5 gallon jug at a time and fill up the tank that way. Took ages, but great job, and no charge for the service over and above the pump price!

After we had finished this and a few more boat jobs we went back into town and wandered – suddenly, like a mass exodus, the cruise ship passengers depart as though they had never been there – and the place goes back to being deathly quiet and shuts up shop. We decide to go to the Indian for dinner as we really fancy a proper curry. It was surprisingly good – especially the naan and my mutton rogan josh – and returned to Morphie for the night.

Tuesday morning beckons – and we get up bright and early raring to go. Unfortunately the weather doesn’t agree with us as it is pouring with rain and the wind picks up… The visibility reduces and, although we really have had enough of being on the dock, we know that it would not be a good idea to leave. So we have to stay another day. In the meantime we go and sort out customs to get a boat pass to the southern bays and onto Nevis. The pilot book says you can get one which lasts for a week so you can take your time getting there. Wrong! The boat pass to Nevis only lasts for 24 hours so you either go straight there or you have to get a pass to the southern coast and then return to Basseterre to pick up the Nevis pass. We decided to get the southern approval so we can get up bright and early Wednesday and head down to the beach. Also at the same time we realise that immigration have stamped our passports wrong meaning we have to leave St Kitts and Nevis by Wednesday too….so spent some time unpicking that… Grrrrr……only the British islands are this difficult (so far)!

We really moped around all day – we have pretty much exhausted the area for walking around the marina and visited most of the bars. So went supermarket shopping and did a few more boat jobs. In the evening we had Pollie and Mo from Motivator and Alex from Nepenthe for sundowners. Nice evening.

Wednesday morning up bright and early and we left the marina – hurrah!!! On the water again…. Enjoyed the run down the coast and came into Cockleshell Bay, our destination for two nights. 

Anchored easily although a bit shocked by the depth of the water – over 1m (4ft) lower than the charts say across the bay…. But we set easily and quickly in a patch of sand among the sea grass – but snorkelled to make sure anyway. OMG – running across the sandy spot about 7m / 20 feet in front of our anchor there is a high voltage power cable!!!! Not marked on any chart – physical or electronic. Phew that would not have been fun… We went back on board and took co-ordinates to warn people about this hazard.

We are safe and secure so went ashore to the Reggae Beach Bar for lunch and a leisurely afternoon. Had a nice lunch and was hoping to see the famous pig that likes ketchup and waiting for the monkeys to come down to drink – but didn’t see either. Oh well – had an enjoyable time on the beach and were joined in our bobbing time by Alex and Carol who had come down by car from the marina for the day.

Back on board before dark – and boy is it rolly. No chance of moving now so we have to tough it out. The most miserable night we’ve spent on board for a long while – being battered by waves slapping against the hull and the nodding of Morphie as she rises up and down on her anchor chain…not helped by the knowledge that we were in very shallow water. Oh well – we survived….. but decided to scrap the idea of having another day here!

So very early Thursday morning we went back up to Basseterre, got the Nevis customs clearance pass, and sailed down on a great reach in 15 knots of breeze. A perfect 10 mile sail and we quickly found a good mooring ball – anchoring is not allowed here – and settled in. The views from this anchorage up the Nevis peak are spectacular…..

Went ashore to Charlestown – visited customs and gave them our clearance papers; went into immigration and they agreed to extend our stay for a week if we wanted (phew!); and then the marine office to pay for the mooring. Bargain…. less than £20 for a week…. Back on board and time to sample the delights of the Sunshine bar – took the dinghy up the beach and settled down to people watch the escapees from the nearby Four Seasons hotel getting a bit merry on the Killer Bee cocktail. We just had a quiet late lunch and then bobbed for a while. Back on board before dark and a quiet night enjoying the anchorage and watching the sun go down. Tomorrow we’ll work out what we do from here as there is some bad weather forecast again for next week…

 Night night….

Jan