Caribbean - Dominica

At the end of the River Tour is of course a bar, serving of course rum punch. Yum yum it was good rum punch and dried us off, on the inside at least.

Indian River Bar, complete with logs turned into tiny rough furniture.

The bar was typically no more than a roof held up by some poles with the furniture and necessary bar to hold the patrons and liquor respectively. Less is definitely more in this place as the lack of walls provides rainforest decor (and i would imagine means less to rebuild after a hurricane). In the middle of the picture below the dangling pink vegetation is their version of our Bird of Paradise. It really is quite astounding how similar the plants and animals here are to home!

Drinking in the jungle. (view and rum punch)

Sailing away from Dominca we realised that the 24hours we had spent in the rain had not been experienced by those a couple of miles offshore. It would seem that Dominica lives under its own, very exclusive raincloud. This does mean that, having the highest rainfall of the area, it is a stunning island rainforest which has luckily been preserved from development, damaging tourism and local poaching (if you are found with as much as a single feather from a parrot you face up to 5 years in prison...)

Dominica and her raincloud.

Leaving Dominica another long but fun sail brought us to Antigua. Less rain and less sun meant more pleasant sailing with less sunburn. You gotta love the Caribbean constant 15 to 20 knots wind. This was a day of absolutely awesome sailing which made me realise just how lucky I am to be on such a fabulous yacht as this particular Swan! She is a wonderfully balanced, 60 footer who simply plows elegantly through the water. The Captain hadn’t lost his fishing touch and we hauled in a biggy! (yes 'we', I was the one with the sailing gloves on that had to hold it still so the hook could be removed) From our handy fish chart we deduced it was a billfish or um maybe a baby marlin or um one of those kind of big fish. It was so big and so beautiful that, yes bleeding hearts and all that, we threw it back. It seemed no worse for wear from its brief yachting excursion, making a speedy swim for freedom after being unceremoniously dumped back in the sea.

Our temporary guest, the BillFish or Baby Marlin or um one of those kind of fish

So our story restarted in St Lucia where the guests left and the boat needed to be cleaned um after 9 men lived on her for 18 days...ja well no fine... At least the captain made a start on it for me. But there were all the after party events for the ARC to relax at in the evenings, not to mention the continuous live marimba music and permanent holiday feel

St Lucia, Rodney Bay. Where it all began....again

With just the two of us on board we decided to do two long day sails with a two night stop-over in Dominica so that we could clear customs and of course do some exploring. Anchored outside Portsmouth we learnt just how long and loud the locals can party...that would be: all night and audible right across the bay. We were so tired from the trip it was no worry to us to fall into deep sleep to the reggae beat.

Dominica Island, Portsmouth. Rain, rainbows, rivers, reggae and rest.

The following day we woke to discover that the locals dont actually need sleep and their DJs dont ever lose their voice. Yip, the party was still going with the reggae booming and the crowd being hyped up by the still enthusiastic, louder than the music, same as the evening before DJ. We were then reminded to chose our local contact with the promise that on doing so all the others would leave us alone. That's how we met Albert the local river guide and were persuaded that our one venture ashore should be in a boat.

The Indian River during the 30sec interval that it wasn't raining.

Off we set in Albert's row boat and the rain (Dominica is one massive rainforest) up the Indian River. Here we have another name trying to preserve history: the Indian River is so named for the Carib Indians that used to live there and their food, the Arawak tribe. The Caribs are the tribe of cannibalistic fame, remember them in the Pirates of the Caribbean?

Another local Dominican inhabitant. I'm sure you recognise this one from home. They are everywhere!

We were very shortly informed that this was not simply a tour up a rainforest river on a Caribbean Island, including detailed teachings on the intriguing fauna and flora...no no not just that. This was also a tour of the film sets of Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3. 'Do you remember the witches house in the mangrove? It was right there' Apparently the all knowing, persistent Albert and his boat were employed for the filming of the movies, to ferry the stars around and fill in as an extra...

One of the few predators to live on the island (along with the 'None of them are poisonous' snakes) and apparently a vegetarian...???

Too much time has passed to try and catch up the bits in between. Needless to say there was the trip from Sicily to Palma with the regular crew of the Captain’s pro friends and some newbies; the work time in Palma and the fun trip from Palma through the Straits of Gibraltar to the Canary Island of Las Palmas.

Our dolphin escort from Palma to Las Palmas

After getting the boat ready for the crossing with its 8 guests, it was sad goodbyes and happy trip home to the wonderful wide open spaces of South Africa and the friends and family they hold. Our favourite but not so PC dinner in Las Palmas....yip those poor force fed ducks

It was perfect timing being in Cape Town for the fun wedding of a cousin, bringing almost the entire clan together. Then on to Grahamstown to visit a very missed Gran and to be pampered and exercised with laughter (and of course the bouncing boob brigade...that’s a fun story in itself). And finally home to the farm for fun and family and to see my ‘puppy’ that despite what he or I might think, is perhaps no longer actually a puppy (you try telling an affectionate full grown Rottweiler it’s no longer supposed to sit on your lap)Just one of Cape Town's spectacular beaches

A Room in the Topkapi Palace I

A tour through a room in the Topkapi Palace II

And we're back to the beginning again. The Fantastical City of Istanbul from the bridge

But first, here is the tower that led us home every evening. Some people believe it was built by an emperor around 518AD but most evidence points to its construction by the Genoese when they ruled the Northern shores of the Golden Horn, where our hotel was. Yip, for those of you wondering, even the powerful Genoese trading city had an outpost here, trading with the Byzantiums in the old city. Yes, Genoa in Italy.

And back we go to the Topkapi Palace and the Harem section where the royal family lived. The Sultan's Mother was the most influential person in the palace and thus the second most influential in the land (so it goes) These were her bathing quarters. With cleanliness being next to godliness and all that she had an entire marbled room at her disposal for ablutions. This is simply one corner of it.
This is simply an example of the opulence of the quarters of those living in the Harem. Everything is cushions and couches, drapes and carvings. But remember the carvings are never of people or animals, simply patterns allowed by Islam
There are still many buildings kept in their traditional form in the rest of the Palace, outside of the Harem. There are basically 3 courtyards leading into one another with buildings surrounding them and pavilions dotting them. Only certain people were allowed into each courtyard, the first reserved for the governing of the Empire (throne room, reception room etc), the second for the running of the Palace (kitchens, stables etc) and the third seems to have been designated for healing including the pavilion (home) of the chief healer, and the pavilion below used for circumcision...who said you cant be in pain surrounded by opulent splendour?
I am still trying to reduce the size of the videos so they will load. Hopefully they will be posted soon