We have had the fortunate circumstance to see some beautiful beaches. Long Beach in the Bahamas, Sapodilla Bay and Taylor Bay in Turks and Caicos, Borocay in the Philippines, Crocus Bay and Little Bay in Anguilla...just to name a few. This beach, by Cocoa Point in Barbuda tops the list I think.

As you know, Greg and I were feeling a bit overwhelmed with the sailing-traveling life of late. Not like throw-in-the-towel level of overwhelm but more like lost-in-space level of overwhelm. We felt like we didn't have direction, and that we needed it.

When I got back from my trip to Ottawa last Wednesday we had 6 days left on our cruising permit. After enjoying Falmouth and English Harbours and spending some time in Jolly Harbour, we were either going to sail to Green Island on the windward side of Antigua orrrrrrr head to Barbuda. Well we got a lovely little wind from the South, and an absence of a North swell which made it an easy decision to head the 35 miles north to Barbuda for a few days before returning to Jolly to grab some groceries, top up our fuel (Antigua has clean fuel and it's conveniently located) checkout with immigration and sail 50 or so miles south to Guadalupe.

We had a lovely broad / beam / close reach as the wind curved around the islands and honestly it was only the second time this winter we've NOT been bashing upwind. It was SO NICE to not be bashing upwind. So nice in fact that if Tuesday rolls around and we aren't feeling the weather forecast we will extend our cruising permit and head to Guadalupe when we could have another great point of sail.

And since we've been here in Barbuda it's been...spectacular. Really I can't overstate how much we love the quiet, almost totally deserted beach, the friendly people (when there are people), the basically-too-good-to-be-real water that is warm and the most perfect colour. It all culminates to a feeling of peace that has washed away the restlessness of the past week or so and renewed our love of this type of travel. The kids have played for hours in the water, we've not felt cooped up on the boat or felt obligated to go find some wifi, and we are still basking in the glow of a few important boat jobs being accomplished. We've walked the length of this very long beach and around the point, on which there is exactly one small glamping-style, resort, one obvious development under construction (there are others but they aren't right on the beach), and one perfect beach bar. Inoch runs Shak-A-Tai and it's everything you might want a beach bar to be...uncomplicated with cold drinks, furnishings that don't compete with the surrounding beauty but rather compliment it, and just enough patches of shade that you can prevent that lobster-red look that might otherwise occur when on your 2nd (or 3rd) Carib.

Oh ya...and speaking of lobsters. Yesterday we asked about the sign "Lobsters upon request" and Inoch told us he can get them for us in the morning...so we bought 3 and I tried my hand at a quick and clean kill tonight before cooking them up for dinner. The kids were a bit squeamish about it but (as was Greg), even after naming and petting them, Grace really stepped up and selected which would meet the knife first, picked it up and put it on my board. She also threw the mid-section and heads overboard after we twisted off the tails. These spiny lobsters aren't like the ones at home in Canada - they are all tail and no claw. Easy to catch, hold and cook since your fingers aren't at risk and 90% of the meat is in the tail (ok that's an estimate but it's mostly all there).

Today we did something else that was quite special for us. We actually shelled out the bucks to get a proper tour of the island and visit the Frigate bird sanctuary here. Devon took us around the island and it was so flat and so green - the vegetation has really come back after Irma. And the island has a, cough cough, healthy Donkey population which apparently the locals don't like but are kind of neat to see roaming around. In fact 5 visited us on the beach the first night we were here! The island also has guinea fowl, wild boar, deer, and land turtles (we only saw the former) and is home to a massive Frigate bird population and breeding ground. Devon handed us over to the very capable George who took us on his whaler (with a 60hp outboard!!) and we sped through the mangroves to see the frigates. It's mating season for these birds (I mean what else are you doing to do in the winter am I right?!) and that means it's the perfect time to watch the males puff out the massive red balloons under their chins (beaks I guess?) and clap their beaks together to impress the ladies. It was bedlam. It was very cool.

George and Devon talked to us about the island and we spent a lot of that time focused on the local politics. In some ways they are having their own land claim issues, similar to St. Martin, where the government wants to take their land and hand it over to developers. Not good. Barbuda is (according to George and Devon) the only island commonly owned by the people...you can't buy land, you lease it if you are from off island...and if you are on island all you need to do is build on it and it's yours. The downside is that you can't use the land to get a bank loan so every house that is built is without loans...straight out of pocket! But the upside is that the land belongs to the people that live there...the people who were left there after they were brought over on ships against their will. But George and Devon told us that now it looks like post-Irma there is incentive ($$) for local governments to changing that and allowing some big companies to buy the land, and own the land, for the first time. Hmmm...I feel like there is a trend in the islands that I didn't know about. And again (and understandably) those who have lived on the island for generations are not happy about this at all. I honestly didn't think much about island politics until we got down here (ashamed to say…I thought and talked much more about the politics and policies of larger countries and their global impact). Now I am so interested in it that I engage as many people in conversations about their local politics that I can without feeling like I am annoying them by my questions (I really don’t want to be THAT person). So far, every single time, I find people more than willing to share their perspectives, frustrations and fears and are happy to be asked about something other than rum.

So without the pressure of finding something to do, some way of feeling productive, we have filled our days with such loveliness, beauty and humanity. I know this won't be the everyday, but right now it almost feels like a vacation. We welcome it now and like a vacation, we are recharging for the next few weeks of pragmatic decision making and responsibility that will inevitably be around the corner (new country remember!).

Now it's time to wash my hands again because they still smell a bit like Bert, Ernie and Harry or whatever Grace named those lobsters before coldly ordering their deaths :P

Much love,

M