Sint Maartin - February

   On arrival we anchored in Marigot Bay. And enjoyed our first week  with a minor swell due to ocean waves, coupled with the occasional fast motor boat and the endless tourists having a go in speed boats or jet skis.  There is a very nice Creperie just inside the Lagoon where we anchor to do the paperwork.
  After a day we find that in the channel is a laundry called ‘Shrimpies’  where we can do wi-fi with a coffee or a beer, plus Mike knows all there is to know in the area so is the right chap to ask for advice.
  Our Dutch friends Simon & Nel arrived by plane around the 8th so we spent time with them doing lunch and generally chilling out.  We also took them and their daughter Anna out for a days sailing which everyone enjoyed immensely.  During their stay we also managed to find time to sort out the master switch for the generator/shore-power/inverter selector—for which there was no replacement at short notice, put the Yankee sail in for a new UV protector strip and sort out the rev counter on the main engine.
  Well! I've come to the conclusion that if I wipe furniture polish over EVERYTHING WOODEN once a week that keeps things ship shape. Since there is so much wood I do a little (ha) every day.  We have been at anchor for nearly two weeks now and the washing is piling up.  Now that we have fixed the machine (and improved on the design of the door-locking mechanism ) we need some fine weather to dry the stuff.  Did I tell you it rains here? At least twice some days, but it does mean we have plenty of water. 
At last the Yankee sail was dry enough to repack, & we went to the sail-makers to find that she thought the sail to old to put a new UV strip on so is now going to patch the old one .  She was amazed that the webbing re-enforcements are 8 thickness’s plus the UV and sail fabrics and her machine won't go through them !  She will do her best with repairing the old UV strip but we may have to resort to a new sail next time it goes. It may be ready tomorrow.  We also called into the Yanmar/Yamaha specialist, but he no longer does Yanmar repairs so has given us another guy to try, (Glen) while there we tried to source a bit for the outboard which Duncan had serviced while we were in Trinidad- he had forgotten to replace the bit which stops you trying to pull the start cord while the engine is in gear . This means that it is very dangerous if you happen to pull with out checking- the boat goes off at full speed and you end up in the water ! Meanwhile the three way selector switch has been removed and bypassed in the interim so that we can still use the 3 machines (Genny, inverter and shore power) but no replacement is available and after dismantling it no much chance of repairing it. Watch this space for more news...
  Now for fish & chips the captain is cooking
Another day aboard Malcolm has fixed the switch! And found a replacement for the rev counter on the engine, a brief worry that we had no 24cm ring spanner to do the job but hey at the bottom of the locker we found one. Plus the sail maker has phoned to say the sail is ready but we missed the call so more to do tomorrow.
I made shepherds pie tonight and we sat in the cockpit 26C in the pouring rain (the first shower of the day)
  As you can see life is all go while aboard 'Piano'  hopefully we will see some of the island now most jobs have been done...

  Saturday, after seeing Glen, he told us that the Yamaha  outboard is past it, he offered us a 3 month old Daihatsu 9.8 for $900 plus the old Yamaha ($400) in part exchange.  Next called round at Shrimpies and did emails and when we told him the Yamaha story he said “Why I have just the motor for you another 9.8 Daihatsu but only $800 plus the old Yamaha”, so we pick it up on Monday.
  Meanwhile Mike also fixed us up with a hire car so Saturday we set off to explore the Island.  First a short walk along the coastal path then we end up having a meal out at the far corner.  VERY TASTY !  Sunday back off to the North of the Island and another coastal walk which was ok while trotting along the shoreline but pretty hard going up the boulder strewn mountain and down again the other side

