The view from Nancy Lu at our current mooring where I’m typing out this update is spectacular! We have been steadily sailing back to Grenada after making it as far north as Guadeloupe this season. We’re moored between the Pitons in St. Lucia for just one night before we continue our journey island hopping to Grenada where I am catching a flight to NYC to attend a baby shower for Amy and Marie and will stay until we fly back to Texas.

My last update covered most of the same dates that this update will cover, but this one will highlight our adventures on dry land or onboard Nancy Lu rather than in the sea!

The day Amy and her crew left us in Bequia, we had a nice lunch with old and new cruiser friends at Petra’s.

Despite the way it appears, the dog’s we encountered on the walk back to our dinghies were alive and well! I cannot imagine sleeping on the beach in full sun being a pleasant experience especially for a furry animal, but what do I know?!

As I type this blog update, we are moored between the Pitons, St. Lucia, heading south, but we sailed past them going north to anchor a couple of nights in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia to do some grocery shopping on our way north to Martinique.

We spent some time anchored in St. Anne, Martinique. While we were there, I went up to the top of the mast to straighten out a fold that was causing us trouble when we unfurled the mainsail.

Going up the mast is not something I look forward to doing, but the view is extraordinary.

I found the fold and straightened it out.

Taking pictures was difficult because of my adrenaline-induced shaky hands and trying to hold onto the mast or stays to keep from swinging too much in the boson’s chair. As I took pictures from the mast,

Mark took pictures from the deck.

We sailed between Rocher De Diamant  (Diamond Rock) and “mainland” Martinique as we sailed north to Grand Anse d’Arlet where we did a lot of snorkeling and on to St. Pierre.

The view of St. Pierre from the harbor looks different after the completion of the renovations done to the cathedral there. It is back to what it looked like before the fire that destroyed it during the devastating eruption of Mount Pelée in May of 1902.

Since our first visit to this city, which was known as the Paris of the Caribbean before the 1902 eruption, I have always been captivated by how it was rebuilt around the ruins.

Rue (Street) Petit Versailles Circa 2025

Rue Petit Versailles Circa 2017

I’m glad we gave the memorial museum another visit this year because it has been completely renovated since we were here in 2017.

My fifth grade sensibilities told me that this was a picture worth sharing and the perfect name for toilet paper (FYI, ou is pronounced oo in French )

Mount Pelée looms large over St. Pierre and the anchorage!

As we were coming into the anchorage, we snagged some heavy duty fishing line around our propeller. It was quite a job for Mark to get it free.  It appeared that part of the yards and yards of line that Mark pulled out had melted around the shaft. The next day, our friends, Steve and Annemarie on S/V Freebooter and their friends with SCUBA gear took a look, but were really only able to confirm what Mark thought was the problem. After getting as much of the line out as possible, we had to settle on the job being done and we’ve not had any problems since.

After we left St. Pierre, we sailed north to Dominica!

Our friend Mr. Beanz took excellent care of us in Roseau. I shared about him taking us to find a Sperm Whale in my last update, but he arranged for land adventures, as well.

One of this year’s highlights was getting to host his nieces, Aniela and Zaira on Nancy Lu for an afternoon! Mr. Beanz brought them and his mom on our boat way back in 2019 when they were just 7 and 2.  Aniela is a teenager now (13) and Zaire is 8!!

We had pineapple smoothies…

Zaira read for me!

Aniela showed me pictures on her phone of a school field trip where they saw lots of dolphins swimming with their boat!

Zaira colored with the same book and markers that Aniela used 6 years ago, and Aniela decided that she would join in! Next year I need to have some adult coloring books on board for her!

Before we took a little zip around the anchorage in the dinghy, Zaira posed for a picture on the bow of Nancy Lu! Both girls said that they probably wouldn’t like living on a boat because of the motion!

On to some of the land adventures that Mr. Beanz arranged for us:

Armstrong, who works with Mr. Beanz and used to drive him to school when he was a boy, took us out for a day that started with a trip to the Emerald Pool.

On our way to lunch, we stopped at an overlook where we could see Trafalger Falls in the distance.

The River Rock Café’ is one of our favorite spots to eat in Dominica! WHAT AN AWESOME SETTING!!

After lunch, we decided to go to one of the handful of natural hot spring spas that are in the village of Wotten Waven. Armstrong took us to Mr. Screws’, which is his favorite.

It was very artistic and the brain child and handiwork of Mr. Screws himself.

On our way back to Roseau, we stopped to see the source of all the hot, mineral filled water. It is like a miniature Valley of Desolation, a UNESCO site in Dominica that we hiked to back in 2019. The Valley of Desolation is like a miniature of the geothermal areas of Yellowstone National Park.

Click here for a short video of bubbles from volcanic activity

On the way back to Nancy Lu, we took the short cut through the Botanical Gardens in Roseau where we saw the school bus flattened by an African Baobab Tree that fell on it during Hurricane David in 1979. Thankfully, no children were in school or in the school bus that day!

