Category Archives: Tourism

Descriptions of the places we’ve been.

Deshaies Guadeloupe

February 5, 2014TourismBotanical Garden, Deshaies, Deshaies River, GuadeloupeDiana

After a great time in Antigua and a fun night out with Te Mana we got up bright and early to head to Guadeloupe. It was only a five hour sail and winds were predicted at 15-20 so we were looking forward to a nice sail. Turns out those predictions were wrong (surprise surprise) and we had winds up to 35 but it was still a nice sail over. Ryan did some fishing and caught a barracuda! And he and Stanley caught up on some sleep!

The harbor in Deshaies was nice and we couldn’t believe how clear the water was. We were anchored in 30ft and could clearly see the bottom! Stanley had fun running around barking at the turtles in the water.

Deshaies has a river that runs through town and we had read about a hike you can do up the river so we went to check it out. The river is pretty but it turns out the hike is through the river climbing over slippery moss covered rocks. Not feeling like breaking an ankle that day we turned around after 20 minutes, but we did enjoy the scenery we saw.

While in Deshaies we picked up our friend Kacie! She flew into Guadeloupe late on a Monday night and luckily was able to get a taxi out to the boat. Lucky because Guadeloupe was having an island wide gas shortage and the buses stopped running, there weren’t rental cars to be found and a lot of the taxis weren’t running either. But she made it! The day after she arrived we went to visit the botanical gardens which are up the hill from Deshaies. A nice stroll through the garden was a good way to start off her visit!

Hello Kacie!

The gardens…

The Superyacht Challenge Antigua

January 31, 2014TourismAntigua, Superyacht ChallengeDiana

One of the first things Ryan noticed about Antigua is the number of amazing yachts. So, when we found out there would be a mega yacht race while we were there of course we had to go see. The Superyacht Challenge Antigua is an event with 4 days of racing and lots of partying. And no, we weren’t invited to participate! 😉 On the first day of racing we headed up the hill to get a good view of the starting line. I was somewhat disappointed that they had staggered starts and didn’t all start at the same time but I guess when you are dealing with that expensive of boats you don’t want them jockeying for position and causing damage! That might put a damper on that nights party! It was fun to watch them under sail and a beautiful day to sit looking out at the water.

Here are some pictures of the yachts (and us and Stanley too!).

Zip Zip

January 29, 2014TourismAntigua, Zip liningDiana

We had been disappointed to miss out the zip lining for Russel’s birthday in St Martin because we didn’t bring the right shoes so when the opportunity to go in Antigua came up we jumped on it! They offer zip lining in the rainforest with a ropes challenge course as well. We went at a time when the cruise boats weren’t in so we had 2 guides all to ourselves. It was a blast!

Getting ready to set out on our adventure!

Our guide Sam. Her hair was so big the helmet only went on top!

Romantic moment on the ropes course.

Ryan is totally concentrating!

Our other guide Barry pretending to be spider man.

American Tourists in the wild

January 27, 2014TourismAntigua, Tropical AdventuresDiana

On Antigua we decided to take an island tour to a feel for the island. On other islands we had rented a car and driven around but Ryan told me he was on strike from driving anymore so we signed up for a tour! We used Tropical Adventures and really enjoyed it. I decided I was going to be that person who took pictures of everything (and I mean everything!) along the way. The full day tour had many parts; the first was a rough ride in a 4×4 jeep around some of the villages on the island. Then we went up on a hillside overlooking Falmouth and English Harbors. It was a lumpy, bumpy ride but our guide was a nice gentleman named Kendrick who assured us not to worry, he was a professional driver! 🙂

Our guide Kendrick as we set off on our adventure!

Ryan’s glorious locks flowing in the breeze.

Old and new…

Above Falmouth Harbor.

Can you spot Ryana?

Ryan and the view. Not sure which is better looking! 😉

After driving through the villages and bouncing our way up the hills we stopped at a donkey sanctuary. Here you can look at and pet the donkeys but not ride them! Ryan thought they all looked sad like Eeyore but he made a few friends!

