We arrived at Grand Bourg and spent a couple days there, one of which included renting a car with Denis and Arlene. For 39 Euros, you can get a car for the day and run out of road before you run out of time!! Along with many windmills originally designed to crush sugar cane years ago, we saw a couple of rum distilleries and mile after mile of sugar cane.
A stop at lunch time got us to a nice restaurant with a view of the ocean! Curried goat (Dawn), red snapper (Laurie) and octopus (Denis and Arlene) were all delicious! Beer couldn't have been served any colder!
Denis, Arlene and Laurie and I found a part of Canada here in Marie Gallant!
These sea gulls lined up nice and pretty for picture taking!
Soon after arriving in Marie Gallant, Laurie and I saw many posters advertising the oxen parade to be held on Tuesday, February 21, a part of their annual Carnival celebrations. We moved to the bay next to the competition, walked the mile or two on land, and waited a couple of hours before seeing the first 'float' off in the distance. Our excitement soon dwindled as the driver of each cart beat the poor animals mercilessly with heavy whips in order to move the massive creatures up and down dirt and paved roads. They had already been walking for more than 3 hours before we saw them along the coast and we were very saddened by the event. Our smiles turned upside down quickly and we rushed back to the boat after the last cart went by us. Maybe this is the way it always was between humans and beasts of burden; but we were too soft to enjoy the spectacle.
Three judges were in a great discussion after each entry in the competition as the oxen went by. We were so struck by the whipping, dehydration, hooves slipping uphill and downhill on the pavement etc. to be too impressed by what the judges thought were the winning qualities of the animals and drivers!
In Port Louis, Marie Gallant, we met with the sailing vessel 'Charlotte D.' out of Cape Breton. We have met them several times over the past few years and enjoyed their company for a beach walk and a 3 hour lunch at a beach bar restaurant. This is Peter looking pretty happy with his crayfish.
The crew of s/v Charlotte D, Catherine and Peter.
This classic sailboat came along the coast of Guadeloupe in the middle of a big race out of Antigua called the Caribbean 600. We watched about 6 beasts go by, but then this monster tacked offshore and headed directly for us. We had to veer off to avoid him but he's much bigger than us and in the midst of a big 600 mile race which will take the winner 2 1/2 days and the looser 6 or 7 days! What a beauty!
We're off to explore Saint Francois in the morning and will likely stay here for 3 nights. There are kite surfers, wind surfers everywhere! Let's hope nothing gets tangled in our rig!
When we leave here, we'll spend a couple days in Saint Anne and then move to the capital of Guadeloupe, Point a Pitre. We'll do a few repairs aboard and await Hugh and Liz' visit with us on March 3rd.
