First Charter of the Season. Grenada to St Lucia

12 Days, 5 people, 7 islands and lots of food and drink!

Day 1 Grenada: Port Louis Marina

Starter: Portobello mushrooms topped with Callaloo and crisped parmesan

Main: 4Cs Chicken (Caribbean Coconut Chutney Chicken), with breadfruit mashed in coconut milk, Christophenes and Carrots

Dessert: Gingeroll (Like a Swiss Roll but with all the Grenadian spices and ginger in the cream)

After Grenada Marine had let us down so badly, we had a mad rush to get everything ready on time. But on time we were. The first 3 of the guests (owner, wife and neighbour) arrived in the evening ready for dinner and bed.

Preparing food for charter. In pots from right to left: Breadfruit, eggplant, carrots, boiled and pureed callaloo

Day 2 Grenada: Clarks Court Bay off Hogg Island
Lunch: Chicken mayo salad in a pita

Starter: Sliced fresh avocado with edible garnishing

Main: 5 hour Slow Roast Lamb with all the trimmings

Dessert: Banana Cake w cream cheese icing

After a relatively early start and much discussion on what the various parties would like from the first few days, we set sail for Clarks Court Bay just around the corner. It turned out to be a lovely gentle sail averaging 7knots. Just the way to break back into it.

This was our first real sail since coming out of the yard and so we received yet another 'present' from the yard.

Our hydraulic panel had gone in to be serviced. The riggers had removed it, serviced it and put it back in. As soon as we tried to pump up the pressure on the vang (pulls the boom down) the gauge started spewing hydraulic oil all over the teak decks. Lovely.

So we anchored and the Cpt got to fixing this, taking the offending gauge out and trying to get it back in without it leaking. Eventually my small hands got involved in the undoing and redoing of grub screws in hard to reach places with the owner holding a torch and helping minimise the spread of the oil slick...he had a vested interest in this as the panel is located above the main cabin bed...

Finally the problem was solved by rotating the gauge (so it is now skew to look at) so that the bit that the yard had damaged by incorrect installation, couldnt leak anymore.

Then it was on to the other projects...the brand new aircon had stopped working (simple solution of reset) and horrors of horrors the fridges had stopped working.

Thank goodness for a capable Cpt!!!!!

An Island in Clarks Court Bay. With a very exclusive soon to be opening hotel on it

Day 3 Grenada: St Georges Port Loius

Lunch: Lamb leftover sandwiches

Starter: Capunata on malba toast (Sicilian dish with lots eggplant, tomato, capers etc)

Main: Mmmmm Chicken w roast potato broccoli and Yum Butternut

Dessert: Eve's Pudding

After a little "jolly" in the dingy to gawk at the new hotel and skim over reefs we motor-sailed back to Port Louis. I had the GoPro attached to my head, videoing while the neighbour pulled the mainsail up and i tailed on the winch. He was quite impressive, pulling the heavy mainsail up past the top spreader.

Once back in the Marina, the guests went to the pool until it was time to pick up the remaining 2 guests from the airport.

All aboard, fed and bed.

Day 4 Grenada: St Georges Port Louis Marina

Lunch: Ham sandwiches on bread fresh from the South African baker down the road

Starter: Pea and mint soup

Main: Orange Tamarind Roast Beef w Christofenes, baby carrots and rice

Dessert: Tiramisu

Having heard that the bay to the North where we were planning on stopping next (Halifax) is home to Grenada's dump and thus swarming with flies and bad smells, a decision was taken that perhaps another night in Port Louis was not such a bad idea.

The guests took the opportunity to visit a few waterfalls and we had a visit from Martin, the diver who cleaned the bottom of the boat. Martin had very generously brought us bags and bags of fruit from his garden: paw paws, bananas, mangoes, grapefruit, avocados etc etc How very generous!

Then the stove broke.

Cooking a 3 course meal on a stove where the main hob turns itself off...fun

Well it led to the discovery that I can actually reach everywhere in the galley with one hand holding the mischievous hob button in. Alas, cutting garlic requires two hands. No probs, a toe for the hob and two hands for the garlic, It's a good thing a swaying boat is good balance training for standing on 1 leg for 5min.

