Canoe

We were fortunate enough to happen upon a master Carib boatbuilder plying his trade along the road.   Of course we stopped and gawked and took pictures.   But Martin made sure that it was ok to take pictures, and it turned out that the two workers -- a master builder and his young assistant -- were extremely friendly and gracious.   Notice the face of the master builder.   The Caribs reminded us, in physique and physiognomy, of Peruvians.  They live in their own villages, and, at least until quite recently, have been extremely reluctant to intermarry with the non-Carib locals.

The canoes are made by cutting down a huge straight tree, and then splitting it length-wise.   One of the halves is hollowed out, and then, using the weight from stones and the pressure from spreaders, the sides of the hollowed-out portion are spread.   In order to soften the wood to facilitate the spreading, fires are burned along the outside of the hull.   In order to prevent scorching, the hollowed-out hull is filled with water, and calabash pitchers are used to scoop up the water and splash in against the inside and outside of the hull nearest the heat.   The workers also had a rake to use to move the embers around along the hull.   Off to the side, the apprentice proudly showed us the two long planks that had been cut from the other side of the original tree.   Those were fated to become the extension of the sides of the boat.   The remarkable thing is that those planks were cut entirely by hand, using only a chain saw.   To all appearances, they looked as straight and true and of such consistent thickness as to have been done at a mill.   The apprentice also retrieved the upright members of the bow and stern (and propped them in place) that had been cut from that top half, and that appear in some of the pictures below.   The apprentice also informed us that the master had been the builder of the "Gli gli" canoe that has been paddled and sailed up the Caribbean chain recently in historic re-creation of the migration of the Caribs up from South America.   Ann and John (Livin' the Dream) had seen that vessel, and later sent us copies of pictures they had taken.   (See below.)

Master boat builder	His apprentice	Heating and forming the sides of the boat	He moves the fire along the sides of the boat and splashes water on the sides to keep them from getting too hot/burned	Our group is admiring the boat
Chuck learning some details of the process	The other half of the log was used to cut planks (with a chainsaw) that will be the sides of the boat - look how straight they are!	A finished canoe, seen earlier in the tour along the roadside	Gli Gli canoe/sailboat (thanks to Ann -- Livin the Dream -- for the photos)	Gli Gli under sail

Chauiere Pool

On our northern trip with Martin we also hiked in to the Chauriere pool.   There, Steve,  John, and Ann demonstrated their cajones by jumping off the side of the cliff into the pool.   Ann slid down the chute, and later jumped off the cliff.   Steve did a somersault on his first jump, and then dove head-first on his second.   I took pictures.   :-)

Ann (Livin the Dream) sliding down the waterfall in Chauiere Pool	John (Livin the Dream) jumping into the pool	Martin (our tour guide) jumping	Steve (Seaman's Elixir) diving in the pool

Birthday Party

Ann (Living the Dream) had a birthday ending in a zero, and John invited everyone on the tour to join him at the Purple Turtle bar/restaurant for the celebration.   John (Sojourn) also arrived at the anchorage that day, and also joined us.   Martin and his wife were also invited.   A good time was had by all.   Happy Birthday, Ann -- you don't look a day over 30!

Ann (Livin the Dream) turned (something)0!!	John (Livin the Dream)	Barb enjoying the party	Ann, Barb & Linda having a good time at the party	Eric & Steve
Martin - the master tour guide	Martin's wife	John (Sojourn)	Nicky	Nicky's husband Martin

Seaman's Elixir

We had not seen special friends Steve and Linda for ages.   They had hooked two sailfish (at the same time!) on the way down to Dominica, and released one but retained the other because it had been damaged.   So they had us -- and our guest Joy, and John and Ann (Livin' the Dream) -- over for a delicious meal featuring the sailfish.  Yummy.   Of course, Steve, being the new reigning "Minister of Rum", now that the original has moved to the Americas, brought out after dinner several of his top-grade rums.  We had a delightful time doing a little tasting/critiquing, enhanced for some of us by a few puffs on Steve's recently-acquired Cuban cigars.

Linda (Seaman's Elixir) was our hostess for a gourmet dinner	Ann is enjoying one of Steve's cigars	Barb is trying it too	Joy relaxing before dinner	Steve & Linda treated us to some fine rum at the end of the evening

Fort Shirley

One of the interesting, and easily accessible, sites near the Prince Rupert Bay anchorage is Fort Shirley.  Some portions of the fort are in the process of being restore/re-created.   Others are still in their picturesque overgrown state.   Both are well worth a visit.

One of the extensively (and expensively) restored buildings	The group herded together for a picture	One of many cannons abandoned in their original position -- not, as is so often the case, brought in afterwards to dress up the site for tourists	Another cannon up along a high wall to the north	Fireplace (?) in the commander's headquarters
A room filled with grapeshot	Joy in front of the grapeshot magazine	A closeup of a single grapeshot	Troop barracks	More overgrown barracks
View down the commander's building	A "sandbox" tree noticed at the fort site