Suriname to St Lucia

I partly expected the Captain to write up the voyage back to St Lucia, sorry but you’ve got me again!  Well it was fast.  That said the Aires did all the work with the Captain taking a turn when needed.  I know that the little helming which I did was very exhilarating.  Once the sails were set for the course they didn’t need changing at all apart from the occasional tweak for maximum performance.  We had one or two squalls which required the foul weather gear to come out but otherwise good weather.  We saw very little in the way of wild-life—the ubiquitous flying fishes and a couple of small Dolphins but that’s about it.
I did the graveyard watch from nine or 10 ‘til one or two depending on how long Malcolm let me sleep for.  He rarely woke me the next morning but after Tea he usually went for a ‘lie down’  Rodney Bay was a welcome sight as we entered at half– past midnight on Sunday morning. ( 680 nautical miles in just over 3 days!)
     We both slept late and prepared for customs the next day.  After mooring in the Marina we were greeted by many people who remembered us from last year,  ‘Prudent’ came out to fix the freezer and didn’t charge us ( maybe he enough last year ?) and John & Vincent at Regis checked out the Auto-helm motor and fixed the brushes on that so that it now works again.  The marina pool was well used and I attended one of the Ladies lunches where I met many more familiar faces.  On Saturday evening we went to the Sailing club with Daphne & David and had a great time what with a BBQ and disco to dance at.  Also on Monday we ate out at ‘Buzz’ (it was my birthday treat.
  We left St Lucia on Wednesday morning and had another fast ride up here to St Maartin.  It took another three full days, however, there was far more to see in the way of Islands and not as many squalls—at least on my watch.
  I have now brought you up to date so I can upload this as soon as we get wi-fi again.  This time there are no new pictures to look at on Picasa.

Birkendal Resort Saturday 7th January 2012

Birkendahl Hertiage Village, Suriname.

      After a very late night doing emails, baking bread and preparing for today's activities we manage to sleep late.  Awakened by Esther phoning to say that she is on her way we rush to pack all we need for a days relaxation.  Maria is with us so we need two cars for the six people and all the equipment.
  We arrive close on 10 o’clock and unload hammocks, BBQ, cool boxes and so on, during coffee most decide to go ‘ziplinning’ after lunch and some canoeing or hiking after that.  Also at coffee Esther makes a short speech to give Malcolm his birthday present.  Ok it’s a day early but there are six of us so it’s a good opportunity for celebration.
  An early lunch is needed so Otto prepares the BBQ and we girls set the table, just time for a cooling swim in the river.  Wicher has marinaded a huge fish with lime ginger and other spices which is served with Pasta, rice and green salads, BBQ sauces and hot Ciabatta bread.

  The team set off for an introduction to ziplinning and then depart, photos in Picasa.  On their return we have another bite to eat and the next activity is canoeing or hiking.  Otto and I chill out and neatly avoid a downpour in which we manage to keep everything dry-ish.  Maria cuts the hike short and the canoeists return absolutely drowned! More food on the BBQ scallops, chicken, chops etc. Then we realise that the resort closes at six thirty so we make a hasty retreat avoiding what rain we can. 
  The only blip in a fantastic day is that Esther’s car decides it needs more attention. The problem oil leak causes more trouble and the day is ended by towing it home.
That aside I must say here that Suriname is making a great job of tourism, none of the tacky trash which comes with western ideas about travel, a country with pristine nature areas and plenty to offer. It rightly deserves the title ‘Jewel of the Jungle’.
    Monday, we cope  with checking out of Suriname, final shopping care of Robie & his taxi and take Esther lunch now that she is car-less.  Later we are Maria’s guests for dinner at her apartment.  More Celebrations for the birthday boy and we get back to ‘Piano’ late but happy.
  Tuesday all set and off we go.  No I don’t believe it! The auto pilot is not working and Malcolm’s Dell is really competing for first prize, a close run competition since the freezer is back to it’s old trick of only freezing half the food!
We continued on towards Paramibo and calibrate the new log on the way , then drop anchor in front of the Hotel.  After unpacking the hold and testing the electrics, Malcolm decides that the motor is caput.  We have now missed the favourable tide so chill out catching up with Fred & Marianne (Kostad) whom we last saw in Portimao.
  No need to go ashore here, we wake early on Wednesday and begin our sail to St Lucia.
I’ll leave that ‘til the next Blog.

