Photos from the Caribbean

The inflatable paddle board has provided hours of entertainment, locomotion, and exercise. I prefer to stand and paddle it around the harbors that we visit, whereas the boys (all 3 boys) enjoy "paddle board wars."

The goal, quite simply, is to knock the other person off without touching him.Can you guess who was the champion on this day?

While sailing from Antigua to Barbuda, Christopher enjoyed playing with the various settings on his camera.

Barbuda is a long, flat island north of Antigua. We had a great afternoon walk there. Spanish Point, where we were, is uninhabited by people but there were a number of donkeys cruising around.

Barbuda is still some of the best snorkeling we have had. In part because it was the first time we had water this clear.

Sunrise in Barbuda.

Not long after leaving Barbuda, Porter caught a tuna and we all enjoyed a delicious mid-morning sushi snack. Whenever we take a picture of one of the boys with a fish he has caught, we all think about Poppy (Molly's dad). Poppy was the one who taught the boys to always hold the fish far in front of you for the photo op.

We figure from ocean to plate was less than 15 minutes. Now that is fresh!

After Barbuda, we explored the small island nation of Statia. Here we are standing on the fort that overlooks the harbor. There we learned that Statia was the very first foreign country to recognize the United States was a nation. A USA flagged ship fired a salute and the fort at Statia responded, thereby recognizing the successful American Revolution and separation from Britain.

This picture cracks us up because you can just see Sila on her anchor behind the cannon.

We did a great hike on Statia and went up an old volcano to the highest point on the island, known as Mazinga. More than half way up, we came upon a chicken who followed us for several hundred yards and insisted on being in all of the pictures we took.

We spent enough time with the chicken that we named it "Dinner" and were happy to see Dinner on our way down as well.

At the Mazinga summit, the skies opened and it poured rain on us for about 15 minutes: a perfect way to cool off.

The vegetation on Statia was unlike other fauna we have seen.

After Statia, we went to Saba (pronounced Say-ba). This island is extremely hard to access as it is a very steep set of volcanoes that seem to come straight out of the sea. This is a picture taken from our anchorage in Ladder Bay. You can see the old customs house up on the hill side, which is about a third of the way up the steps. There are great stories because everything that used to be brought to Saba had to be carried up the steps, including a piano and a bishop at one point!

 

We decided to go for a hike on Saba and hitched a ride up the hill. This was our transport.

Here you can see the view from the back of the pick up truck. The road was steep and full of curves with sharp drop offs. We all agreed that it was a little bit like a ride at Elitch's (the big amusement park in Denver), but free!

Lots of goats roaming free on many of the Caribbean islands we have visited. They are well suited to Saba with its steep terrain.

The trail coming down off of the highest peak was a bit muddy and Porter slid right into it. I was amazed by his incredible good humor and attitude despite the mud.

Here is Jack on the side of the road. In the background you can see the Saba elementary school. During recess, those children have a stunning view from their playground, 500 feet above the ocean.

We loved this sign because the Dutch engineers said there was no way to build a road on Saba. And having been on the road, we understood why!

Though the climate felt similar to us, the vegetation on Saba was very different from Statia.

Our time in Saba was not all fun hiking and exploring! In the middle of the night we discovered that a squall had flipped our dinghy. Outboard motors do not like to be submerged in salt water. So Christopher took apart the entire engine piece by piece and rinsed it with fresh water and sprayed with WD40. The good news is that the outboard now runs better than it ever has and we now pull up the dinghy every single night. Learned that lesson the hard way.

This photo was taken in the late afternoon on Saba. Soon afterward, we set off for an overnight sail to the BVI, where we have been since mid-January.

This is a very typical image- The Rabbit reading and re-reading his Asterix books and listening to the iPod. In addition to the standard pop songs, and Les Miserables, Jack also really likes the soundtrack from the movie Lagaan.

Sunset at Anegada, one of the outer islands of the British Virgin Islands. Porter can often be found playing on the foredeck by himself in the evenings where his imagination seems to take over.

The best way to carry snorkel gear to a beach in Loblolly Bay on Anegada.

Jack built this sailboat in Loblolly Bay from various things he found on the beach. It sailed very well downwind.

Here Jack has befriended a man from Minnesota who was on Anegada for the day to snorkel the reefs in the background.

Although our Leadville blood may be thinning, we still find the BVI to be hot and Porter, like all of us, appreciates the shade feature over the helm.

Porter does the dinner dishes on even nights, Jack on odd.

Squalls come through relatively regularly so rather than put on a rain jacket, sometimes it is just easier to sail the boat in a bathing suit.

We had a delightful walk on Peter Island out to sunset point where the Peter Island Resort has provided a collection of bright painted Adirondack chairs. We may need to go back there at sunset next time because the views over the USVI are sensational.

Someone recently asked us how we deal with laundry. More often than not we wash it by hand in fresh water on the boat and then hang it to dry in the sun and the wind.