On Monday, we moved to Souffriere near the Pitons on St. Lucia. We had a great sail and took a mooring ball over a coral patch. All the area by the Pitons is a marine park and anchoring is not allowed (to protect the coral). On our way to the moorings, we had our first experience with boat boys. They were waiting in the channel and quickly sped alongside our boat as we were coming in. They were very competitive and wanted to help with the mooring (for a fee). It was good that when we politely told them that we wanted to pick up our own mooring, they moved off. We did hire one as a water taxi to take us into town as we had to clear out with customs. The price was reasonable and it allowed us to go to town without launching our dinghy. Aaron, the boat boy, picked us up at the appointed time and delivered us promptly back at the time requested. Once we contracted Aaron for this service, everyone else left us alone. I wish we could say the same for when we went into Souffriere. Souffriere is a very poor town and many men offering directions, or bread, or whatever they could think of (for a fee of course) accosted us. "Birdman" had a different slant. He quickly carved some birds out of coconut husks for the ladies and his busker-like routine earned him a few dollars. We were only directly asked for money by little boys - one quite well dressed and I'm sure his mom would be upset he was doing that. Next time we would take a mooring closer to the Pitons. There are apparently some excellent tours to the nearby volcano and restaurants in that area. Where we were, however, the snorkeling was incredible. You could see clearly down 40 feet into some of the most colourful coral that we have seen to date. It was a great spot except for the roll. Long period waves moved around the corner of the bay and came on the beam of our boat. We spent an uncomfortable night rocking back and forth with these waves. You actually had to lie on your back and you could feel your muscles trying to hold you on the bed. There is always something to learn. We found out later it was just as uncomfortable for those on the moorings between the Pitons.

On Tuesday, we sailed from Souffriere to Bequia, a distance of 58 miles, skipping St. Vincent for another day. It was again a good beam reach in 18-knot winds with the windvane steering most of the way. We got some fluky winds in the lee of St. Vincent but had a great sail again across the channel between St. Vincent and Bequia. We flew the Q flag that night and cleared into Customs the next morning. Bequia was a great island. We even managed to go to a local restaurant for a BBQ and steel band; one of the first live steel bands we have heard on our trip. We also found a travel agent that was incredibly helpful and knowledgeable. Within minutes, she found the cheapest fare for our trip back to Toronto - and it was even non-stop. We spent some time touring the town, picking up fresh baguettes and visiting the local produce market. The local market was an experience. The first time we walked in, several vendors approached us trying to sell us, rather loudly, their produce. It was actually a bit intimidating and we left after buying some limes. The next day, Karen went in and when she was approached, said that she would buy something but she wanted to look around first. It was like magic. They all moved back to their stalls and waited while she wandered about. When she was finished, they again started the hard sell, but she said to the first fellow that she had bought limes from him yesterday and she wanted to buy from other vendors as well. This was again like magic. That particular vendor went back to his stall and the rest waited while she moved from stall to stall, trying to pick one item from each. They even helped us when we needed some grapefruit by pointing us to a shy girl from whom we had not yet been able to buy. We left on good terms with the vendors and said hello whenever we passed the market.

On Friday, we rented a taxi (open pickup with bench seats in the back) with two other couples (Safina and a French couple) to give us a tour of the island. We really lucked out, as our driver was an excellent guide and very knowledgeable about island history. It turned out he is from one of the original families. The tour took over 4 hours, as he stopped often to point out different sites or show us a different fruit or nut tree and we enjoyed every minute. He even took us to his village on the far side of the island and we had a beer at a local bar. (Women don't drink in the bar unless they are alcoholics - what does that say about Karen and her female friends on the tour?) The roads were all straight up and down so I was glad I was not driving. Along the way, we saw a turtle farm where a local resident raises turtles to about 3 years old and releases them in the ocean. Turtle eggs are popular for food and the population is getting depleted. He is hoping to raise awareness of the problem and started the operation with his own funds nine years ago. There is also a whaling station on the far side of the island. The islanders are allowed to catch up to 4 whales a year from January to April. The whaling must be done in a traditional 27-foot open whaling boat with a hand thrown harpoon. When they do catch a whale, the entire carcass is used and sold locally. Our taxi driver's brother is the local whaler, much to the disgust of the turtle conservation man. (Politics everywhere.) There is beautiful scrimshaw carving available from a local craftsman. They use either whalebone (which is rare) or camel bone, which is plentiful.

On Sunday afternoon, we went to a local beach restaurant for a dominos game. We met up with two other boats (one of which we met in Rodney Bay) and, with Safina, we had an 8 person game. There was even ice cream available at the restaurant. After much discussion, we got the rules sorted out. The rules in dominos are variable and generally have to be agreed to at the start. So we had a tough afternoon, in the shade of a tree by the beach, eating ice cream and playing dominos. Karen came in second and I will not mention my score.