Day 5 Grenada to Carriacou

Lunch: Beef Sandwiches

Dinner: Out. Slipway restaurant

Variable wind conditions resulted in Motor - Sail - Motor from Grenada to Carriacou which is one country with Grenada but an island to its North.

Farewell to the Grenadian town of St Georges

Along the way we were joined by a pod of very large dolphins. They didnt stay with us for long but their appearance was a welcome intrusion into the journey.

Once anchored in the bay we 'had' to check the anchor. So snorkelling without a snorkel it was. Then the Cpt and I unintentionally entertained the guests by climbing up the anchor chain, he a lot quicker and smoother than I.

An evening on anchor is another evening perfect for cocktails. Something fruity, was the request. So another invention was required.

Ceres Mango Juice + Grenadian Rum + lots and lots of freshly grated ginger

Presenting this fruity delight on deck, the guests asked what it was called and while I was umming and aaahing I noticed that the spectacular sun setting behind the expectant guests' heads was exactly the same colour as my concoction...thus the Carriacou Sunset Cocktail was born.

Dinner was in the Slipway restaurant in the bay next door. So we were treated to a moonlit dingy ride through the wind rippled seas. It was such a clear night that the stars danced like diamonds on each rippling wave.

Dinner was delicious!

Tuna cooked to perfection, ie just the outside seared, followed by mango and shortbread smothered in cream and granadilla.

Day 6 Carriacou to Union Island

Lunch: Set out lunch - avo, ham cheese, tapernade, copper penny sld, capunata, cherry tomatoes, olives, pate, assorted sausages, crackers and breads etc

Starter: Callaloo Soup (it's a bit like spinach but has to be cooked for at least 20min so that it's not akin to eating fibreglass)

Main: Fish done in olive oil, parsley and lemon. Side sld

Dessert: Creme Caramels

An early morning fisherman brought an irresistibly fresh rainbow runner for our purchasing, then dinning, pleasure.

Our Carriacou Rainbow Runner

Somewhere along the line i've been unofficially 'premoted' to first mate. This meant that I could legally accompany the Cpt ashore in Carriacou to check out of Grenada. We were waiting for the official to finish his lunch but still it took an additional 40min as he felt the need to process the people who came in behind us's paperwork first, putting on a display of his authority, apparently for our benefit. The unlucky sailor had had to drop anchor a bay early and catch a taxi round as he had run out of fuel and there was no wind. This meant that his boat was not in the required bay for check in. He explained this to the official who then told him that by doing this he was breaking the law to which the luckless seaman replied he had had no choice as he had no means of propelling his vessel to the correct bay. The official said this didnt mean anything to the law which he was still considered to be breaking, going on to threaten the unhappy tourist with jail-time, appearances before a judge, boat impounding and such like while the poor chap continuously cried out "well what was i supposed to do?". The official conducted the entire interview with a smug smile on his face, frequently glancing across at us. Finally he told the man to redo his paperwork while thinking of what he could say to the official to make him change his mind. To the rest of us in the office it was obvious that the power-mad official simply required a grovelling apology and plea for mercy from the blank foreigner. After many wasted and uncomfortable minutes, the official still wasnt getting his apology, so he gave up telling the relieved traveller not to do it again and that there was a church down the road where it would be advisable if he made a sizeable donation...

Finally cleared out of Grenada/Carriacou we motored our way to Union Island which is the first island in the country of islands known as St Vincent and the Grenadians (or SVG for short)

While the Cpt checked us into this new country, I set out a massive spread for lunch following which all, except the owners wife, had a brief tour around the island. The guests, except the owner's wife, then had drinks on Happy Island (an optimistically named sandbank with a bar on it) while I prepared dinner, and served drinks to the owner's wife.

Day 7 Union Island to Bequia via the Tobago Cays

Lunch: Ham and cheese sandwiches with cheese platter and various spreads (tapenade, cream cheese w truffle)

Starter: Prawn Cocktail

Main: Lamb Cutlets marinaded overnight in lemon, olive oil, garlic etc

Dessert: Skipper's Banana Flambe

We had a great sail, tacking our way from Union Island to the Tobago Cays.

