The mainland that’s like an island
Imagine a piece of the coastline which is functionally much like an island. That’s a pretty fair description of Cumberland Bay, where we and our friends are anchored right now. Although there is a road which runs by the small village, in order to gain access to it you need to ford a river. Doable? In most conditions, we understand, yes. After a rain storm in the mountains? Not so easily done.
Yesterday morning, Rebecca and I took a long tour around in our dinghy, checking out the coastline as far down as the village of Barrouallie. We did have a purpose to the trip beyond exploration, that being to find an ATM where we could acquire some cash, but once that was looked after, we took our time, enjoying the sights and talking with some of the residents. All the while we were out, there were some very menacing-looking dark rain clouds hovering over the mainland but as luck would have it, we managed to get hit with no more that a few drops here and there.
It was just after noon when we arrived back to Cumberland Bay and were surprised to see that the crystal clear water in the center of our anchorage was now chocolate-colored. We saw a fisherman near this spot and initially thought that perhaps he had dredged up some mud with a net although, given the depth of the water in that section of the bay, we didn’t really see how that would be possible. In didn’t take long for that one section of brown, muddy water to grow to encompass the entire bay, surrounding ZTC, Earthling and all of the other vessels anchored there. We were still quite perplexed by this and more than a bit disappointed because, given how much the mud was spreading, the snorkeling that Rebecca and I had planned on doing after lunch was now out of the question.
As the afternoon drew on, the rain which had confined itself to the mountains made it’s way to the shoreline, washing our boat and filling the buckets we had set out to catch water. During a brief lull in the downpour, we made a quick dash to the beach and soon found ourselves holed up in a local bar as the rain resumed. It was only then that we came to learn the true cause of the water’s transformation from clear to mucky, the river. Apparently, when the rain falls heavily in the mountains, it washes mud and all manner of debris down into the bay. In addition to that, the river, which can be crossed both by foot and vehicle when the water is low becomes impassable until the water drops again, shutting off all land routes to the village. In a sense, it becomes like an island.
We spoke to a couple of expats from France who are running a cool pirate-themed bar/restaurant here called the Black Baron (the generous providers of our Wi-Fi signal) and they didn’t seem too interested in having a bridge built over the river to combat this. I guess the locals enjoy the occasional isolation. Of course, if it was necessary, you could always use a boat to travel the very short distance to the other side of the bay, giving you access to the road. Again, much like being on an island.
Note: I am happy to report that, at the time of this post, the water surrounding our boat has thankfully returned to it’s original clarity, as was promised by the Cumberland Bay natives that we spoke to yesterday.
PS: Now that we have Wi-Fi I was able to add a few pics from our passage to St. Vincent. Check yesterday’s post to see them.
So how much “water” does it take to see St. Vincent? (Just kidding).
The view out your back door may be the most spectacular landscape I have ever seen.
The foliage on the hill behind us is so thick that we can’t actually see the land. We don’t know if there is rock behind the trees or a dirt hill or whatever!
Great thanks. Lovely pictures, including those added to your last post. Squalls seem to be pretty massive round there.
The steepness of those cliffs, and their size is amazing.
I hope you will be going to the Dark waterfall. I have just read the Catlyn description of their trip to it and it looks spectacular.
Mike
We were just discussing Dark View falls. We hope to get there. What is the link you were reading about it?
This is the link http://mycatlyn.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/st-vincent-dark-view-waterfalls-video.html
Mike
Thanks.
Incidentally, is Kelly returning to Earthling some time? Or is that history? I did not like to ask on his blog!
Mike
I hope so. We really like her!
That first picture looks like a place Tarzan would hang out……cool place.
No kidding. There are hardly any roads on this island! It is almost all jungle.
Hi Mike and Rebecca:
Congrats on yet another safe passage. You will enjoy St. Vincent immensely. We cruised St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines in December 2009 in anticipation of our year long live-aboard adventure in 2010 in the Bahamas.
We loved St. Vincent. Reportedly some issues involving crime against boaters however we were not affected in any way. We did keep our wits about ourselves, kept the boat secure at all times and always locked the dinghy no matter how brief the trip when leaving it unattended. The “boat boys” were pushy but always heeded our caution to leave us in peace when we informed them we were not week long charterers who would carelessly throw around $USD like candy creating some hardships for future boaters.
We did find the boat boys easy to barter with and we always settled our purchases with $EC. Also, when quoted prices on anything, we would always first make the assumption and confirm that the currency being quoted was in fact $EC as it is too easy to get taken for $USD instead if you are none the wiser. Mind you, you folks have been at this for a while now and you likely run a frugal ship like we did.
The passage from St. Lucia to St. Vincent can be fun as I remember being so exposed to a fetch from the east that has its next port of call somewhere on the west coast of Africa. Congrats again for making landfall in such a beautiful part of the world.
Cheers,
Alan
S/V Mango Groove
Hi Alan
We are already liking this place. We have thus far found the people here to be infinitely LESS pushy than those in St. Lucia. Not a single person has caused us any strife here, in spite of some of the (past) reports we have heard. We are, as you suggested, pretty careful when it comes to negotiating and always point out the fact that we are not on a charter boat. They usually get the idea. 🙂
Our sail here from St. Lucia was reasonably pleasant. In fact, if we had caught a fish or two, it would have been excellent! 🙂
Mike
Great Blog, finally got a chance to peek.
Fairs winds,
Allen
You only just now got a chance to look at it? Dude! I can’t believe we could have been saying nasty things about you all this time and you wouldn’t have known. 🙂
Hope all is well, Allen.
Mike