23rd Feb St Martin

        We finally reach the Anse Marcel endpoint at last a beach for me to lie on (together with the hotel residents on beach chairs)  The water a pleasant 25C and powder gold sands.  Malcolm heads off to pick up t he car.  Next drive back to the marina and on to ‘Piano’ where after a cold ‘President’ and finally re fitting the Yankee in nil wind I cook Pork in mushroom sauce with Garlic mash and veg.
  I decide that I have had sufficient of walking so I take Malcolm right to the top of a mountain/hill where we both have a look at the view and I then continue to Grand Case to read on the beach.  A couple of hours later Malcolm finds me but in a strop… he started out well but the path soon disappeared so he had to back track and waste time looking for another.  Needless to say with no luck he ended up following the road and was not a happy bunny when he arrived.  A good job I had saved a cool beer for him !
  Final day with the car and we go into Philipsburg to get an underwater camera.  Another Pentax which will also replace the old Optio which has been superb so far but which is beginning to play up.  I also take the opportunity to do a bookswap at the Business Centre.




Sunday 19th February.
 

  We travel into Marigot to watch the Carnival!  We are told to be there by 12 noon but nothing going on, so I ask a troop of taxi drivers what time it all begins and they say not ‘til 2 or 2.30! Ok so a short walk along the board walk and then a light lunch followed by a bowl of chips to fill me up. 3.30 and still no Carnival… so we wait around until we hear some loud music… then it all begins just in time we have missed the first few trailers but the following are very good. I mean LOUD music banks of speakers banked up around the front and back of the trailers.  Each float has a number and it’s final placing number.  No order to the procession but by the time they reach us they are wilting with the heat and dancing.  The new camera has a mind of it’s own.  I let it choose it’s own features and hope for the best. (fingers crossed). 
   Monday—Malcolm needs a day shopping for a new propeller for the new outboard— hey yes—plus new anodes, of course we also need salad stuff and fresh greens too, we finish at Barnacles for happy hour and have a chat with ‘Blackthorne Lady’ and ‘Mervin’ telling them we hope to travel to Grand Case on Tuesday.
  Second day of no problems we have a fine sail around the island and finish up anchoring in Grand Case Bay—who is just leaving but ‘Anna’ aboard her catamaran together with umpteen guests.  After tea we go ashore for their Carnival,  the street party and at last a lobster dinner– yummy.
Ok back to the Lagoon, where the freezer needs another look, it is up to its' old tricks!