My flippers waving hello from the Tobago Cays

Once again the Cays lived up to expectations: sandy mounds covered in nothing but palm trees surrounded by crystal clear seas and reefs. Wow. The guests went off and we went snorkelling.

Some baby big fish swimming under our rudder

The sting rays were still there, accompanied by a few trunkfish and schools of baby big fish. This is the kind of place where you can be pruned and cold and still have to be dragged out of the sea.

Just another 'island' in the Tobago Cays

We finally tore ourselves away from the Tobago Cays sadly bidding them farewell. Apparently we couldnt spend more than an afternoon in this exclusive slice of paradise (accessible only by boat) as we had to spend 3 whole days on the touristy development known as St Lucia (with almost daily flights directly from the UK and USA)

A Sunset Farewell to the Cays

Despite what the temperatures might think, it is winter here now, and the sun, well knowing this, disappears around 5.30pm. On this evening however, the sun seemed reluctant to set, providing us with a spectacular display in the red to yellow part of the spectrum.

Very little beats night sailing

Where to begin describing night sailing?

It is always something special but when there is decent wind, a near full moon and your sailing a boat designed for comfort but speed...ah...

After ensuring the guests had all they required, I left them in the aft section of the boat and went forward to the bow. Sitting on the pulpit chair, the moon laid out a shimmering carpet of silver before me reaching up to my dangling feet, and with the propelling wind rushing across my face, muffling my ears before powering into the giant genoa behind me, I finally had a moments pure solitude.

A little beach on another Tobago Cays island

The heel of the boat.

I am actually standing upright, it is the floor that is at the precarious angle.

(note the stainless peg holding the chair onto the floor)

The trick to walking through a boat that is so heeled over is simple: lean so that your body is vertical. If you get it right it should just feel like youre walking around a rather steep hill with a very strong wind propping you up. This may sound simple but is actually quite counter-intuitive as it is not only the floor that is at the wrong angle but the walls and furniture too...

See Mom and Dad, we do wear lifejackets! (After dark or above 25knots windspeed)

This evening's starters

and a very welcome glass of red

It was well worth having to prepare the bits and bobs for dinner underway as it meant having the extra time visiting the reeflife of the Cays. But by the time we anchored all that needed to be done was for the prawn cocktails to be arranged in their glasses and the well marinaded giant lamb cutlets to be tossed on the cast iron griddle. (The Caribbean butchers seem to have a different idea of how to cut a cutlet than what I know...theirs are about 5cm thick...)

Day 8 Bequia to St Vincent: Walliabou

Lunch: Ham Cheese and Tomato Sandwiches

Dinner: ashore

This morning was a very busy morning. The linen needed changing, all the usual cleaning, baking the cake for dessert and preparing the chicken which takes ages but is well worth it (its stuffed under the skin with grated veg, a mix of cheeses and egg which needs to 'marinade' for 1 to 24hrs). While this was going on the guest went exploring ashore, coming back claiming Bequia is the best island theyve seen so far.

Sour Sop

Foreign food is part of the travel experience. Sour Sop is mooshy. The firm green skin is removed and the pulp smooshed, popping the black seeds out of their soft pulpy sacks. Generally it is drunk blended with milk and ice but tastes great on its own or as a topping for fruit salad. It has a creamy sweet and sour taste with the sweet being more rich than sugary. Very yum.

Walliabou bathed in moonlight

We sailed off the anchor and to St Vincent. Wallilabou is where the main set for the Pirates of the Caribbean was. On arrival every boat is meet by a shoal of boats...local fishing type boats, all bearing helpful hands for mooring lines, trinkets and fruit and veg for sail... It takes some skill with a smile on your face to get them to stop hanging onto your boat and trying to ply their wares to your guests, but we managed without making anyone grumpy.

Recognise any of this from the movie?

We had a yummy dinner ashore in the restaurant next to the set, that is decorated with signed posters and pictures from the movie. Their rum punches are really really pockey. 1 is definitely enough!

Remember that rock? Picture it with a few dangling bodies beneath it and Cpt Jack removing his hat...

