Martinique

Waterfall hike, Martinique.

We had a fantastic sail over to Martinique. It took about 12 hours, and was a little bumpy with the swell, but not too bad. We started off with a brown bird who kept circling our boat, diving occasionally for the flying fish. Eventually we had a few more join him and then as we sailed into the anchorage near Point Catherine, we had about 10 of these birds. They were quite comical, as they'd dive over and over again, attempting to catch a fish. They'd get lucky about every 50 dives or so. What a challenging way to catch a meal.

Point Catherine anchorage was lovely and calm. We enjoyed a nice paddle around. It has a long stretch of beach, perfect for stretching the legs after sailing. The following morning, we navigated all the fishing buoys (they are just about everywhere, including the channels, so be on the lookout) and entered the Cul-de-sac-Marin. It is extremely crowded in here! We anchored off of Queen's island, away from the hordes of boats, and dinghied over to Le Marin Marina to toss the garbage and check into the country. Checking in at the marina office was fast. Just go into the computer room on the right (don't bother to wait in the line), fill out the one page form, submit, and wait for your name to be called. You'll be asked to sign the paper and pay 5 euro. That's it. They don't ask to see any boat docs or ask any questions. Super quick and easy!

How boat kids take out the garbage.

After checking in, we dinghied over to the Leader Price grocery store dock. This dock was donated generously by the property owner for cruisers to use. We had a walk around the town, scored a Digicel data card (Google Fi towers were down), hit up the bakery, and stocked up on some provisions. The Leader Price store has better prices, but make sure to go in the morning or everything is picked over by the afternoon. The Carrefour market is nearby but small and prices are double that of Leader Price. There is a larger Carrefour on the island, but you'll need a rental car.

We met up with some other sailing families who invited us for drinks and hangout at a place called People's Beach. So, we hauled anchor during a squall and dropped the hook in St. Anne's Bay. This is a huge bay and has plenty of space for many boats. We still felt a bit crowded though.

Hiking trail near St. Anne anchorage.

5pm found us tying up to the floating dinghy dock in front of Pirate's Beach Restaurant. To the left is a jungle path that leads to People's Beach Resort. At one time, this must have been a nice resort. It is still maintained, but not very busy (maybe it is still the low season). There are a couple of above ground pools, games for the kids, and nice drinks for the adults. They were not serving food yet.
The kids had a blast playing laser tag with the other boat kids, swimming, and hitting up the foosball table. We had a good chat with a few other families and didn't get back to the boat until late. It was a fun evening, as we always enjoy meeting new sailing families.
We hung around this spot for a couple of days, met up with some friends we met in the Med for drinks back at People's Beach (kids really enjoy the pools there), and then decided it was time to move on. The clock is ticking, as we need to get to Panama in April.

Anse D'Arlet town. This building reminded me of Greece.

We moved around the corner to Anse D'Arlet, and had a great time there. We spent the day snorkeling and saw more fish, sea turtles, and colorful coral than anywhere else! The bay is super calm and we loved it here. Early the next morning, we grabbed some bakery treats, and then set sail for Anse Noir. We had read there was great snorkeling here and the interesting thing about this spot is it has black sand, where as the bay next door, Anse Dufour has white sand. We dropped anchor at the back of the bay (being shallow draft cat, we can get away with that), and put out a stern anchor to keep us from swinging into the other boats ahead of us. It became quite crowded in there after a while and by sunset, we were packed in. We were very glad we had the stern anchor to keep us away, as the wind was light and fluky inside that bay.

St. Pierre ruins

We learned all about St. Pierre's tragic past as well as how the Caribbean islands were formed. Did you know there are two different aged groups of islands?

The next morning we checked out Fort de France and then sailed up to St. Pierre, where we enjoyed the next few days exploring the town, volcanic and science museums, and snorkeling the underwater statues. Sundowners with friends topped off the experience.

Next island: Dominica

Sailing to Dominica.

Pompeii, Rome, Corsica, and Baleric Islands (Folding Prop Install)

Amazed at how well preserved the frescoes are in Pompeii!

After watching the volcano erupt for one last time, we set sail for an overnight passage to Pompeii, near the Bay of Naples. We would have loved to been able to stop and explore Capri, but the conditions were not right. We pulled into the marina, with Mt. Vesuvius in the background, hooked up to a/c for Sunny (we hate leaving her behind, but dogs are not allowed in Pompeii), and caught a cab to the dig site.

