A view onto the anchorage. On this day we had many rain showers moving through, lasting only minutes, if not less. We appreciated the clouds - this way it was easier to adjust to the temperatures (from -30C to plus 30C).

The dock in St. Anne. These little churches, you find them everywhere, most with a little plazza in front of them.

Sainte-Anne: le mouillage le plus populaire de l’Ile! Cette petite église est typique pour les bourgs martiniquais. Celle de Sainte-Anne fut incendiée par les Anglais et reconstruite en 1730...Il y avait beaucoup de musique et de tambours ce soir la sur la place de l’Eglise...Mardi Gras oblige! Plus la nuit avançait, plus l’atmosphère s’egayait!

And have a look at these docks - impressive and very well maintained structures.

This little town was a fitting introduction to cruising in Martinique.

After a night in le Marin - a large and very full anchorage (we thought about Nomad ...!), we went shopping.

The first trip was to the boulangerie - fresh baguettes!!!! Then an extended breakfast - we were ready for a hard day of life in the tropics.

What do you want more: You jump into the dinghy and drive up to the supermarket take a shopping card, and serious shopping could begin. We had a week ahead of us, and this was one of the best places to fill up the boat, get wine, rum - everything.

Ma première expédition d’épicerie fut au supermarché CHAMPION...Heiner et Peter sont venus me rejoindre plus tard. Ah! J’étais fébrile tellement que j’étais excitée! Des fromages, des vins, des yaourts et fromages frais, des légumes inconnus et intrigants...Il y avait ce jour la des Christophenes (aussi appelées Chayotes) en vente: j’ai évidemment demande a deux clientes de m’instruire sur la chose....je n’en ai acheté qu’une, ne sachant pas trop a quoi m’attendre !

First round went fast - we knew what we wanted, and in not time was the dinghy full.

The next round for some small items we thought we may also want to have, was soooooo much slower. The store was going to close at noon - Carnival - and every man and women on the island must have decided to engage in some last minute shopping - with the cashier working on island time. Marleyne had enough time to make acquaintances in the store - she felt like "at home" in her French environment (just much hotter!).

Ouais, Heiner faisait la queue...il y avait au moins 20 personnes devant et autant derrière...je me suis donc permise quelques escapades au travers cette foule bigarrée...mais très patiente...j’ai déniché quelques merguez, d’autres fromages, et fait la causette avec le monsieur sur la bière locale...très sympa!

Making it back to the boat, up came the anchor and we left for St. Anne a few miles down the bay - to go swimming and to relax (meaning: enjoying one of the many good red wines we had bought!).

Le bateau Aquataurus avait une cale bien garnie avec des conserves de bonne qualité (tomates, champignons, haricots, couscous, et de petits cartons avec de la crème fraîche...)...essentiels si on veut être capable de mijoter de bons petits plats même s’il n’y pas d’épicerie dans le coin. Mais ca reste quand même un challenge de trouver ustensiles et aliments sur un bateau qu’on ne connaît pas...

One week of sailing in Martinique.

Peter picked us up at the airport, via a rental, and drove us south to le Marin, showing us the coastal stretch while doing so. It gave us the first impression of Martinique (that is: heavy traffic on the highway, wonderful and charming side roads, beautiful views ...) - and we had our first beer in a small village overlooking the harbour - one which we were going to see again in a few days.

It was a wonderful way to arrive in the Caribbean!

Aussi appelée “Madinina”, l’Ile aux Fleurs, la Martinique mesure 80 km de long par 39 km...et aucun point n’est éloigné de la mer par plus de 12 km!!!! La douce France...version antillaise!

... waiting for us ....!

It is February by now, 2007, and the winter finally arrived. Late, but unmistakenly there!

It may be fun for a while, but hey, we had enough snow, and enough work removing the snow so that we can drive the car out of the garage .... we had it!

Ruth and Peter, our friends on Aquataurus, happen to be sailing in the Caribbean.

We got an invitation to join them - unfortunately only Peter, Ruth had to go back home.

Who can say NO! to such temptations!?

Martinique! Here we come ... from minus 31C windshield and parka, mitten and hats .... to plus 30C and shorts!

On the way back we stopped in Prynier's Cove - we were the last boat in the water. What a weekend we had!

Yup, that's me!

Clear sky again a short while later.

Having our first coffee in the morning, looking out into the anchorage, fog lifting. At night it was thick with fog, barely were we able to see our own bow.

Anchoring in historical Picton harbour.

The Fall colours are out ...

Thanksgiving ... a long weekend is coming up and we are heading West, with following winds (we are lazy sailors!).

Our Fall destination - weather permitting ....!

We have had very unpleasant weather the last couple of weeks. We wanted to go the islands and see the fall colours and spend our weekends there, but with heavy rain and low temperatures in the forecast, we were happy if we made it out on the boat for a single night - if at all.

Here are some views of things we are missing ....
http://www.visit1000islands.com/Gallery-1000Islands/

Instead, we are getting ahead on our house projects - well, some benefits of a lousy Fall weather!

Our summer is coming to and end ... sadly, so are our trips in the near neighbourhood. Here we had a nice walk up from Cape Vincent (US) to the Tidbet Lighthouse along the St. Lawrence Seaway.

We came across a short Quicktime movie, giving you a 360 degree view of the area - not much to see apart from the entry to the St. Lawrence Seaway:

http://www.skypanther.com/tibbetts.htm

Fishing is an all-around sport - some catch fish ... others imitate them! That's what Christian of Nomad chose to demonstrate!

I had a great skipper for the day - Antoine - all professional and eager to drive our dinghy. It was fun to have him touring us around ... as fast as the engine (4hp only!!!!) would allow. But the two of us got the dinghy flying!

Thanks Antoine, I loved your company!!!

On our way to the winery ... before Marleyne sprained her ankle. Buth then a nice car, a Jaguar, drove past and offered her a lift back to the dinghy - Marleyne had timed her fall perfectly. But it hurt a lot, and 2 weeks later, is still hurting. A momento to remember this summer holiday (?).

Sailing ... holidays?

We had a short break and went sailing for about 9 days. These were hot days on land, and we were pleased to spend the time on the water; temperatures were in the upper 30sC. Given the time frame, we did not travel much in distance, but re-visited some nice spots, and re-visited the wineries in the Prince Edward country. Unfortunately, Marleyne sprained her foot badly, which put a damper on things (and which happened on her way back from a winery ...).

But we had a good time, and eventually, we met up with friends and some very nice people.