The Glamorous Life … Really?

The Glamorous Life … Really?

Tuesday 30th - Wednesday 31st January 2024

When we talk about our travels we do tend to emphasize the positives and I think it would be easy to imagine that we live a glamorous life. We recognize that we are extremely fortunate to be able to pursue our adventures, and there are plenty of times when it is simply wonderful. However, the last couple of days have reminded us that it isn’t always so glamorous. After returning our rental car we were looking forward to a couple of quiet days with more time on the boat, getting a few jobs completed, planning our next moves and relaxing a little. Then the weather changed, the trade winds wilted under the influence of a front that moved off the USA and into the Bahamas, and the anchorage became very “rolly”. After six days of top quality, smooth seas, we experienced really uncomfortable swells in the harbor. I’m not referring to a gentle rocking, I’m talking about a periodic metronome-like effect that made it difficult to stand or do anything constructive on board. Gloria and I took a sunset swim to cool down and were able to inspect the barnacles on the underside of the hull as Cotinga rolled from side to side. Last night we decided that we had to lower the dinghy (with engine attached) down from the davits because we weren’t sure that we could secure it well enough to avoid breaking something. As it turned out, the “Dainty Dog” was quite happy sitting in the water with the davit lines loosely attached to stop her drifting under the stern that was bouncing wildly up and down. However, the pin holding the block and tackle to the bow of the dinghy worked its way loose … not once, but twice during the course of the night … we have subsequently wired that in place. We both ended up taking Benadryl and retiring to bed shortly after 8pm. I decided to sleep in the main cabin, right in front of a fan. Did I mention that when the wind died it became oppressively hot? We did manage to do some laundry, always a joy when you are using a 3- bucket system, one for the wash and two for rinses. The good news is it didn’t rain and we were able to hang our washing on lines in the cockpit, and it actually got dry.

This evening I am happy to report that the conditions have improved. I can’t honestly say why, as the winds are still light and variable, but the rolling is greatly reduced. As a consequence of the weather outlook (light and variable followed by persistent winds from a southerly direction) we have decided to delay going south to Martinique and take the opportunity to go north to Marie-Galante and the Isle de La Petite Terre. The latter requires settled weather to enter the anchorage over a sand bar (more on that in days to come). This morning we went back to customs and immigration to complete a formal check-out from Dominica, and this afternoon we took a walk to the top of East Cabrit, a prominent hill to the north of Portsmouth. This is part of the old 18th century English Fort Shirley complex, which has recently been renovated and is now a National Park. 

I want to finish by mentioning our dinner this evening. Fresh tuna, marinated in ginger/sesame/soy and pan seared, served with a leek and scallion risotto, sautéed plantains and tomato and cucumber salad. It was excellent … if I say so myself! Fresh meat is really hard to find here, but yesterday we passed the fish market and were able to buy a whole, fresh caught small tuna (maybe 2-3 pounds) for 20 $EC or ~ $8 USD. We had the fish cut up into pieces (at no extra charge) and it will feed the two us for 2 meals. It was absolutely delicious.

The good news is that tomorrow we will be offshore and able to pump out our holding tank … if that isn’t glamorous, what is !!!!

I should say that we have loved our time in Dominica … great place, fabulous people.

Mike

Tropical Rain Forest from the Syndicate Falls nature trail ... during a torrential downpour!

Blue Headed humming bird

Sunset on Monday evening taken from the dinghy. You can barely see the swells that were causing the uncomfortable rocking

The view from the top of East Cabrit, with Portsmouth harbor on the right (with all the boats!)

The very busy dinghy dock in Portsmouth. It's helpful to use a stern anchor in addition to tying up to the dock

A yellow crowned night heron eating a crab on Portsmouth beach

A tiny hermit crab in a small shell (~ 1 cm)

A lizard lit up in the late afternoon sun. Most of the lizard photos I have taken used flash light. In this case it's all natural light (F16 at 1/20s keeping the camera steady by bracing it on an adjacent tree. this was the sharpest of 6 shots I took)

The amazing tuna dinner!