Island Tour of Barbados

Interesting stop at the oldest church in Barbados dating back to the early 1600's

Interior of St; James Church

Northern tip of Barbados

Limestone caves carved by the rough water off the north coast

Another beautiful beach at Bathsheba on the east coast

View of the flat lower east side from Gun Hill

Island Tour of Barbados

Jan. 27, 2017

On Friday, Zeke arranged for us all to go on an island tour. We had two taxis and guides. They weren't as knowledgeable as we would have liked, but we were still happy to have seen as much as we did. Between that overview and the guide books we have, we know what else we would like to see.

Barbados is a coral island, as compared to other islands in the Caribbean that are primarily volcanic. So it is not very high. We visited the highest point to take in the views. That was 340m. Because of the coral and surrounding reef there are great, light sand beaches and clear turquoise water. The fishing is supposed to be good, also. They have rarely had a hurricane. It is a tourist favourite also because of a low crime rate and friendly people.

The whole island is much wealthier than we thought, compared with the rest of the Caribbean. It also has a wealthy history from the colonial days when British ships always stopped here on the way to the "Americas". The architecture downtown, its commercial and government buildings and churches, are well preserved. We visited the oldest church on the island, an Anglican parish, founded in the 1600's. The guide there called himself a "retired member". (Can church members retire?) There were a lot of interesting things to read and see there. You could tell there was good money in the sugar plantations. But the life expectancy was short in the colonies.

We followed the coast road up the west side to the north of the island. This is the "platinum coast" where the most expensive resorts and homes are. You can stay at places for a $1000 a night, and pay $300 for a dinner. Most owners and renters are not locals. The first settlers arrived in this area. There is another marina/condo complex at Port St Charles that looked quite high end. But you could anchor there, and do your immigration work.

On the north coast there are rocky cliffs, that are undercut by the wilder Atlantic side. We visited one spot where you can go down into caves and blow holes cut into the cliff. Following the road down the east coast, there are the surfing beaches. Most are not safe for swimming. The drive is more scenic here, with hills, rock, gardens and waves.

Driving back across the island, you can see the sugarcane fields and other farming operations. There are pastures for cows and goats. There are good rum factories. There are several gardens to visit, particularly on some of the old plantations. We had a stop at one of the old signal stations used for communications around the island in the past. Today it is a viewpoint, and history stop.

We would like to visit the museum in the garrison area, not far from here. We would like to go on the Mount Gay rum tour and maybe the Malibu one, also. And the rally is organizing a temporary membership at the Yacht Club, which would be nice for a beach day. And there is always duty free shopping.

Landfall Barbados

Approaching Barbados

Passing the cruise ship docks - several in every day

 

The Jolly Roger - one of many outings for cruise ship passengers

Sailboats moored in the Careenage

Beautiful beach on Carlisle Bay where Maggie is anchored

Landfall Barbados

Jan.28, 2017

We have been in Barbados for 4 days already, but just haven't had a moment to do a blog entry. This is the official end spot for the BPO rally. We left from Grenada Nov 2014 and Martinique in Jan 2015. We haven't cruised in Barbados before, so it is another port to explore. We will feel like we have circumnavigated when we get back to Grenada. Haulout is already booked for April 18 and a flight the next weekend. Then we will be home at least until after next Christmas.

Since being here we have been sleeping long hours at night to catch up from the passage. The autopilot never did work for the last 500 nm, so we spent that whole time taking turns hand steering. At night, one person would sleep in the cockpit while the other was steering an hour or two at a time. We were lucky the weather was ok, the classic 15 to 20 knots,  on a beam reach. Rob got the only 2 hours of rain on his night watch. Some achy muscles for a few days, however. We passed 4 fishing vessels at night that did not carry AIS. That makes it difficult to know which way they are travelling. We had a much too close encounter with one of them.

We got in after 13 days which is a good speed for us. The "marina" where you go to check in with customs and immigration was a surprise. It is only a place where boats can tie between a buoy and dock. You then would need your dinghy to move from boat to dock as the surge wouldn't allow you to tie up close enough to get off. We tied to a local fishing boat that had its own finger pier. The owners were willing to let us stay there two nights. That gave us a chance to hose down the boat, do the laundry, and fill the water tanks while we had access to water. Also, it was an easy walk to town for cash and SIM cards and groceries.

We are now anchored out in the bay off town. It feels great to be back at anchor. We haven't been anchored since Rodrigues last June. The breeze is nice for sleeping. The water is clear to the bottom even in 40 ft. There is a small harbour in town called the "Careenage". No Regrets and Tahawas are in there. It is quite tight to enter and you need to wait for a drawbridge to open. Then you are tied "med moor" right in the middle of downtown. There are several cruise ships in the commercial harbour each day from Jan to March. Because of their tours, there are  boats of all types coming and going from the two harbours. The beach ashore is beautiful, but always full. The jet skis are circling around us during the day. And the bands play well into the night.