Warappakreek Exped. Thursday 5th January 2012

 
  Our first trip of the New Year is to the coast.  This is via a canal and the Commewijine River,  with lunch in the Warappakreek.  We meet with the tour guide ‘Joke’ and other explorers to first board a coach to Commewijine.  Here we take a motor boat for an hour or so up-river and into the Alliance area.  On route we see plenty of bird life and mangrove swamps.  Joke fills us in on the historical facts and eco numbers and allows a stop to visit a tiny village which has a museum.  Here we see many artefacts which were dredged when the swamp was cleared into the canal which we will be using.  We stop again at the Alliance Plantation where we board a tractor driven carriage to tour the state run farm. We see grapefruit, oranges, sugar, bananas, tomatoes and much more.  Our driver stops to pick us each an orange to eat on the way back to Lunch.  Lunch is the typical chicken soup, followed by  more chicken, rice, salad, noodles and spicy fries.  All pretty yummy!
    After lunch we continue along the beautiful Warappakreek.  Here we glimpse young Scarlet Ibis not yet Red and Blue Herons.  On into the canal,  the only difference being the canal has dead trees bordering it.  Joke explains that the Plantation owners drained their land which has caused such devastation.  Not even a mangrove for vegetation.  We arrive at the sea and a bird hide where we can view more Scarlet Ibis and a peculiar 4-eyed fish.

It seems to have double eyes on each side for above and below the waterline.  The return trip is punctuated with sundowners of Suriname’s Liquid Gold (namely Borgoe Rum), olives and cassava crisps.  We fill in Jokes’ comment book and I try to remember to add this day out to the Lonely Planet website. 
  It is decided that we will take Maria to an Indian Restaurant, she is ready with ‘tif and nibbles—most welcome before we find the eatery fill ourselves yet again with delicious food and end the day.

New Year 2012

     Happy New Year to all my intrepid readers!  Some of you will already have had New Year emails which are more flamboyant but to those not on the ’funnies list’ we wish you all a Healthy and Happy ’12.  Those of you in the UK will no doubt be looking forward to the Olympics this year…?
  Our Year started in style.  On New Years eve we took Ottos’ motor boat into town to watch the Firecracker Extravaganza.  It started around 12.000 midday and continued in earnest until 15.00.
We watched with our hands over our ears as each shop in the High Street competed for the longest and loudest run of flashes and bangs.  Sensible people had ear plugs face masks (for the smoke) and umbrellas for the ash fall out.  The city was grid-locked as pedestrians followed the exhibition.  We took lunch on the ’Waterfront’ and generally chilled out while the mayhem cooled down.  On returning back to the launch we met with Esthers’ friend Maria, who, is out for a spell freelance teaching to young lawyers who need English ‘legalese’ to contend with their jobs.  Maria joined us for the rest of the day and the evenings frivolities.  We drop by at ‘Piano’ to pick up supplies etc then go on to the house to begin our own entertainment. 
  The evening is spent eating drinking and being merry.  We had a fantastic BBQ on the patio, from where we could see wall to wall fireworks all night.  At 24.00 we drank Champagne and toasted the New Year, each other and our combined absent many friends.

Fireworks and bangs continued for the next 2 days...

Christmas 2011

The Christmas Holiday

  The preparations for Christmas are well underway throughout Paramaibo.  Otto & Esther have a dinner dance to attend and we go shopping for new shoes, Christmas lights, food and decorations, not to mention new furnishings for the guest bedroom!
On our return to Domberg, we meet Peter & Louise from our neighbour ‘Passagemaker’ and are invited for sundowners with them.  There boat is very interesting– it being the first of it’s type—basically a boat which can be motored anywhere and sailed when there is sufficient wind. ’Passagemaker will be 50 next year so celebrations are being planned.
  On Christmas Eve we join twelve other people from the yachts around at Ritas’ Eatery. Louise has cooked 2 turkeys and all the other boats have brought some accompanying item. Plenty of alcohol with nibbles, next smoked fish pate, some sumptuous salads with the turkey and finally chocolate cake to finish.  A memorable Christmas Eve.
  Christmas Day and Esther picks us up mid morning.  Coffee and home-made biscuits followed by the opening of little gifts. Ottos’ son Wicher makes a sandwich selection and we have a game of Suramanese Monopoly.  Then Esther & I prepare the Christmas dinner.  Five hours later we sit down to smoked salmon salad with whiskey dressing, then roast turkey, stuffing, roast potatoes sweet peppers, runner beans, pumpkin mash, cranberry sauce (with port) and gravy.

