Saturday, Jan 3, 2015

We decided to take the local bus into La Marin, the next town over. It was last minute idea about and whether we should get a move on to take the 9am bus or be leisurely to get the 1040am bus. I voted to get the 9am bus so we got together things quickly though Phil wasn’t happy initially. He thought we would have to rush to get there in time because I’m slow making sure I have everything I need, but we got there plenty early and waited about 20 min for the bus to arrive. He calmed down quickly. The #1 bus arrived on time and we got off at the La Marin Marina across from the big red building grocery store. Phil wanted to look at the chandlery and we also went in some of the Marina shops. In one there was 4 different colors of Madras plaid fabrics that seemed more than 60″ wide for 8€ a meter. Boy how I wanted to buy some fabric for later but resisted!

We continued walking along the Marina waterfront toward the Market under a metal green roof. There I bought some spices in a bag for 2€ each. I didn’t buy more curry, but can see how I’d go through it quickly when I used 2T per meal. Along the waterfront there are some restaurants, apartments and homes and more shops. Phil bought a macerator pump at Caribe Marine at Port de Plaisance which this area seems to be called. By this time my feet were getting tired and some rain clouds looked like they were heading our way, so we searched for a restaurant that looked like it would have WiFi and settled for Le Country on the Main Street. Phil had, you guessed it, a burger with french fries and I had a scoop of chocolate and lime ice cream as I had bigger breakfast than he did. The ice cream was very good with the lime having bits of grated lime rind In it. The local beer here is called Lorraine. They have tall beer glasses with the name Lorraine on them with the symbol they use so Phil asked if he could buy one. When they learned that my name was Lorraine, I received not only a free glass beer glass, but a red plastic mug with a handle and a Lorraine hat. What fun!! I really very thankful to the owner who along with the other employees were eating lunch at the table next to us.

While I had good internet, I tried to call Mom on Facetime, but her iPad was dead. Another time we’ll talk. I also tried to call some other family members, but no answer. I was able to talk to April Holko for a few minutes before we realized the time and that we better get walking if we were to make the 12 noon bus back home. The next one wasn’t until 1pm. We walked back to the same place we got off and saw the #1 bus pass us going the opposite direction, so we sat down to wait on a concrete block. Not too much later, a woman stopped and asked Phil if we wanted a ride so we said yes. Mary spoke a little English, but not enough because instead of taking us to St. Anne, she dropped us off at Grand Anse Beach. We got out, then Phil asked her where she was going and if we could go back with her. Then I said we wanted to go to the church at st. Anne, and she realized where we wanted to go. Just a miscommunication you understand. You must realize that it was a 3 mile walk to this beach from the Creole Restaurant and that was about 3/4 mile dinghy ride from the boat. WALKING would have been a different matter being many miles by road from where we needed to be and we hadn’t taken our hand held VFH radio to hail any friends to rescue us. All’s well that ends well, because we got inside the car again and Mary delivered us to the square in front of the church in St. Anne. We got back to Changes by 1230pm riding through 1 foot waves (it was pretty choppy). The winds were from the upper teens to mid 20’s most of the afternoon and evening but it’s not too bad here and at least it’s not rolly.

Mid afternoon we got a welcomed invitation to play dominoes at Vision a Quest with Walkabout, so about 2pm we went over to the boat. Phil won this time with Bob coming in 2nd. Back to Changes, I made a chicken curry dish with chunks of potatoes, carrots, and Chayote squash using the new curry powder “Columbo”. I used 2 T and it was still pretty mild. There is enough left over with the sauce to have another meal for 1-2 people. I think I’ll add in some couscous next time. Our winds are sustained 19-22kts from the East.