Banana Ketchup

     As mentioned in the previous blog, ‘Persephone’ and ‘Absaroque’ sailed together from SVG to St. Lucia last Saturday. ‘Silverheels III” joined us the following day. On Sunday, ‘Absaroque’ sailed approximately 12 miles north to the town of Castries, SL to meet relatives which were aboard a cruise ship.

     So, all week ‘Persephone’ and ‘Silverheels III’ have been on moorings immediately under and between St. Lucia’s famous Piton mountains. (For our sailing friends, the mooring costs $30 US per week…not the $60 + US per day in Newport/Martha’s Vineyard.) The Pitons rise vertically nearly 3000 feet from the ocean to the base of the clouds….a very impressive sight. Petit Piton is directly in front of us, and Gros Piton is right behind us. Here is Persephone under Petit Piton….

On the south side of Gros Piton (about 3 miles from the anchorage) we discovered a remote, black sand beach…exactly what you would expect on a tropical isle. We have spent several lazy afternoons on this beach chatting with the local fishermen, swimming and enjoying a coldie….I even managed to clean the bottom of the dinghy !! The town of Soufriere is about 3 miles north of the anchorage, so we are able to get supplies easily by dinghy. You could live here indefinitely….. especially with the new water maker. Now that the rainy season has ended, the water maker has been worth it’s weight in gold….gotta love those cool, fresh water showers after a tough day at the beach !!
    
     Tomorrow (Sunday) we may be moving a bit north to Marigot Bay (6 ish miles) for a day or two; and will rejoin ‘Absaroque’ which has sailed south from Castries. We got an email from them this morning saying they were having problems with their wind generator which is mounted high on their mast. They need a couple of guys to help them get it down. So, Ken (SH III) and I have offered to help out, so we will move up to Marigot tomorrow. After Marigot we will sail to Castries and then on to Rodney Bay in the north part of SL. We plan on being in SL for another couple of weeks before moving north to the French Islands, and finally to Antigua. But first, we are all really enjoying SL, and savoring every moment.

    

 Speaking of savoring things…..when you are living on an island which grows few tomatoes, and lots of bananas…there is only one thing to do…make Banana Ketchup !! You just can’t make this stuff up….”Banana Ketchup” ??!! Tried it, love it !! Wonder if my hot dogs have finished cooking yet ? Hey, where’s the ketchup ?