Pompeii was not the only city to be demolished by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79AD. While Pompeii is the most famous, there are several other exhibits of town also wiped out by the clouds of ash and gas.

Math in the sand: calculating how many years have passed since the eruption.

The site of Pompeii is quite large and one really needs an entire day to devote to exploring it all. An estimated 20,000 people resided here in this prosperous city.

Wandering the streets of Pompeii. The water from the baths on the hill would flow down into the city streets, washing away all of the refuse. The large stepping stones allowed residents to cross without getting wet.

View over part of the city, beautiful artwork, artifacts awaiting categorization.

Food found around the site.

One of the games they played.

The archeologists are still uncovering many parts of the city still  buried under centuries of soil. As we walked around, we happened upon a live dig where they had just uncovered a tomb. They took photos and then turned to show us through the fence. They told the kids 'you are the first people to see this newly discovered artifact'!

Observing the archeologists at work. We were the first to view the photos of the newly discovered tomb!

Viewing the photos just after they were taken!

We spent the entire day exploring and did not get to see everything. We had to leave to pick up a guest in Rome, so after a quick stop for provisions, we left for an overnight passage to Porto Romano, just up the Tiber river.

The artwork is amazing. I look at these tiny tiles and think about how much work it must have been!

That passage was awful. No matter which way we turned the boat, we got hit with swell. It was severely confused seas and not much wind, but we motored through and were very thankful when we entered the Tiber river and escaped the swell. We topped up on fuel and settled in to our dock, which happened to be right next to the swimming pool.

Michelle getting introduced to boat life. 

The next day, we picked up Michelle, who was very much a part of our family when the kids were little. She was their nanny and we sure did miss her when she went off to college! We loved getting to spend some time with her and show her the sailing life.

We had only a single day to spend in Rome and made the most of it. We got an early start and explored a lot of the area, including the massive colosseum! The guided tour was enlightening and our guide was kind enough to point out some of his own local favorite spots, such as an ice cream shop with over 150 flavors!

Boca de Veritas (mouth of truth). Put your hand in and answer someone's question or make a statement. Tell a lie and you might just lose your hand! 

Gladiator training area.

Taking in the size of the colosseum. 

Another view of the colosseum and Trevi fountain on the right. 

There are fountains with fresh water all over the place!

With another good night's rest, we set off early the next morning for Corsica. We met up with our friends on Abaco in a calm anchorage, where Jared ended up installing our new folding props. Thanks Abaco, for letting us borrow your dive gear!

Corsica sea caves

The folding props were pretty easy to install, thanks to using dive gear! 

Parts ready to be installed. We kept them in separate bags and when Jared asked for a part, I could easily find it.

Cadence shows Michelle how its done! #boatlife #boatkids #Corsica

With the clock ticking and more friends to meet, we left Corsica and sailed on to Menorca. We are pretty even matched with Abaco and sailed together the entire way, dropping the hook in Mahon bay around 1am.

Roundabout at anchor in Mahon bay.

We woke up to our friends on No Plans Just Options waving hello. The kids were happy to play in the water and run around on the beach. Later on that afternoon, we explored the old fort and nice museum.

Walking into the fort.

Isn't this like a scene from Indiana Jones?

The following day we dinghied up the bay into the town of Mahon. This town is beautiful with lush gardens, cobblestone walkways, and shops galore. We were most charmed by the handmade shoes on display in just about every window.

Seriously, there is one in every color, even glitter and animal prints!

We love it when dolphins come to visit!

Boats in the bay at Calla de Porter. Photo credit: Amber Utting.

Our next anchorage was around the corner at Cala en Porter, between two steep cliffs in bright blue water. There was a festival de los caballos (festival of horses) in full swing, so after a quick swim, cave explorations, and dinner, we dinghied over to the town. This was quite the experience. Horses with their riders were decked out in full gear and they danced to special music.

The tradition is to surround the horse and rider and then inside that circle, a group of adults and children run at and chase the horse around, patting its rump. The horses seemed used to this, although our kids did not think it was right. I asked one of the audience members to tell us the story behind this ritual. They explained that back in times of war, they wanted to desensitize the horses and so this was how it was done. This contradicts my internet search which mentions Saint Joan and how it was about the brotherhood between humans and horses. Only the children of the farming community were allowed to be inside the circle with the horses. The true version? Maybe it's both, more to research...