Day 9 St Vincent: Walliabou to St Lucia: Soufriere

Lunch: Ham, tomato and avo salad filled pitas

Starter: Tomato Soup

Main: Country Roast Chicken w lemon sesame carrots and broccoli

Dessert: Banana Carrot Walnut Cake (delicious, moist, and made in 10min with no more utensils than a fork)

Sailing to The Pitons

oooh oooh ooh too many rum punches. Definitely a mistake.

Luckily the stuffing for the chicken and the dessert were made last night and the tomato soup was preprepared and frozen before the charter even began. So all there was to do was sail the entire day away. Luckily it seems the combination of a seasick tablet and a headache pill are a relatively good hangover cure.

But the oven was playing up again and wouldnt reach the required temperature resulting in the chicken taking 2 hours to cook. Ah well, after anchoring it was a simple matter of keeping the guests happy with snacks and drink until dinner was cooked.

Day 10 St Lucia: Soufriere to Rodney Bay

Lunch: Bacon and Avocado filled pitas

Dinner: Ashore at Spinnakars Restaurant

What a stunning morning! We woke up in the shadow of the big Piton with the deep, clear water beneath us a shocking sapphire blue. It was so clear that glancing over the side I could see a school of big fish swimming more than 10m below the surface.

Oh dear some people simply seem to bumble from one mistake to the next. The latest with our guest couple was them discovering that they'd managed to fill the shower sump with sand (the poor poor sump pump) which apparently surprised them no end where as we were expecting some such problem when we saw them come back from the beach with half the sand still attached to their faces. Thinking they would help solve the issue, the husband decided to clean the sump out using toilet paper which he flushed down the loo. Unfortunately on a boat not even loo flushing magically whisks things away to another dimension and his actions thus filled the toilet holding tanks which then stops the forward heads from being able to flush. As a result no one could use the toilets for the rest of the morning (and we are yet waiting for the consequences of forcing the toilet pump to pump sand...)

Ah the life at sea.

We merrily sailed our way North to Rodney Bay where the remainder of the ARC fleet (crossing the Atlantic) were making their way in. And since dinner was to be ashore I was able to join the owner in a spectacular water ski in the Bay. Wow was it a great setting with perfect skiing conditions. Fun!

After a scrumptious dinner ashore we finally made it to bed at 3.30am dreading the 6.30 alarm.

Day 11 St Lucia: Rodney Bay to Marigot Bay

Lunch: Chicken salad filled pitas

Starter: Caprese Salad

Main: Pork Chops marinaded in pineapple juice w ginger rice, roast butternut and christofenes

Dessert: Creme Catalana

Just another Caribbean Sunset

Just as I have finished clearing up all the breakfast things from everyone else's first meal of the day, her majesty's husband politely asks that if it is no trouble could I please prepare a cooked breakfast for her

highness. I was planning a massive breakfast for everyone the next day it being their last day and one of the guests birthday, but as the princess wishes so she gets. 2 fried eggs, soft inside but cooked without, bacon and toast fried in the bacon fat...and there she sat on deck eating it with everyone else sitting watching...

The owner was keen for another ski and i thought i'd give it a go again. oooh not such a good idea. The result: fun, but very wet stiff and tired.

The Palm covered spit sheltering Marigot Bay from its entrance to the sea

(and the British fleet from the French)

Marigot Bay is the one mentioned last season were an English Admiral hid his fleet from the French by covering the rigging with palm leaves and anchoring behind the palm covered spit that divides the bay in two. Its absolutely stunning

The final dinner's table setting

After everything was prepared for dinner i joined the guests on a dingy ride around the corner to a beach for a swim. As we anchored a man from the beach started waving and shouting. We couldnt really hear him but kept catching snatches about the pipe that goes into the sea being for molasses and we didnt know if he was trying to tell us not to swim there or what. The owner bravely jumped in anyway and the local started

swimming out to him, so i figured it must be fine. 2 of the guests wouldnt get into the water but the rest of us swam ashore. It turns out the chap was simply trying to give us a lesson about the area: there was an old rum factory there and they anchor the molasses boats offshore, connect the pipe to the hold and pump the molasses ashore. We then got invited to join them for their poitjie on the beach and got the tour of the fishermen's hut. We declined the meal on the basis that there were two people waiting on the dingy for us but i guess it may have been partially due to the discovery that the floating bits were the remains of a cows scull.

