1ere visite de Numa et Asia - août 2011

Bella Vita !

Che Bella Vita !

Sirotant un (léger) pastis, face à un splendide ciel au couché du soleil, je me remémore les bons moments avec Numa et Asia venus passer 2 semaines à bord ;(mi-août !sic les jours et les semaines passent si vite !)

Après de chaudes retrouvailles, découverte de Grenada : son marché, ses cascades (riquiqui pour les Suisses et le Norvégien ha ha), sa manufacture de muscade, ses distilleries de rhum, ses routes enchanteresses au milieu d’une végétation très abondante…

Seven Sister, Grenada

Les gens ici sont charmants et blagueurs, les rues sont propres et nous ne ressentons aucune insécurité

 

Remontée pépère des îles nous séparant des Tobago Cays : notre but final.

Snortling, badminton sur la plage, « observation mangrove » en kayak, découverte - qui tourne à l’expédition !?! - de Carriacou à vélo.



Mangrove, Carriacou

Mangrove, détail

Une panne de moteur et un avis de cyclone retarde notre départ de Carriacou pour Union. 

île paradisiaque

à moi la bouée !!!

Excitant slalom entre les patates de corail pour trouver notre ancrage de rêve aux Tobago Cays.

Depuis ma dernière visite en 2004, les choses ont bien changé ! La zone est décrétée parc naturel, des bouées (payantes) sont à disposition et une grande réserve « de tortues » est limitée à la navigation.

Du coup, 5 min. après notre immersion dans une eau vert-turquoise, nous apercevons  une grande raie léopard (aigle de mer) et une grande tortue !

Les 2 jours suivants sont un enchantement perpétuel dès que l’on a la tête sous l’eau – (sur l’eau aussi d’ailleurs ;-)) La barrière de corail est riche en flore et faune de tout genre et le « parc » à tortues est un vrai bonheur !

Nager si près de ces paisibles créatures pouvant devenir centenaire (pour autant qu’elle n’ingère pas de plastique qu’elles confondent avec les méduses dont elles régalent) est une expérience jouissive.

Numa et moi étions à peine sortit de l’eau quand nous apercevons à 3m du bateau une immense créature nageant en se contorsionnant comme un reptile ; je crie à Tor resté dans l’eau : sors vite !!!il y a un crocodile !!! ha ha en fait il s’agissait d’un requin « nourrice fauve » mais d’une taille impressionnante !

Retour à Grenada, Asia et Numa s’envolent..

Pour me changer les idées, passons notre vendredi soir au « Tiki Bar » de Prickly Bay (au sud de Grenada) : bière, pizza à l’italienne (si,si!) et rock n’roll endiablé ;-) je réussi à me tordre la cheville méchamment : une bonne entorse : 3 semaines à l’arrêt ! Le lendemain, Tor saute du kayak et scroutch ! juste sur un oursin ! Résultat des courses : nous boitons tous les deux du pied droit ! ha ha

 



Bella Vita II

 

Gennaker...et ptits caleçons ;-)



mais oú est passé l'arbitre?



Pelican



Raie Léopard, Aigle de Mer

Raie Pastenague



Belles retrouvailles



Grenada 4th September 2011

Our life as off season sailing tramps in the Caribbean is, as expected, still very pleasant.

We returned to the south Grenada last week after an excursion to the Tobago Cays.

Tobago Cays underwater creatures I.

Tobago Cays underwater creatures II.

The tropical storms passing east of us interrupt the otherwise steady 15 knots easterly tradewinds, resulting in a series of fairly predictable windless days.

The three nights we spent at the Cays, facing the Atlantic ocean, was dead calm.

Art II.    Below: Artist to the right

Art I.

Valentine's grown-up son and daughter left us early this week after a two week's visit.

Grenadian Mainroad

Following the Cays trip, we rented a car here on Grenada, and spent a couple of days driving around the island. 

Rain forest, waterfalls not very impressive neither for swiss nor wegian, but nice combination, though.

Muscade / Nutmeg, on the other hand, is a very impressive plant, and an important export article for Grenada.

And then there is the rum distillation and blending. In every possible variety.

The driving experience on the wrong side of narrow and windy roads is also a part of it.

Our impression of the people we meet on this island being remarkably approachable and friendly, is constantly supported.

Welcome to Nutmeg Factory II.