The dinghy motor didn't like sitting around for so many months not in use. It started but wouldn't keep going- not very convenient to have to row in. We were lucky to find a technician to look at it on Fri. He cleaned all the insides, suggested a repair on the fuel line and new, clean fuel and tanks. Now it is behaving like new! We need that reliable "car".

Thurs morning we had a chance to get together with Barry and Anne from Cat's Paw IV. Anne is the sister of Bob who crewed for us. They have been cruising for 10 years. Even though they were leaving for Grenada just as we were arriving, we really enjoyed the brief visit. Nice to see another Canadian flag in the anchorage.

We have no specific plans for leaving here. Having no plan is our treat for the end of the rally. The best autopilot repairman is away until after the weekend. Right now Rob is installing new dinghy davits that we had made and shipped here from Annapolis. The main engine didn't start when we tried it underway when the winds became too light. But Rob spent a day working on that while we were travelling, so it is in good shape now. The party to celebrate the end of the BPO is scheduled for Tues, Jan. 31. Some new and returning crew will have flown in by then. The first boats have arrived from the Caribbean Odyssey. The fastest one was a Swiss 48 ft catamaran, 17 days from Tenerife to here.

Day 10 to Barbados

This morning we have 460 mm left to Barbados. Depending on the winds in the next few days we hope to arrive Tues or Wed. No Regrets should get in today, and Tahawas tomorrow.

Yesterday we flew the spinnaker, but had to take it down at 11 pm. Fun! Things are going fine except some issues with the autopilot. It's not holding a steady course so one of us has to stay at the helm monitoring it. Rob changed the circuit board yesterday and has a few other things to try today. No problem ,though, except no reading time.

We have started to do some reading about Barbados. It is much more British than the other Caribbean islands. The colonial ships could not make the eastward passage to windward from the other islands, so the French and English didn't fight over it. Most cruisers stopping would be finishing an Atlantic crossing. Until just recently there was not a marina there, and the anchorage is poor. A new marina was built for their 50th anniversary of independence. That will be our home for at least a week. Jimmy Cornell has organized a Caribbean Odyssey, a rally that left the Canary Islands on Jan. 10. Their trip should be about 3 weeks. We look forward to meeting some of them.

Crossing the Equator for the 4th time

We are now back in the Northern Hemisphere. It feels like we are making some progress "home". No alcohol for Neptune, just for ourselves to celebrate. On No Regrets the sea doused them through an open hatch over the bed. A long way inshore, the mouth of the Amazon is at the equator.

We spent a day in the doldrums,which I guess is not bad for an equator crossing. We only made 112 mm, whereas the days before were all over 150nm. Within a half hour time frame, the wind changed direction from SE to NE. We now have a beam or close reach sail. The wind speeds swing from 10 to 20 knots. A more boisterous ride than downwind, but at least fast. We are now on day 5.

Not much excitement otherwise. Just the occasional ship, dolphin, or bird.

Last leg in the rally

 Last leg in the rally

Jan.13, 2017

Our three BPO boats are now underway on this last leg to Barbados. It is about 2000nm so we are setting aside about two weeks to travel. The winds are usually good, and there is a strong current from behind. We are all hoping for a faster than normal trip.

There are often some problems on the boat after you leave it for some time as we did over Christmas. We checked all the systems before leaving including the engine. Tues, with the boat mostly untied from its moorings, ready to back out, the engine stopped. No water was running through the cooling system and you could smell burning rubber. We got the boat resecured and Rob spent the rest of the day working on the engine. The impeller was the problem. A few hours later a new one was installed and everything put back together. We were fortunate that fixed the problem, and also that it did not happen when we were underway or ready to enter the harbour in Barbados.

Unfortunately, we are a day behind the other boats. Because the marina is in a tidal river, you can only leave during the hour with high tide, daylight, and an outgoing current. That meant waiting until 4:30 pm Wed. We just got through the buoys at the harbour exit a half hour after sunset. Tahawas has had some serious sail problems. They have been up the mast twice already. The sail they had repaired in Brazil ripped again. They have a lot of redundancies on their boat, so can continue to sail. No Regrets,being a light cat, loves these conditions and is flying along.

It has been a beautiful sail so far. The moon is full, the wind 10 to 15 knots from the back, and a knot of current in our favour. Today we have put up the pole to get a better wind I angle. The winds are currently from the SE. When you cross the equator, the prevailing wind will switch to being from the northeast. That should be faster as we are going WNW. Currently we are at 3 degrees south. The mouth of the Amazon is at the equator. We can't travel close enough to see anything because the delta is so extensive.

Rio Visit

View of Copacabana Beach from our hotel window

Carol testing the water at Copacabana

30 Metre tall "Cristo"looks small  atop Cordovaco mountain

Not so small close up! Hands and face sculped in France and shipped to Brazil where the rest of the body was made.

A "favelo" on the slope of one of the mountains. Despite being slums, they have the best views!

