Dominica, Sailing to portsmouth

Great day on the ocean today. No wind, so engine power all day.
Arriving in Portsmouth we did one hour of cleaning the deck, the ship and the inside of the ship. While finishing we had a big shower of rain. Nice, and perfect for cleaning off the salt water.
Now, I have a few minutes on my own on big papas place. A seaside bar very close to the boat. And with free wifi :-)
Afternoon beer.... Aaaaaaaah

just bought two strange looking fruits from a nice lady. Have no idea what it is, but she said they were nice. Price: 4 Danish kroner each.

Dominica, Swimming near a waterfall

Went on tour with the Olea family today. They were going to a big waterfall. I was glad to join. First of all, great with company. And exploring places with kids is, in my opinion, much more fun. Funny perspectives, a pleasant pace... Ole is the big photographer, and is very good with chatting with locals (get information ect.)
Lea is the big organiser. Great when exploring an island with 4 kids and two semi organised helpers (Ole and I, sorry Ole ;)
We went to the waterfall in a collective taxi. They fill it up, and then go. Cheap. 7 Danish kroner (One euro) to drive in approx 25 min.
The waterfall was very great. The most pretty one I've seen. And I've seen a few.
We had luch there, and went for a swim.

After lunch at the waterfall we went to the botanical garden. Most of all to find a schoolbus which had a little accident in a hurricane in 1979... Don't worry. Everyone were outside the bus.

Tonight Jacob is cooking chicken. We get meat a few times a week. But Lea is excellent vegetarian cook, so I don't miss meat at all.

Dominica, evening

After a hot day with lots of experiences, the evening is perfect. The kids are watching a film downstairs. Have just had a nice conversation with the skipper, Ole.
Five minutes ago Ole and his wife went on land for a drink. The two other helpers Jakob and Henning have been on a tour all day. They'll be here shortly. They might join me for a rum. Having half an hour on deck on your own is also nice though.
My clothes are hanging everywhere. I found local laundry facilities. Don't think they see many tourist there. Quite alot of people fund me very interesting, so had lots of little chats. English is spoken here, so very nice to be able to explain myself.

Dominica, Waking up

Waking, again ( I wake up a few times during the night), onboard the ship. Only this time is different. The sun is up, a queer of roosters on land are making sure it's morning. Some of the crew are already up. Five minutes later Tor is checking if I'm awake. Yep - good morning!
Coffee, and then the now almost traditional morning swim. Tor, the five year old boy, is a good swimmer can't wait for me to finish my coffee, so we can jump in the clear water. 10 meters Deep, and around 25 degrees. Excellent way to start your day.
Half an hour later breakfast is rolled oats with rasins and sugar. The milk is probably 25 degrees, but still good :-)

Martinique to Dominica

Left Martinique at 11. Skipper had to out declare us from Martinique. Meanwhile some of us stayed back on the ship, preparing to leave.
I did about one and a half hour of steering. Pretty straight forward job when on open ocean.
Not much wind today, so the engine was helping all day.
Also giving the crew a chance to charge they're their electrical gear.
The trip took about 8 hours. Plenty of time for fishing, looking at the view, talking, playing with the kids, sunbathing, drinking coffee, reading, sleeping and so on....
In Dominica a man in a speedboat wanted to show us a place to anchor. We those our own place though.
While checking the anchor place Lea was already preparing dinner.
The skipper went on land, and came back with a handful  of beers. After hours in the sun, a swim in the ocean, an ice cold beer was sooooo nice.
Now, it's 20:30. The big boys are watching a movie on the laptop. Lea is putting Tor to bed - probably both sleeping.
The rest of the crew is on the deck enjoying the "cold" evening.
Downstairs, where I'm sleeping, the temperature is about 29 degrees now.
Last night was pretty rough. Even for the experienced sailors. No one got seasick, but you don't sleep much when the ship is rolling as last night. Tonight, the sea is calm, so everyone are looking forward to a quite night.

St. Pierre, Hike again

Went on a hike today with the crew. A little warm, but still interesting. We tried to find a taxi to take us to the nearby volcano. Sunday, so no luck. Instead we did a local hike. We went up to a nearby lookout. Found fresh mangoes and Tamarin fruit.  We had lunch in the nature somewhere. Fine tour. Now we are at a restaurant, resting.
Tomorrow were sailing to Dominica.

Anse-á-l'Ane to St Pierre

My first day sailing.
My day started at 7:30. The boat was alive. The crew was slowly getting up. Tor was talking loud, his mom Lea was trying to make him speak quietly.
I got up. First thing was jumping in the sea. Lovely after 28 degrees inside the ship all night.
We had breakfast, and afterwards organising the ship to leave.
We sailed for around three hours. A very easy, and calm start.
In St. Pierre we had lunch on board and made sure the anker chain was alright before leaving the ship.
The whole crew got of and went on land. We went to a museum of the disaster in 1902 where a nearby vulcano blew up, and 30000 people died. Only one man survived. He was in jail with thick walls.
Back on the ship at around 18. The temperature is nice in the evening.
Tomorrow a hike might be waiting.