Leaving Dominica

 We are under way  from Prince Rupert Bay, Dominica to St. Pierre, Martinique; having weighed anchor at 7 a.m.  The wind, rather light, is finding its way between the jagged peaks miles away, and causing Cat Tales to move between 3 knots and 7 knots, at times.  Dawn just yelled out 7.6 knots, making a liar out of me.  The boat flaps sails, goes silent, speeds up and the sound of the short waves going by gets louder, then it repeats.

We are fishing, with no luck so far.  I didn't start fishing until after Denis' weather net, as I didn't want a repeat of the last catch, when I struggled with it during the "show".

We had a great two weeks in Dominica.  The first was during Yachtie Appreciation week, and for the most time with lots of friends including Dan and Cindy of Sitatunga, Steve and Maria of Aspen, and new friends Gil and Diana of Sarenada - from north of Toronto.  We took in the first Sunday barbecue, enjoyed the town of Portsmouth, and hiked Section 12 of the Waitukubuli Trail.  The Trail hike was the toughest, most ambitious hike Dawn and I have done, taking 5 hours with tremendous variations in altitude and attention to be paid to almost every footfall.  A 5 foot boa constrictor under foot improved our concentration.

The group resting before tackling the next section of the trail.

Slippery and very steep.  Five hours up and down was getting a bit long!

Every mile or so, we'd spot a bench.  Laurie's hogging this one!

Steep, steep, steep!

We're still smiling because we've only been hiking for 2 hours, with 3 to go!

Dawn and I also enjoyed 4 days if hiking the Cabrits Park, which is made up of an old fortification - and excitedly found some of the old ruins that we have been searching for over the years.  We include a pic of an artist's  rendition of the Cabrits so you can see what we are talking about.  What the artist does not show is the reforestation that has occurred since the last cannon was fired.

The ruins at Fort Shirley being taken over by the trees and growth.

Fort Shirley, now called the Cabrits Park, showing how expansive it all was.  Great hiking, every year.

Dawn and I also finished off yesterday an effort to get to the top of the mountains behind Portsmouth.  We came to the top of a true mountain, but the forest was so thick we have no clue where we were.  Time to bring some GPS equipment on our hikes.  We walked part way with a friendly farmer who shared the water from a few coconuts with us on our return down the mountain.

This trail had lots of coconuts that litter the path and then sprout to grow another palm!

This farmer called himself Dadwah, King of Peace.  We met him yesterday on the way up a mountain.  We'll look for him again next year.  You cannot imagine the difficult terrain he farms.

I got involved in an effort to create some brochures for one of the boat boys, and pressed into action both Dawn and brother Kenneth (for the French translations).  However, the result was fabulous, and we hope that it improves the life of the fellow and his partner, a taxi/tour driver.  I also wrote up some stuff for the Caribbean Compass, to help promote the area.  This was all made rather difficult by a mishap on the first Sunday, when, arriving back from the barbecue (the one with complimentary rum), Dawn missed her step and fell into the water at the back of Cat Tales.  I was able to find an old camera for sale in town, but so far it is not even close to the quality of the older one we had, given to her by her colleagues before heading south.  By the way, her underwater camera broke in Bequia (not rum related).

Dan and Cindy at the complementary dinner at Fort Shirley.  Notice Laurie photo bombing this one.  He volunteered to bar tend for the boys, when other work had to be done.  Talk about the 'fox in charge of the hen house'!

Our plan is to stay overnight in St. Pierre, check in to the country and do some internet if we can, then head to Anses d'Arlet for rest, relaxation and some snorkelling.  After that, hopefully still enjoying this lull in the winds, we'll get back to St. Anne and Marin to pick up boat parts we ordered a few weeks ago.  We spoke with Brian on the ham radio during Denis' weather broadcast, and he and Lorna are still in St. Anne.