Back to the Island!

Here we are, back to the island yet again! After a hectic whirlwind of two weeks stateside, from Florida to Colorado to Wisconsin and back to Florida once again, we are now back aboard Equinox. Happily, all our doctors appointments, correspondence obligations, and visits to family went well. Despite the frantic pace, it was absolutely delightful to be with everyone again and we thoroughly enjoyed the time together. Ron also got the recalcitrant first stage of his favorite dive regulator repaired, and we gathered some needed boat items, including a new handheld VHF that floats (and isn't just submersible! :). I also had the chance to pick up a copy of the March issue of PassageMaker, so I finally got to see my cruising article on Bermuda in print! 

Thus yesterday we were up early and off to FLL airport for our flight back. As always, we had Equinox's current St. Martin cruising permit with us, thankfully, since that was necessary to prove why we didn't have a return ticket to the States. With a copy duly made by the ticket agent, we were good to go! (Note to self: remember not to travel on any Saturday in March when spring break travelers are thronging the airports! Yikes! The crowds were incredible!) The flight was easy, and since we had only carry-on luggage, we didn't have to wait for any checked bags before getting a taxi to the north side of the island.

Our long day of travel was rewarded with a gorgeous, warm, still evening enjoyed on Equinox's back deck with a lovely French bordeaux wine and cheese. We lingered over the sunset listening to music before we went to dinner at Calypso, a small restaurant across from the Radisson resort here. Truly French in ambience and attitude, we were treated to utterly delicious food and somewhat supercilious service. (Ahhh, the French!) We happily shared a delicate crab and avocado salad, before I enjoyed fresh ceviche on a bed of greens, while Ron had tender slices of roast duck with amazing cheese-crusted baked potatoes. (Ahhh, the French!) It was a great dinner!

When we returned to the boat, the air was so still that the water was like dark glass. The sky was clear, and the palms weren't even whispering the tiniest bit. There wasn't even any sound of water lapping at at the hull, so all I could hear was the soft sound of crickets chirping in the hills around the marina. It struck me as quite a contrast from the frozen temps and blustery snow that we encountered in Colorado and Wisconsin this past week! Amazingly serene and what a welcome back!     

During the night though, disrupting the quiet, we received two lengthy tropical deluges. We both jumped up scrambling to close hatches and windows, and thankfully, we were quick! Without any wind, the rain was coming down -- straight down -- in buckets!! It was pouring off the flybridge around the back cockpit in sheets, creating a curtain of water that looked like we were trapped inside a waterfall. This was no typically quick tropical shower either....it poured for quite some time, before stopping, when things amazingly returned to its previous quiet stillness. Welcome back!