Island Time

In late January we wrapped up our time in the states and flew back to the boat.  Arcadia had been moored in Jolly Harbour Marina (Antigua) since the Atlantic crossing.  We were excited to get there and begin a new style of cruising in the Caribbean.  In the Mediterranean, we were often on the move, as we strove to see and experience all that we could.  But our approach to the Caribbean would be more relaxed; a slower pace and more time at each anchorage getting acquainted with locals and other sailors.  

Another benefit of the Caribbean is that the winds are known for being steady and predictable. As advertised, our first Caribbean sail was gorgeous.  We took a little trip to Barbuda, a small island a four hours north of Antigua.  We spent a few quiet days there, anchored in front of mile-long white sand beach.  Large sea turtles swam around the boat each day, and we were close to  a coral reef that made for nice snorkeling.  

After a few days we were ready for some civilization and returned to Antigua to check out a popular spot, Falmouth Harbour.  While dropping anchor, Neil noticed that the boat next to ours had a homeport of Kansas City!  Proving that the world is small, we soon realized that the owners were friends of my family.  Within hours, we joined them for music and barbecue at an iconic overlook, called Shirley Heights.  They introduced us to a number of other sailing couples, and connected me with a WhatsApp community of women called SeaSisters.  Previously, I’d had some concern about making friends while cruising so it was amazing to connect with the community so quickly. We spent several more days exploring the hiking trails, beaches, and old British forts of Antigua.  We also did some scuba diving, and enjoyed spotting a seahorse, eels, stingrays, lobsters, and starfish.  And… although we couldn’t see them, we could hear Sperm Whales singing underwater.   Super cool. 

Our next destination was Guadeloupe, a French island about 40 miles, south of Antigua.  Most of our time there was spent in the Cousteau Marine Preserve.  Each day we were able to swim right off the boat, or take short dinghy rides into the preserve and snorkel in the coral reef for hours.  We also spent time in “Iles des Saints”, a group of small islands off Guadeloupe’s mainland.   French is spoken almost exclusively there, but we managed.  We especially enjoyed the delicious French food, and had fun touring the tiny island in a rented golf cart.  The last item of business in Guadeloupe was to trek to the giant French grocery store on the mainland to stock up on affordable, delicious groceries, which aren’t always easy to find in the Caribbean.  It was entirely worth the three days it took to complete the errand. Truly. 

The next country we visited (and last for this blog) was Dominica.  It was incredibly unique and definitely our favorite so far.  It was also special because Becky and Libby (my sister and niece) joined us there. Dominica is a self-governed nation and is far less touristy than the rest of the Caribbean.  Most  businesses are small and run by families of modest means.  More than 60% of the island is natural, comprised of mountains, volcanoes, rainforest, waterfalls, and simple agriculture. Every kind of produce you can imagine grows and is celebrated there.  Dominica is also special for having the only territory dedicated to an indigenous Caribbean community.  The people who live the protected villages are decedents of the Kalinago (sometimes called Carib) people.  Colonialism wiped out 40-50 million indigenous Caribbeans, but in Dominica, about 3000 Kalinago remain and are trying to preserve a small piece of their culture.  

Because  roads are tricky, and locals have so much knowledge to share, we  explored Dominica by arranging a few outings with guides.  We did loads of hiking, climbed waterfalls, swam through a freezing cold canyon, soaked in tubs heated with volcanic water, took a rowboat through a nature preserve, toured a chocolate farm, explored red rock formations and more.  As luck would have it, one of our guides was a lovely Kalinago man named Shadow, who shared a bit of his family story with us, making our time with him even more special.