One view of Rio from Corcovado mountain

Rob in front of the entrance to Meracana Stadium

The very modern Metropolitan Cathedral in downtown Rio

Inside the cathedral

An old aqueduct built to carry water to the city

Rio has the longest urban tunnel in the world - nearly three kilometers long - which go through the mountains surrounding the city

Cable car to Sugarloaf Mountain

View of Rio from Sugarloaf

South view of Ipanema Beach

Ipanema Beach looking north

Rio Visit

Jan.4 to 6, 2017

Rio has to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world, certainly of the ones we have visited. It spreads around large bays, many forested hills, and the miles of beaches along the Atlantic coast. It seems to encourage climbing, hiking, cycling, swimming, dancing. The people from Rio are known as "cariocas", named for a river that flows through the city. They are known for their partying, and easy going lifestyle.

We arrived Wed lunch, after a day in the Miami airport, and an overnight flight. Our hotel had a view overlooking Copacabana beach which runs for many kilometers. It was interesting to see the differences in the view between morning, midday, and night. Just like the postcards, it is covered in chairs, umbrellas, and scantly clad bathers. But the hardware is carted off in the evening, the sand cleaned, and many sports activities set up. There are volleyball nets, soccer nets, and exercise stations. Wed we just walked the beach and area, relaxed, and ate Brazilian food. It is now their summer holidays so many tourists about. But it is a more expensive city for tourists than many we have visited recently.

We managed to get the last 2 seats in a van on a city tour. The rest of the passengers were from Spanish speaking SA countries, but the tour guide did a good job of translating for us. It was a long, full day, but a good idea when you have only a bit of time. We managed to at least go by the trip advisor's list of top 10 things to see. If we had a few more days, we would like to have seen the Botanical Gardens within walking distance, some of the other parks, museums, and shows.

Early in the day we worked our way through the line ups to visit the "Christ the Redeemer" statue, famous for looking out over the city. It was built to celebrate 100 years of independence, finished in 1932. It could be seen by everyone in the city at that time, being several stories high, and on the top of a hill. For the Olympics they built an interpretive centre at the top. The whole hill is a national park. At one point in history all the trees had been cut down to grow coffee. But it has all been replanted and looks mature now. The city realized that without the trees the temperature was much higher and there were drought problems for the city. Of course, the views from above are great.

We stopped briefly by the Maracana Stadium where the opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics were held. Also, a stop at Sambadrome, the heart of the carnival. It is a 600m street with stands on both sides. For 4 days, ending at 6am, samba dancers move down the street. I hadn't realized that it is actually a competition with quite a few rules. There are many samba schools that practise all year. There was a store renting some of the traditional costumes. Very extravagant!

There are 2 main types of architecture downtown. First are the old colonial Portuguese buildings, starting from the 1500's. The Portuguese monarchy actually moved their home to Rio for a few years in 1808 to avoid  a plague. Those places, of course, are very nice. St Teresa's Stairs, the old aqueduct, the opera house, museums, and many churches are in this style.

  In the 1970's to gain more land for city development, they removed one of the hills downtown. The financial district, all built in 70's style, was built on the gained property. The removed hill also allowed them to reclaim some of the sea. We stopped to see the Metropolitan Cathedral, one of the most famous buildings in the new downtown area, done in 1979. Very modern design. There is a very long tunnel through one of the other city hills that you take to get to the airport. They have also cut a long tunnel through hills to the south so that the city can expand along the coast going south. Many of the upgraded roads and facilities were put in for the Olympics.

Outside the downtown, there are two extremes of housing. The "rich and famous" have first or second homes along the beaches. Going up the hills are the "favelos", or slums. Because services couldn't be provided, lots of small shacks were built close together and up. There are over a thousand such communities. Painted lots of bright colours, they look good from a distance. And they have a view. The city has gradually been able to bring some services in, but 95% of the people are poor. The poverty rate for Rio overall is 40%.

After a buffet lunch of Brazilian food, we took a cable car to the top on another hill, Sugarloaf. The first settlers landed at its bottom in Guinabara Bay. There are 2 cable cars, as you go up Urca Hill first, then across to the steep Sugarloaf Mtn. You look out over the whole bay, and metropolitan area. Although it is close to the "Christo", you can see different things.

After 3 days of early mornings and another one coming Sat, we took some time to relax Friday. We walked Ipanema Beach which is the next one south, hitting some of the shopping malls on the way back. Then, an ocean swim, the pool, and dinner.

Jan. 8 and 9, back at the marina, there is just enough time to get ready to leave. Several trips to the grocery store with hours of washing and packing into freezer, fridge and cupboards. Monday morning was spent at customs and immigration clearing out. Tues, the marina manager can do the port control checkout for us. These 3 offices are in Jacare, Cabedelo, and Joao Pessoa. Not very convenient. The bottom of the boat got washed this afternoon. The anchor chain had been regalvanized when we were away and it is back in. The wind indicator that we bought at home is installed at the top of the mast and is working. Tim and his son, Josh, arrived for No Regrets. Rui and Daphne are also back on Bluewind and hope to leave soon. They are heading south to Rui's hometown. The tide in the river will be favourable for leaving mid afternoon Tues, the 10th. Right on schedule!