  Replete we sit down with coffee and I teach them all to play Mexican train Dominoes!
  After breakfast on Boxing Day we drive to the other side of the river to Commewijne area.  Here we pass through Frederiksdorp and Pepperpot to Nieuw Amsterdam where we tour an open air Fort. After coffee we continue  Here we use a local Ferry to take us across the river Commewijne to a refurbished plantation for lunch.  We narrowly miss seeing resident Caimans here. The drive home is through the local villages with not very much traffic.
  Turkey Curry with vegetable side dishes after dinner , more Dominoes.

Brownsberg

Sunday we all had an excursion to Brownsberg.  This is an area about 100 km from Domberg where the boat is anchored -in the Brokopondo District – so we started off early to give ourselves a full day.
  The Park is 500 metres above sea level and occupies an area of 8400 h. which was obtained by STINASU on a long-term lease basis from the Suriname Government.  Established in 1969, STINASA is mandated to, as a semi-governmental organization, "stimulate, coordinate, and finance scientific exploration and exploitation of the Nature Reserves".

Howler Monkey or did it jump?

After the drive there ( making fine use of the 4-wheel drive we had coffee and watched Orange Howler Monkeys in the Canopy layer of the trees. The park has three major Vegetation types. The hydrophytic vegetation (typified by the Pina Palm) grows in creek valleys at the base of the mountain. The Mesophyphytic vegetation is found on the slopes and is characterized by the number of different tree species including the Groenheart, Ingipipa, Letterhout/Snakewood, Cedar and Purpleheart.
 We engaged the owner of the café in conversation and he told us of the animals he has seen and showed us a pickled snake as a visual aid.  We know to look out for Puma, anteater, various snakes and other animals.  We decided to hike to Irina Falls. There was a good track which has obviously seen quite a few hikers.  Thank goodness there was, I certainly would not have enjoyed walking through the Rainforest in it’s natural state.  We were stopped almost immediately by loud noises which turned out to be some Howler Monkeys chasing a Tapir away.  This all happened far too quickly for any photos.  Next was a terrific view point where we had a cool drink of water.  We continued on mostly downhill, stopping to look and listen frequently.  We arrived at the Falls and decided to cool off in the spray before our picnic lunch.
  The return journey was mostly uphill but even so quite pleasant.  When we arrived back at the reception area we had cool beers, fruit and Cassava crisps while we watched the wonderful vista afforded by the Brokopondo lake.  This piece of land has been flooded since 1965 ish, to provide water for the country.
Second visit after Christmas...

After a brief stop at Akaribo to check on the repairs to an engine we set on our second visit to Brownsberg.  This time Ottos' son Wicher is driving and all goes well until we reach the off road section which is far wetter than last time.  Even 4 wheels in low gear make difficult work of the mud and ruts in the ‘road’ eventually we arrive.  We have coffee and set off to Leon Falls and then after a picnic lunch hike on to Irene Falls again.  It seemed a faster walk than last time but just as tiring.

 After sundowners once again overlooking the lake we check into our overnight accommodation then eat at the restaurant on site.  This is a choice of local food ,  namely chicken, rice,  noodles salad and coleslaw.
  Next day we hike to Witit Creek this is 4 km mostly downhill which makes it moderately easy on the way out.  The trail is signposted at intervals showing distance and ribbons of orange  and yellow where the trail has been moved.  We arrive at picturesque pool complete with fish and have a swim before lunch.  The trek back is more arduous but not so bad as I had expected, we had a slight rain shower so have walked in real ’Rain Forest’ now.  We also saw a frog snake.

 Otto and Wicher managed to walk straight past it but Esther gasped and backed away until we called the two back to have a look and take pictures.  Yes, it is only small but we didn’t know how dangerous it might be until we got back.  I told everyone I thought that snakes are blind but have good hearing and taste.  We gave it plenty of space as we passed around it. After a quick shower ,beer and crisps we loaded up the jeep and set off for home.

Wicher

 

Briefly stopping to dump the luggage then out to the Squeezy In.  A Chinese restaurant where you have a steaming cauldron of stock one side spicy and the other not quite so. Then you have plates of beef, chicken, pork, fish, squid, prawns, vegetables, seaweed, mushrooms and noodles. Rather like a fondue you cook whatever you please to eat and finish with a wholesome soup.  We took in the Christmas lights around Paramaibo on the way home.