How can you not love the original name of Dominica? The Amerindian settlers, who called themselves Kalinago, and were later labeled Caribs by European colonizers, gave the land a name fitting her grand form. She does make quite the first impression! The designation, Dominica, derived from Latin for “Sunday”, the day the Europeans first […]
Posts with the expatriate tag
Karukera — The Island of Beautiful Waters
The forty-two mile sail from Antigua to Guadeloupe was fast and bouncy. The trade winds were steady from the east, but with fluctuating intensity anywhere from the mid-teens to gusting well over thirty knots. The seas were around eight feet and hitting us just forward of broadside. As usual, ¡Pura Vida! loved the high winds […]
Antigua’s Bottom and The Shirley Heights Death March
We thought we were, pretty much, done with Antigua after exploring the north and west coasts of the island over a three week period. We thought wrong. We knew there was much more to enjoy, both in and out of the water, but our goal was to get to the south coast where we could […]
Revelry and Relaxation in Antigua
Our arrival in Antigua (pronounced “an-TEE-ga” – the u is silent) heralded two major events, our first trip back home since departing the mainland almost two years ago, followed by a visit to ¡Pura Vida! by one of our favorite couples. All the excitement aside, we had to prepare to leave our home unattended at […]
The Islands That Brush The Clouds
The plan went to hell as we violently wobbled with the rhythm of a metronome for an entire night at anchor, and our possessions flew from shelves to join a gyrating melee on our salon floor. Upon departing Saint Martin, we had ten days before our scheduled flight out of Antigua to visit the U.S. […]
Vive La France!
Saint Martin, French West Indies, is unlike any other island we have visited up to now in our travels. The island is not large, but it is half French and half Dutch. We arrived on the French side just after dawn, and were treated to a dazzling sunrise with birds singing in our rigging as […]
10 Must-Sees and Off-The-Beaten-Path Anchorages in The British Virgin Islands
We like people. Really, we do. We especially enjoy meeting and socializing with other cruisers and island locals, but typically we are happiest when we are able to drop the hook in the more isolated corners of the archipelagos we visit. Seeking this kind of seclusion is what led us to spend months in the […]
Parades in Paradise
Although we are always saddened to miss Mardi Gras in New Orleans, we were excited to arrive in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, a week before their “Mardi Croix” celebration. (“Tuesday Cross”…We are aware that makes no sense.) Finally, after a year and a half of cruising, we could dust off our capes, crowns, glitter, […]
Exploring the Land of the Fat Virgin
At noon on January 20th, inauguration day in the United States, something very special happened. We glided across an invisible line in the water in an area called “the Narrows” and we entered foreign territory! This was not some grand political statement on our part, just a fun coincidence caused primarily by a weather window […]
Once Was Not Enough
If we had to pick a single word to describe the island of St. John, it would be “pristine”. A whopping 60% of the landmass of the island is within the lush Virgin Islands National Park. The park boundaries also extend to most of the sea around the island. In addition, even more underwater areas are […]