Welcome to Nutmeg Factory I.

 Having the first guests living on board Yum-Yum has been a different experience, after 2 ½ month with only the two of us. Food supplies, meals and other small practical matters calls for a little more organization with visitors.

The Swiss family are very playful people, if a play or the necessary playing tools are not available, something new is invented or improvised on the spot.

The scenes that took place on the beach the last day of the visit, was quite a spectacle, I believe. Especially the part with the blindfolded sea-monster chasing one of the other three, who would become the next monster, and so on.. great fun!!

Number 8 badminton and badminton with double separation lines are new and interesting games. Some good card games new to me, and some new to the world are also among the good memories from the last weeks.

Nutmeg Factory Ladies

Nutmeg Factory Lady

Nu








Plans for the near future is pending a little, we are waiting for answers from local suppliers to decide witch of our expedition preparations that can be done here on Grenada, and what will have to be delayed or organized in other ways.

We are meeting new and “old” sailor friends everywhere, and there is, as expected, a list of repair, maintenance and upgrade issues that grows at approximately the same speed as they are being taken care of.

We are very satisfied with our Yum-Yum-life. More and more so.

We are both in the process of adapting ourselves to a much more laidback lifestyle than before, a completely different climate, and with limited possibilities to blame our few lightly grumpy days on anything or anyone but ourselves.

I find myself often thinking nowdays, that life doesn't need to be much better than this.

A part of the Yum-Yum experience is to be very far away from friends and loved ones back there. Under these conditions I feel rich to have good memories and pleasant and realistic dreams that often include the people I care for.

People that really want me to have this life now, and who have supported me in getting here.

Thanks!

Tor

Small Falls, Great Fun

20 minutes before Darkness Badminton

Welcome to Grenada!

Another Watchtower?

Advanced Guessing

Still hanging around here with your camera??

House Band at Lambie Queen, Tyrrel Bay

Ready for Landfall

Really Goood Mohitos!!

Happy Reunion

How come he allways ends up at the engine?

Petit Tabac, Tobago Cays

Happy reunion II

III

Escape or entertaining?

Grenada 10th August 2011

Carnival; day 3

The Yum-Yum adventure have reached its first planned pitstop at the bottom of the Windward Islands.

Allmost two weeks have gone since we arrived in Grenada.

The island and the people here, both visitors and inhabitants, make this a good place to stay.

On the meteo we watch the tropical depressions que up and pass north of us.

Our insurance company calculate Grenada as safe enough to cover us, but the scars from hurricane Ivan's visit in 2004 are still very visible on the island.

So, we keep an open eye in direction of the US Hurricane Center.

We plan to visit Grenada a little more thoroughly than the other islands we have surfed past on our way down from St Martin. (Islands we definitely want to come back to later)

The south coast has many small, deep bays that offer sheltered anchorage and stunning views both over and under water.

This is also the cruiser's preferred meeting places of the season.

Checking out Swiss or Norwegian flagged boats is of cause compulsory, the other way round we also get Dutch visitors with news from our homeport Gravenhage. Or not.   
Combined with all other kinds of meetings, we find ourselves in midst of a pretty dynamic social world here.

And many crews are sort of heading for the Pacific like us.

We get a lot of good ideas, sailing routes and time schedules that might be incorporated in our cruising plans eventually.

Last week everybody were enjoying the local carneval.

Exept from some grumpy, red eyed sailors who eventually had enough of the constant thump-thump-thump-calypso shaking their boats around the clock.

It was amazing to see how the locals more or less constantly paraded after the heavily loaded PA/Disco trucks in fancy costumes, accompanied with lightstics from sunset to dawn.

On our walk the third day we stumbled over people sleeping more or less everywhere.

The guy in deep hiberniation upright on his feet, nose perfectly parked in the corner of a concrete bus-stop shack was a special sight.

Grenadines stands out from the crowd celebrating their carneval in August.

The event incorporates celebration of independence, and is fortuantely located on the calendar as a tourist magnet.

But then, Carneval is per definition the starting point of the Lent.

We feel a little uncertain when it comes to which «carne»(=meat) we are going to «val»(=stay away from) in the following weeks.

We'll find out soon enough.

Tor & Valentine

Dignified Colours

Greeen

Heavy rig

How did I end up here?

The Lime Rig

Liquid Circulation

Lonely Bird

Missus with tail

Conch