Marigot Bay St Lucia

So at last back in St Lucia! We arrived on Tuesday afternoon and picked up a buoy for the night as dock space was booked from Wednesday. Tuesday night we had dinner with Ed & Zoe in Rainforest Hideaway Restaurant which was a beautiful setting nestling in amongst the trees on the opposite side of the Bay to the Marina. The food was delicious and beautifully presented. Peter thought the portions could have been bigger but it was just right for me. Anyway we both need to lose some weight now as we have done too much eating and drinking lately with very little exercise so it is good there is a swimming pool here at the Discovery Hotel which we can use. We moved Trompeta onto the dock next to Zoe yesterday lunchtime and were all ready and handy for the arrival party which was a Barbaoke. It was a good opportunity to get together with all the crews we had not seen since Grenada as everyone has been free cruising. There is a Moorings Base here and there was a brand new 4800 Catamaran on the dock and the chef on board was known to us from the BVIs so we had a good time catching up on news from Debs who is originally from New Zealand. Debs is actually leaving the boat today as she has work in France with The Moorings working with another friend of ours Paul Sowman who is also from New Zealand. Paul & Carmel (his partner) actually came to see us whilst we were living in Harrogate! Anyway it is a small world and it is amazing who you bump into!! Also whilst we were here we got an e mail from the Crewed Yacht Manager in the BVI offering us work for May & June so at least we will earn money again which is good. Now Peter and I are trying to organise our Hurricane plan for the boat as we get hauled out in Grenada but will keep the boat in St Lucia June and November. The Marina Manager Bob has agreed we can stay on the dock here for June and November which is good and he is also offering us 20% discount on normal berthing fees as we are part of the World ARC rally! Now it is just a question of logistics and making sure the boat is in the right place at the right time. So today we finish cleaning the boat and get prepared for the Parade of Sail on Saturday by putting our flags up. The MD of World ARC Andrew Bishop is also here and he wants to talk to all the Skippers about their rally experience so he is coming to see Peter this morning. It is a good feedback opportunity for him. Tonight there is another party up the hill at Glenn's house. Glenn is a friend of one of the rally skippers and he has kindly invited all World ARC crews to a BBQ at his house which has a swimming pool so we have to take swimsuits and towels and there is a fantastic view of the sunset so we need to be up there no later than 6pm which is when the sunset is here. Marigot Bay is where Dr Doolittle was filmed so it is very pretty and the Marina complex has lots of small shops and arty crafty places to visit. The supermarket here on site is not too bad with a good stock but pricey.