“There is only one rain cloud in the sky…and it’s raining on me.” ~Eeyore

One of the donkeys are curious about Ryan!

Ryan’s made a friend.

I think this one sort of likes me!

After all that excitement at the donkey sanctuary we had lunch at Betty’s Hope which is an old sugar plantation. Most of it burned down at one point but the sugar mill is still standing. We looked around here for a while and then had lunch delivered by some local ladies who had cooked it up themselves. Yum!

Ryan and the windmill.

Our trusty jeep.

Continuing our action packed day our next stop was kayaking. We kayaked through the mangroves on the east side of the island and found some interesting sea life! Our guide pulled sea cucumbers and jelly fish from the water as well as pointing out many different crabs wandering around. He also showed us a small island in the mangroves where they grow weed. Nice…

View from the kayak.

Ryan found a conch!

And we’re still going!! Next stop was some snorkeling off the boat.

Our final stop of the day was Bird Island where we enjoyed some rum punch and a small hike up to the top to see the view. It was such a great day and we enjoyed been shown around the beautiful island of Antigua!

Shirley Heights

January 24, 2014TourismAntigua, English Harbor, Falmouth Harbor, Shirley HeightsDiana

We had heard from every single person that we talked about Antigua with that we should go to the Sunday night BBQ at Shirley Heights. Apparently it is an Antiguan institution! Shirley Heights itself is an old Fort on top of the hill with beautiful panoramic views of English and Falmouth Harbors. It is a prime place to watch the sunset while the steel drum band sets the mood with some great music. How do they get so many different sounds out of those drums?!?! We got up there just before sunset to enjoy the views and after the sunset we tried the bbq which was pretty awesome. We sat down at one of many picnic benches and enjoyed the warm night, the food and the music (along with a ton of other people!). 🙂

The British Empire

January 21, 2014TourismAntigua, English Harbor, Nelson's DockyardDiana

Where we are staying in Falmouth Harbor Antigua is right next to English Harbor which houses the oldest dockyard continually in operation: Nelson’s Dockyard. It was built by the British as a place to keep their ships in order to protect their interests in the Caribbean. Also, it is a great protected harbor that will keep ships safe in a hurricane. Construction of the Dockyard began in the 1740s and today it is in use as a marina with a museum, lots of shops and restaurants. It was fun to explore the history and see all the restored buildings.

Another interesting thing is that here at the Dockyard they have several small boats that have been used to row across the Atlantic. They are very small, completely exposed and have just a small water tight compartment to sleep. They are not even allowed to have a sun shade up because that could be considered a sail! As we’ve been here there have been more rowing boats arriving in the harbor after 45+ days at sea in the Atlantic. Crazy! It’s fun though to hear the honks and horns of boats cheering their arrival. Our friends from Te Mana saw one arrive and said the folks couldn’t even stand up when they got off the boat! Ryan’s question…. Why would anyone do this? Don’t they know how to sail? LOL!

Let there be calm

January 20, 2014TourismAntigua, Falmouth, Mad MongooseDiana

We have finally found a calm anchorage well protected from the wind and swells in Falmouth, Antigua. After our first night here Ryan said he woke up and thought we were in a house it was so calm! The green hills all around the anchorage are really pretty and the sunsets here have been spectacular.

Here are some photos of the anchorage.

Ryana at anchor:

The amazing sunsets:

Our new favorite hangout:

Champagne wishes and caviar dreams – St Barths

January 14, 2014TourismGustavia, Shell Beach, St BarthsDiana

I guess I’m dating myself with that reference but St Barths feels like a peek into the lifestyles of the rich and famous! We arrived on a bustling Saturday night after a boisterous sail over from St Martin with our new buddy Jeff. There were about 20 mega yachts lined up at the dock and more in the harbor when we got here. It must have been the tail end of the New Years celebrations because by now most of them have left! Our first impressions were that it was so nice and clean and we had great fun people watching. We went out to a wonderful dinner with Jeff which ended with the waiter leaving a complimentary bottle of vanilla rum on the table. Awesome! 🙂

Ryan and Jeff on the sail over.

