Guadeloupe and Montserrat: Goodbyes and Petroglyphs

February 2018

After our two weeks working in Dominica, it was great to catch up with the fantastic crew on Trismic in Guadeloupe. We managed to squeeze in a couple of days of school as well. The kids breezed through their lessons so we could all hang out with Neil, Cindy, Nathan and Millie again, and of course eat cake for Cindy's birthday.

John and Neil

Wavey and Millie

Simon and Nathan

Cindy

Birthday cake is good

We were not sure if we would see Trismic again, as we were heading out on different tracks. Our aim was to head north to Montserrat and then onto the US Virgin Islands. Our plan was to leave the boat in St. Croix with friends and return to Canada to care for John's mother Lois in her final days.

Goodbyes are a way of life for the island-hopping cruising family, but this goodbye was the hardest of all knowing that we would not likely be cruising together again.

Before leaving for Montserrat, we stopped for a day in Deshaies. We recognized several boats including Wakataitea, a 46 foot Wharram catamaran. We had met Catherine and Michael with their two kids Enzo and Francesca several times on different islands and always enjoyed their company. They kindly invited us for dinner which turned out to be a delightful evening.

Wakataitea

We left Guadeloupe feeling like we could have stayed longer. But then again, we feel like that pretty much everywhere!

Michael and Enzo on Wakataitea

We had a good passage to Montserrat where we planned to leave the boat at anchor and visit our friend Jean for a few days.

Kids testing out their harnesses

Taking down the French flag enroute to Montserrat

We arrived in Montserrat after Customs had closed so we could not check in. The kids decided it would be a good night to try making sushi. We found this great sushi kit in Guadeloupe and we were eager to try it. It was delicious!

Wavey making rolls

Yum!

We checked into Montserrat without any issues and were picked up by our friend Jean and taken to her lovely home. We spent a few days visiting with Jean and meeting her friends and neighbours who stopped by. 

With Laine and Jean

Jean has an amazing way of facilitating island exploration in a  relaxed way. She is an excellent tour guide who keeps us on task when we tend to meander off. We had a lovely hike along the beach one afternoon and on another day, poked through the ruins of Cork Hill which was destroyed by the volcano in the late 1990s. We have been to Montserrat many times and this place never gets old.

Beach combing at Isle's Bay

Isle's Bay

Visiting ruined buildings in area of Cork Hill

Old school that was destroyed by volcano and is now overgrown

Destroyed homes

Calendar from 1997

Inside school

Volcano alert and evacuation notices

Blackboards sunken into ash

Inside school

Books on from fallen shelves in school library

Books from shelves

Playground and basketball court of school yard

Going inside Cork Hill Medical Centre

Old IV bags scattered on the floor

Waiting room

Treatment rooms

Wildlife in what was someone's shower

Ruined church

Visiting the Cork Hill ruins led to more discussions with the kids about the long-term effects of natural disasters. We compared how damage from a volcano is different from that of a hurricane, with both having long-lasting effects for communities and individuals.

On our last day, Jean arranged for Roy, a local guide to take us on a hike to see some petroglyphs that were recently discovered by hikers in Montserrat. Before we left, I had to look up the definition, and reminded myself that petroglyphs are carvings or engravings in stone. These ones were thought to be between 1000 - 1500 years old. 

The hike in the lush forest was spectacular and the petroglyphs were intriguing. (Just as amazing was watching Roy clear brush with his machete.) Who knows if the carvings were really that old, but it was worth the effort getting in to see them.

In the jungle...

Petroglyphs on rock wall

Roy and Simon

After our brief, but pleasant stay, we said goodbye to Jean, ever grateful for her kindness and the bit of luxury we get when staying at her place. We returned to Nahanni V, who was patiently waiting at anchor for us. We prepared for our overnight trip to St. Croix, with our thoughts of returning to Canada.