After dinner it was off to the bar to listen to a reggae band and sing in the guest's birthday.

The drinks menu in Marigot Bay

Pic taken for the "Bartenders Surprise"

Day 12 St Lucia: Marigot Bay

Breakfast: 30 slices of Bacon, 8 Fried Eggs, 15 sausages, 10 slices Fried Toast, 4 'grilled' tomatoes

Tea: Birthday Chocolate Brownie Cake

Lunch: An assortment all set out

Departure day.

A big breakfast for everyone as 3 were leaving before lunch.

Then the guests went off on one last "jolly" coming back for tea on deck with a birthday cake with candles and everything.

Then we dropped off the 3 due to leave and the last two read and chatted, lunched and finally left.

ooh ooh ooh we got presents!

The one guest gave us a bottle of really nice Port as I had had some for the first time on charter with them and found it rather enjoyable, and and and a box of scrummy chocolates.

The couple gave the Cpt some nice smelling boy shower gel and deo and me...2 sets of rather kinky underwear...

Oh and the owner and his wife, well they told us they would fly us to the UK to be with the Cpt's family for Christmas, If we could still find flights (there were less than 10 days left) and if we wouldnt mind assisting the wife at their New Year's Eve do...needless to say we were unable to find flights...

So bye bye guests and back to the bar for celebratory margaritas and G&Ts

Day all the rest St Lucia: Marigot Bay

Freedom Breakfast

Our first day of freedom began with a cooked breakfast ashore and a stroll around the shops followed by more coffee and strolling.

My new toy

Finally we sailed back north to Rodney Bay where we anchored in the bay before having to go into the marina so we could fix the generator bit that had fried as the yard's last present was not attaching a connection properly...

I bought a steel drum and have started learning to play it. Poor Cpt sitting through my fitful renditions of Christmas Carols.

Port and celebratory Monte Christo Cigar

Before the charter began I found some Monte Christo cigars in Grenada.

As a final celebration we ended the trip sipping gifted port and puffing a cigar (ok well the first few puffs of it anyway)

2011 November last few days before charter

The rainy season is raining itself out. Our charter looms closer. And the Yard is STILL busy cutting, sanding, crimping, fitting......they are a month late!

Watching the torrential downpour through the companionway hatch

10 days to charter and our 'luxury' boat still looks like this...

They promised that they would be ready in time. They promised that we would not have to cancel the charter. They promised that they would make us the priority, doing everything in their power to get it all finished on time. They lied. They keep having to redo the work as they dont do it properly. They keep sending their people to work on other boats while ours is not finished. They keep trying to put in jimmy rigged systems and shortcuts. Flights are booked, it is too late to cancel the charter... AAAAAGH!

The new view from our decks. 5m above the ground

We had to be moved as the Cpt pointed out to the yard that the boat literally underneath us probably wouldnt appreciate us reantifouling our boat above them. So right next to the sea we are, with a wonderful view of the bay

Stephan. The electrician / DJ

Those arent real records. His music plays off his computer but the 'records' allow him to control the sound as if they are on the records. You know, scratching and mixing and all that.

One of the hardworking few who would stay until late at night working on the installation of the aircon units so that they could be finished only a little overdue....then being told he HAD to work on another boat the following day and not us... What a patient trooper!

Going back in

So at least this happened on time. ok the boat wasnt in the state we wanted it to be in before it went back in but at least this wasnt delayed. Considering the debacle with the boats going in on the previous few days, we were lucky...the rains made the ground rather sodden and a travel hoist lifting a boat is a heavy thing. Yip it kept getting stuck in the mud, spinning its wheels and jerking the unfortunate, suspended boats backwards and forwards. With us they had learnt, they put down giant metal and rubber mats...

Rig going back in

It only took them 3 days to put the mast back in and retune it. (which would have been unnecessary if they had listened to us when they took it out and not unscrewed ALL the fittings) But at least this time it was slightly more professionally done: ie. they didnt lose control of it and have it swinging wildly around the yard,and they didnt have a truck drive over our backstay etc etc.

