St Martin/St Marteen 
A unique island - half French (great restaurants) and half Dutch (good
chandleries) is a legacy from the 1800's. We got there after motoring all
night towing a dinghy (dumb!) and stayed in Simpson Lagoon, a shallow protected
anchorage where hurricanes destroyed many boats in the 1990's. Orient Beach on the north shore is the spot for those who want to hang out at
the beach without being fettered by clothes.
St Bartholomew (St Barts)
Being French, bathing suits were scanty and restaurants were great. We
rode around on a Moke, a small underpowered buggy through the hills of this
small and expensive island.
Monserrat
We stayed 2 days at this little-visited island as it recovered from hurricane
Hugo - a disaster that closed a studio that recorded The Rolling Stones
and other class acts in the '80's. The volcano near Plymouth was a tourist draw in
1993, but since has created a disaster for the long-suffering population of this
friendly island.
Antigua
We arrived as the fleet of racing yachts was spilling out of Falmouth Harbour
- 200+ sailboats participating in Antigua Race Week. Nelson's Dockyard,
the area around the anchorages, has restaurants and facilities for
cruisers. Stone towers dot the island, remnants of the sugar mills of past
centuries that created the demand for slaves from Africa. The weekly event was the Jump-Up on Shirley Heights, a
weekly steel drum and reggae party where tourists and cruisers mix with the
locals.
Guadeloupe
A beautiful island with high mountains, lush rain forests, and smooth roads,
thanks to the French taxpayers. Sulfurous steam seeps out of the mountain
sides - testament to the volcanic forces lying within the mountains. Our
anchorage at Pigeon Island was terrible, but south at Isles de Saintes
was more peaceful as we explored Fort Napoleon.
In June we moved onto the Windward
Islands.
No Pictures
Unfortunately we have NO pictures of these beautiful islands because of the loss
of our storage locker in the USA.
| 
