The stifling heat in Antigua greeted my sister (Paul’s Mum), Merie two weeks ago. It has been pure joy to hear her excitement as she witnesses the next unexpected and revels in the numerous offbeat opportunities presenting.
I am thrilled that we are able to make new memories with someone so dear to me, someone who I only came to know in 2013 some 13 years ago by happenstance. With a 6 year age gap, Merie going away to school, and very different lives as adults we barely knew each other, but we are sisters. We came together to support our parents. I needed support in order to take them away. Merie was gamely up for it. The incredibly positive outcome is that we got to know each other through walking and talking and our shared mission to persuade our parents out and about. Merie and I haven’t looked back. We’ve found reasons and quite a few excuses to spend time together in beautiful parts of the world, and through our shared love of camping under canvas. We’re happy as Larry in a field with just very basic facilities and our respective backpacking tents.
Some highlights since Merie joined us have included time at the beach and in the sea as the sun sets the entire sky alight with an unsurpassed orange glow, pelicans diving for breakfast, lunch and dinner, flying fish flying, the ‘magnificent’ frigate bird flying majestically overhead with its huge wingspan of up to 6 feet, the comings and goings of all marina happenings aided and abetted by the ever jolly berthmasters at Jolly Harbour, and best of all, Eli’s eco tour which took us out to Hells Gate. What an incredible trip, and again, so wonderful to see Merie’s delight as we witnessed sea turtles going about their daily business, colourful and not so colourful fish swimming around the corals, sea grass and sea fans. The turquoise blue of the water intensified as we approached Hells Gate where we swam ashore to be guided through the eroded limestone formation, across the natural bridge and down the cliffs on the far side. This was a hike we shall remember for ever.
Dominica! Is this the jewel of the Caribbean?
It is an experience second to none. From the moment you arrive to the moment you leave you sense the vibrancy, the
intense colours, the ghetto blasters and steel drums, the palpable energy which for me is the real Caribbean. There’s no false gloss here, no kowtowing to foreigners, just a nation going about its daily business in the way it always has from a fisherman chopping and selling steaks of his tuna on a makeshift table by the roadside to the coconut seller with his pickup, his makeshift table, and a machete affording you the most refreshing drink on earth. People stop all the time and connect with each other whether walking or driving. The traffic is noisy and dense weaving in and out with barely an inch to spare, motorbikes are everywhere with their riders seemingly not hindered by rules or regulations! Donna likewise treasures memories from her time here when she was the dance captain working on cruise ships around the world. Otherwise known as the nature island it holds enchanting waterfalls with varying degrees of accessibility and water temperatures, bubbling mud and Boiling Lake which we visited in 2020.
Dominica and SeaCat were an unforgettable experience we wanted to share with Merie and Paul, hence 20 hours of daytime sailing there overnighting off the coast of Guadeloupe and snorkelling off the back of Sukama, and 20 hours back giving Merie her first nighttime passage and Paul an opportunity to enthusiastically share his newly acquired sailing knowledge in the wee small hours of his night watch. It was another wonderful time for all as we witnessed Merie’s joyful response to the next new and unexpected experience whether stopping at the roadside to sample fruits and spices growing in the wild, basking in hot water showering down from a waterfall superheated by the core of the earth, to having lunch at a restaurant bordered by the vast Atlantic Ocean watching as fishermen plied their art passed down through the generations. This is a nation where time honoured skills of old are still valued, where the culture of community is paramount with much hailing and shouting of greetings, the bon homie of friendship to all you know and those you don’t yet know, the hustle and bustle of the Caribbean I’d imagined but had never thought I’d be lucky enough to witness for myself. It was truly priceless.
Followed by our return to reality. Customs and immigration in Antigua, refuelling Sukama, another stern to mooring with the inevitable rise in the heart rate (!) but fabulous dock masters which helps a lot, cleaning and polishing, packing, that last chat, last drink, last meal, and taxi to the airport before that last lingering hug. Merie and Paul headed back to the UK basking in 3 degrees, Malcolm and me to Tampa Bay and 25 degrees!
Sue, Donna, Malcolm and Jen meeting at the airport Tampa Bay
It’s Thursday. We have 7 days on terra firma! Yesterday we met Jen and Donna just arrived from the UK, today is a day to catch our collective breath, a couple of days to play near the beach and then off to join Dennis at Encounter, his thoughtfully crafted conference of hugs and handshakes.