Another day, we decided to visit Trafalgar Falls on our own via the local bus system:

Who could resist climbing out onto the boulders to get a closer look?…

Papa Fall (on the left)

Mama Fall (on the right)

And who could resist taking 1,000 photos? And who could be expected to choose only a few to post?!

After pulling ourselves away from the gorgeous views of Trafalger Fall’s side-by-side Papa and Mama cascades, we set out on foot down the river to have lunch again at River Rock Café’.

The two halves of the big boulder we passed on the side of the road on our way to the restaurant are the result of a recent landslide, yikes!

After lunch, we flagged down a taxi to take us back to the bus stop in Roseau…

where we visited the Dominica Museum and explored downtown a little bit before we took the bus back to Nancy Lu.

Another self-guided excursion we took was a dinghy ride to Champagne Beach for snorkeling and on to the town of Soufriere for a visit to Bubble Beach Spa. We could not enjoy the naturally heated waters this time due to our arrival at low tide!

Our next excursion was another one organized for us by Mr. Beanz with our ride and guide, Jones, another one of Mr. Beanz’s mentors…

He drove us to the top of a long hill where we walked down to a Rasta man, Moses’ cabin for a quick visit and then on a hike…

down to…

the White River which gets it’s color from the minerals flowing down from the Boiling Lake.

We were accompanied as far as the river by Moses’ dogs, but they left us to cross the river on our own.

The hike consisted of many crossings of the river and a lot of hiking up the middle of the river climbing over vehicle-sized boulders. We were very happy to have Jones to scout out the best route and lead the way.

Mark decided to admire the fall from a spot not quite to the place where it plummeted into the pool below, but I decided to go all the way to the top.

Onward…

We made it!

The power of Victoria Falls was MAGNIFICENT! I decided not to venture too far into the pool because the power of the water crashing down was actually creating strong wind and waves! I didn’t want to get caught in an undertow.

After experiencing the crashing power of the fall, Jones and I set out back the way we came. From where we started back down, I could see the tiny figure that was Mark down where he was waiting for us.

We got back to the spot where I had discarded my shoes so I could better grip the slippery rocks. There was still a ways to go down to reach Mark.

Click here for a video of Kathy climbing down the waterfall

A  few days later, we sailed  north to Portsmouth, Dominica.

We always try to attend the weekly BBQ put on by a wonderful organization called PAYS (Portsmouth Area Yacht Services).

Our friend and guide, Martin, is a charter member of PAYS! This year, we spent a Saturday with him on an excursion to Chaudiere Falls and other beautiful destinations…

We passed some peewee futbol players on our car ride through the north side of Dominica. The sight made me think that maybe my grandkids were doing the same thing on their Saturday morning back in Texas; although, they would call it soccer!

Martin is a treasure trove of information about the natural treasures of his island nation. Guides like him must complete training and pass certification tests about nature and history to be licensed to be guides. Of course, someone like Martin who grew up here has interesting personal stories to share. He said that his childhood was spent in a house just like a green one that we passed. Anyone that has Martin as a guide has the added benefit of his higher education degree in botany! Perhaps the biggest bonus having Martin as a guide is the absolute enthusiasm and love he has for his home and all of God’s beautiful creation for which he has the utmost appreciation and its creator!

When we reached the head of the trail to Chaudiere Falls, Martin was so pleased to introduce us to a man he called his teacher.

One of many guava that we picked and ate on the trail

Hearts Of Palm

The vine with long leaves is vanilla.

The long downhill trek to the falls was a master class in flora and fauna. Martin’s friend of 20 years, Yves, was Martin’s companion for the day. He is a farmer with much information to add as we went along!

We had a refreshing swim at Chaudiere Falls named for the the bubbles that make it look like the water is boiling hot. It is actually refreshingly cool. The short little fall creates such a current that it is almost impossible to swim up to the fall. It’s like swimming in an exercise pool where you can swim for as long as you want without going anywhere.

After the long uphill climb back to our car and taking some time to admire a pig,  we drove to lunch

with a few scenic stops on the way…

After a delicious lunch, our destination was Red Rock and the black and white beach there. Martin took us on a less traveled trail and his excitement to share the sights with us was infectious!

This corner of the northeast side of Dominica is truly wondrous!

Click here for a short video of Martin (and me) singing a song inspired by the black and white beach

Martin was delighted to accommodate Mark’s request for some Dominican chocolate. This chocolate factory was very nearby.  What a great day we had with Martin and Yves!

The next day, we continued our journey north with a sail to The Saints.  In my next (and last) update of the season, I’ll begin with our land and boat adventures there in The Saints and continue northward to our northernmost destination, Guadeloupe.  I’ll wrap up our 2025 sailing (and blogging) season by chronicling our journey back south to Grenada.

For now, I will conclude this update with beautiful sunset pictures at the Pitons.