We led the kids back to playing on the beach and ate from the food stalls set up along the pathway. There was a special local drink (for adults) which tasted sort of like limoncello. Lots of energy surrounded us as we shouted over the music and chatter from all of those around us. After the kids came to us one by one with tired faces, we finally retired to our boats for some sleep. It didn't last too long though, as the swell had clocked around and was coming into the tiny narrow bay. We heard NPJO haul anchor around 1am and head out for Mallorca. After 30 minutes of being rolled around and not sleeping anyway, we also left the anchorage for Mallorca. Abaco followed suit an hour later.

Not one is the same...

Around midnight on the following night, we dropped the hook in the large bay of Palma and finally had a good night's sleep. 9am the next morning found us moving to a different spot over by Cala Major, as the spot we were in had sea grass, which you are not allowed to anchor in (let alone have any part of your anchor or chain touching it). We settled into a lovely anchorage with a nice sandy beach near Calla Major. We spent most of the day swimming in the lovely blue water, enjoying more aquatic life than we'd seen in a long time. There were also quite a few of those funky fried-egg jellies floating about.

We enjoyed some time exploring the town, dinner, and sangrias (oh, the sangrias were soooo good), and tried three times to check the boat in with customs. Finally, on the third day, we found the correct official who knew what he was doing. Basically, since our boat is our residence, we don't need to stamp in. If we decided to stay on land, that would be different.

We moved over closer to Puerto de Palma for the big boat kid combination birthday bash. Met some new sailing families and had a blast! The kids slept hard that night after such a long day partying. We had a bit of trouble with our anchor windlass motor (we've had issues with it, ---as you can read about by clicking that link---even after Jared serviced it and installed new brushes), which finally gave up the ghost.

Palma Cathedral in the background.

In 20 knot winds, Jared pulled up anchor by hand and we moved back over to Cala Major (the coast guard would not allow us to remain at anchor near the big port).

Installing the new anchor windlass motor.

On the way, our rudder sensor also died. Fortunately, while walking around the town, I was able to purchase a new rudder sensor off the shelf and ordered the new windlass motor for delivery the following day. With both of these installed, we were back in business!

After a 'see you in the Caribbean' send off dinner, Michelle was back on an airplane returning to land life. We also said 'see you later' to Abaco. They were hanging around there for family to visit and we needed to move on. We left Cala Major for the island of Formentera (near Ibiza). It was another motor-sail. We rode out the big wind storm on Mallorca and there just wasn't much wind left to send us west. Definitely looking forward to the better sailing in the Caribbean!

Formentera anchorage. Look at that water!!

Formentera is gorgeous! Stunning turquoise water and white soft sandy beaches! Our kids dived right in and enjoyed lots of beach time. We stayed the day and ended up leaving around 8pm for Cartagena. We needed to continue on, as we had our new sail and lazy-bag to pick up in Gibraltar.

Roman Architecture Ruins in Croatia

Exploring the Roman Amphitheater in Pula, Croatia. 

For the past week or so, we have been sailing in northern Croatia. From Zadar, we hopped through a few islands, stopping in a lagoon off the village of Punat. We then made our way to Icici, to pick up some mail from Opatija marina, as well as our cargo, and then sailed along the mainland coast to Pula to check out of the country.

Excited to see the Roman amphitheater lit up at night!

Pula is an industrial port but is famous for the well-preserved Roman amphitheater and Augustus Temple. The cranes put on quite a show at night, with color changing lights. The anchorage outside of the marina has good holding and offers good protection from the wind and swell.

Roundabout docked at the customs quay with the color-changing lights on the cranes in the boatyard.

We wanted to check out the sites, refill our gas container for the dinghy, and explore a little more of Croatia before heading to Venice!

The Amphitheater is well worth a visit. Constructed in 27 BC - 68 AD, it is the ONLY remaining Roman amphitheater to have four side towers with all three Roman architectural orders entirely preserved. It is among only 6 of the largest surviving arenas in the world and is the best preserved ancient site in Croatia. Today, it is used as a venue for concerts.

Walking through this place was like going back in time. From the outdoor arena space to traversing underground to where the beasts and gladiators were kept, ancient storage and work spaces, we learned quite a lot about this period in time. Matthew is studying Medieval history, as part of the California 7th grade history standards, so this fit in perfectly as a boatschool field trip!

Down below, where the chambers for the beasts and gladiators were, is another part of the museum. Ancient pottery, art, storage urns, and tools are among the numerous artifacts on display.

So much to see!