First night out.

The port of Gustavia, where we anchored, is the main town on St Barths. The streets are lined with fancy shopping and restaurants all centered around the harbor. It’s very pretty with the mainly red roofed buildings and the decorous people. 🙂 All the shops close down from 12-3 so that everyone can properly enjoy their lunch hour!

Mega yachts lined up.

Port Gustavia

More views of the port

A lone yacht after they all cleared out.

The streets quiet at lunch hour(s).

The large anchor and historic church right in town.

The view from our boat were pretty nice too.

Right near town, in walking distance, there is a small beach called Shell Beach. It’s named for all the shells and coral that have washed up on the shore. It’s pretty and convenient so we spent a few days hanging out there.

All the pretty shells.

Ryan at the lookout point above Shell Beach.

We also spent one day exploring the island via car. We went to several beaches and to the other “big” town on the island. All the beaches are beautiful and everywhere we went was so picturesque.

Oh, and we have 3 sharks living beneath our boat!!! I finally got a picture of one of them. We’re going to try to get video too!

Shark!!

Anse Marcel: NYE, skim boarding, hiking and Russell’s 9th birthday

January 4, 2014TourismAnse Marcel, St. MartinDiana

For the week over New Years we treated ourselves to a nice calm marina attached to a resort in Anse Marcel, St Martin. So not only did we not bounce around and could use our air conditioning but we got to use their pool and beach area! Definitely the nicest place we’ve stayed!

For NYE we dined at one of the resort’s restaurants and then met up afterward to ring in the New Year with Te Mana. The dinner left something to be desired but at least the company was good and we had a fun time after with friends.

In a celebratory mood!

Heather getting down with Stanley!

The beach at the resort was really nice and Ryan wanted to school Russell on his skim board so they went out to play. Sadly, it was Ryan who got schooled since the 8 (almost 9) year old Russell was a little more agile, and closer to the ground so falling didn’t hurt as much! Also, Ryan had been complaining for awhile that he wanted to be a little more European in his swim attire so after finally hearing enough Heather brought him back a skimpy little swimsuit to wear. Ryan, never one to back down, wore his new swimsuit all day at the beach. Enjoy! 😉

Conferring about technique.

And Ryan’s off!

And he’s down…

Russell looks like a natural.

Look at him go!

Ryan did get the hang of it!

You’re welcome ladies!

We did a fun hike right from the marina up and over one of the hills and down to a secluded beach that you could only reach by hiking in. We took Stanley who is always happy to go hiking and had a nice afternoon.

A nice view of the marina.

Heather taking in the scenery.

Ryan and Stanley strolling on the beach.

Stanley has a stick!

On our last day in St Martin Russell turned 9. We celebrated his birthday with Te Mana and the friends they had aboard by going to a park with zip lining and having a great lunch. Ryan and I didn’t bring the appropriate shoes to participate but we had fun being the camera and cheering crew.

Preparing for the adventure.

Darce

Adam

Russell

Emma

Kirk

More of St Martin

December 30, 2013TourismGrand Case, Orient Bay, Sint Maarten, St. MartinDiana

Since it was over the holidays we spent a long time in St Martin. Here are a few of the highlights….

Grand Case: Billed as the food capitol of St Martin it did not disappoint! We had dinner at the lolos (small outdoor bbq places) and each night were left licking our plates! We felt that the atmosphere in Grand Case was more fun than Marigot as there were more people out and about. We went to a Sunday afternoon beach party with a live band and ended up meeting some nice folks. One lady was cruising the Caribbean 7 years ago, came to St Martin and got off the boat to stay!

Grand Case

Stanley watching me swim.

Orient Bay: A long beautiful sandy beach. We saw tons of people playing in the surf and kite boarding. There is also a nudist section but I wouldn’t recommend it…shudder.

The Voyage of Ryana

Ryan, Diana and Stanley explore the world Western Atlantic by boat