Hmmm this improvement in service may have been due to the fact that the day before the Cpt had 'jokingly' said to the rigger that allowed these things to happen on the removal of the rig "So do you think we can do this tomorrow without losing control of the rig and having someone drive over the backstay" (i kid you not) and um well suprisingly he didnt rock up for the job and we had the other rigger from their other office come. Oh and I gave them our old furling line and politely suggested it might be useful tied to the outside edges of the spreaders to control the rig (last time they wouldnt believe us that this would control the rig better than halyards coming from the centre of the mast...)

Relief

Tree Frog

At night these little guys serenade the entire island with their birdlike chirping. They are LOUD. They are also however, smaller than the old R1 coin. We are still finding them all over the boat and dingy. We both think they're quite cute though so they are stored in a glass jar (with holes and a little mineral water) until they can be released ashore... ok ok maybe we are missing having proper pets.

2011 October Last few months in Grenada

We have been very lucky and both the Cpt's sister and Mother have paid us a visit!

you know how it is, when you have someone to show around you end up seeing, doing and tasting more...

Sorrel. It looks like something that should go in a potpouri jar

Sorrel Juice. Homemade

Once we had boiled for ages and a boatload of sugar has been added, the Sorrel made quite a refreshing drink. It tastes like a fresh lemonade but more sweet and sour in the Thai cooking sense than in the lemon and sugar sense.

Grand Anse Beach

Finding a Sand Dollar on the barren Grand Anse Seabed

I know it looks like a swimming pool with a sandy bottem but this is what the Grand Anse sea is like. Amazingly enough though, every time we swim there we see something new and rather different. This time it was a ginormous sand dollar, the time before it was a flying gernard (will try find the pic) which 'walks' along the sea floor using its foot like fins to flip things over and dig under the sand

Another picture of the sand dollar. Trying to prove that it was actually taken underwater

Cinups (or Skinups as we've been calling them)

For less than the change in the bottom of your purse (which is usually quite a lot in mine anyway), about 3EC, you can get a branch full of Cinups. These have a skin which looks and feels citrusy but if you bite it it pops open like a leetchie skin. Then the inside is fleshy, again like a leechy (maybe i'll guess the spelling eventually) but the pip is bigger and the flesh leaves a sort of dry feeling in your mouth. You also dont bite the flesh off like a litchie but suck it and scrape it with your teeth. Very yummy! One of the favourites i'll miss most

View from Fort Judy peninsular

If you walk to the end of the peninsular that our house is on, then push through some cactus plants and thorn bushes, following a slightly precarious goat path, you can get close close to the edge where (as in this photo) you can see how the sea is carving the land away, from the bottom up, leaving some quite spectacular overhangs.

Westerhall Post Office

This is where your postcards are sent from. Now do you still wonder why they haven't all made it?

Jack Fruit

No one was really sure about this fruit. It is not widely grown in Grenada and the only one we saw (this one) was on Belmont Estate and our guide tasted it for the first time with us. It is quite squidgy when ripe with a soft fleshy inside which contrasts its very spikey outside. Quite Yum! Sort of a creamy sweet flavour and in my opinion, worth promoting the cultivation there of.

The neverending battle with the NoSeeUms (Sandflies)

The Captain finally believed me about there ferocity...

Fort Judy. The sea on the North side

The view just before our house

Desperate for coffee

We changed the gas system for the boat, purchasing these awesome fiberglass gas bottles which are bigger, dont rust and if they ever catch alight, wont explode but will slowly release the gas over a 5 hour period. But the connection system to the boat had to change. So no gas for coffee. No Probs. We'll just use the blowtorch that actually is used as a flambe thingy for caramelizing sugar... And you thought i was joking when i said we dont have anything in the galley that is used for 1 thing only

August in Argentina 2

To back track a bit.

Thick ash from that pesky Chilean volcano

After another luxury, bed trip back to Buenos Aires and a sad goodbye to the sisters, we headed off down south to the land of ice and snow.

Our day starting before the sun's

We stayed in Le Estepa where they organised our activities for us and we had a driver who took us there.

First up was the Perito Moreno Glacier for a hike.

The Perito Moreno Glacier face

This is one of the few glaciers that is still advancing. Over time this face advances to the land blocking the through flow of the water from one part of Lake Argentina to another. Eventually the water level on the one side increases (up to 30m above the main portion of the lake) and the pressure etc wears away at the glacier boring a tunnel through. Then the crowds move in and keep watch for the Rupture which is when the newly formed ice bridge collapses causing tidal waves which then trigger more calving and so on

Mom standing a bit too close to the glacier for our guide's comfort

The blue glacial ice

The older the ice gets the more ice there is on top of it and so the denser it becomes thus it absorbs the longer wave-lengths of light only allowing the shorter blue light wave lengths to reflect thus giving it a deeper blue colour. Some of the old icebergs that have flipped actually look purple they're such a deep blue.

Trekking up the glacier

Looking out over the ice field

More single file trekking

Whisky on glacial ice.

Crampons to get there

(The only time you'll drink whisky on ice that's older)

Perito Moreno Glacier

The next day's early start took us speeding over Lake Argentina, between the icebergs to a few glacier faces

Another blue iceberg floating in Lake Argentina

A field of pancake icebergs

The boat for 400 that carried the 80 of us

The small boat was in for repairs so we got to go out in the big one AND we were in the Captain's Cabin which was basically the bridge with private balconies. Ah the life of luxury.

Secco Glacier

(Dry Glacier...any guesses how it got named)

The relief Captain convinced Mom to helm the boat. Mom happily perched in the Captain's chair, holding the wheel, giving it playful tugs left and right. You should have seen her face when she was told that there was no auto pilot and yes, she was actually steering the boat. Then there was the fun game where the Captain didnt speak english, so through my dodgy translation Mom "Steered a bit more left" "No not so much" "Ok now a little to the right"

We made it to the glacier without hitting any floating iceblocks with our aluminium bi-hull

Perito Moreno Glacier from the Lake

More Icebergs

We couldnt get close enough to Uppsala glacier as too much calving has taken place and you cant get a boat through the icebergs.

The trusting relief Captain under a chunk of Iceberg

Perito Moreno

Flamingos

View from my room in La Estepa

Wow what a hotel!!!

A ranch farm house converted into a hotel, this place is stunning!!! With its high ceilings, wide open spaces and massive windows it is amazing how warm they manage to keep the place.

But being gorgeous yet cosy with breathtaking views is not the best feature. That would be the five star service we received. Ok we were the only guests at the time but wow were we treated like royalty. We had delicious three course meals that no restaurant could have bettered, every night, and lunch packs stuffed fill with yummy local fare every day. Really and truly they organised everything we could possibly want, advising us on the best way to do things too. Ok I think you get the idea

View from La Estepa

The President of Argentina's 'Home in the Country'

The current (and possibly future) president of Argentina has her holiday home in El Calafate and happened to be in residence when we drove past - couldnt stop as apparently her bodyguards are rather protective...

Then it was back to Buenos Aires and another trip to SoloMia.

Finally it was time for the sad goodbyes and my Around The Americas Trip back to Grenada:

Buenos Aires -> Santiago -> New York -> San Juan (Puerto Rico) -> Grenada

Layover visit included Times Square

Central Park.

Around about now was when i was calculating the times involved in the flights to come and realised the times didnt add up. On reinspecting my eticket i saw i had mixed up my arrival and departure times so while i was enjoying my icecream in Central Park, at least half an hour from the airport, my plane was about to take off...

So I missed my plane but managed to get on the next one to San Juan. But this meant i had missed my flight that night to Grenada so it was a sleep in the airport lounge then...Hurricane Irene blew in and all flights were grounded.

An um interesting restaurant in San Juan

So with a 2 to 4 day predicted grounding I decided to explore a little.

I caught a taxi to the historical district where the above bar is. It was full of Americans who were having down down competitions with the coaxing of the energetic DJ and all at 11am

Sightseeing when a hurricane is imminent is limited

The graveyard section of the Fort

Watching the precursor to Irene's arrival

Finally a doorman at a pub suggested I make the trip back to the airport hotel before Irene made her appearance.

The next day Irene had passed over, the skies cleared and I flew back to Grenada...finally