Yet Another Hill

For some reason I completed the basic STCW training. This included things like climbing into a life raft from water in the immersion suit and simulated fire-fighting search and rescue while wearing breathing apparatus and fire protection suit.

I'm flying business class over the ocean for the first time in my life. It's quite expensive, but I'm also a bit wealthy, so it's ok. It's by accident: due to an unrelated delay I had to buy a second ticket, and there was only business class available.

They gave me slippers. Initially, I wanted to leave them in the packaging. I didn't want to use them, I felt I don't need them. But then I decided to unpack them and wear them. They were somewhat comfortable. I took them with me.

I tried to catch a bus, but there were no direct busses to Portsmouth. However, the bus driver sugggested to rent the bus (as a taxi). This was quite expensive, but it worked and I managed to get to Portsmouth.

The city was full of young people, there was a nice tall ship parked in the bay.

I first went to the bar at Cabrits National Park. I remember this place from sailing. I got a few beers there.

Later I went searching for the “Chez Felix”, but it turns out it no longer exists. It was destroyed by a hurricane a couple of years ago.

I went to the next bar and I asked about “Chez Felix”. The bar owner told me that Felix moved to Gaudeloupe.

I stayed about one hour at this bar, sipping some rum drink and watched the sunset and then I went back.

There were almost no busses after the sunset, but I met some poor guy who was trying to hitch-hike and he helped me to find a taxi office, where I got the taxi back to the capital - Roseau.

The poor guy told me that there will be many people coming to the beach for the New Years.

I got back to my hotel by taxi. The cruise ship left and the city was sad and empty.

It was not easy to decide at that time, but now, a couple of months later, I see that there could have been no other decision.

I woke up early morning and went back to Pointe-à-Pitre. The ferry was leaving in the morning, and I couldn’t make it, so I stayed one more night there. I did nothing, only took a walk in the city. Feld a little bit weird after the sunset.

The next day was already a New Year’s Eve: 31st of December. The ferry station was a bit confusing to me: there were two lines, and the schedule showed connections to both Guadeloupe and to Martinique. In the end it turned out it’s the same ferry, and I felt stupid for not knowing this before.

We arrived to Roseau a couple of hours later, probably around noon. I went to the hotel, and luckily the room was already available. I checked in and then I went for a walk around the town. There was not much there.

I started again to worry and to try to decide whether I should go somewhere else. A very long time I’ve been to Portsmouth, which is around 44 km drive - this is 30 in a straight line, but Dominica is mountainous, and the road follows the coast. There was an awesome bar there called “Chez Felix”. I wanted to go there and watch the sunset, but I wasn’t sure how to get there and - more imporantly - how to get back. I’ve read about the public transport, but it was not easy for me to understand how exactly does it work, e.g. what are the bus routes.

I'm here for a while now, around a week.

I'd like to visit more than two islands. I've visited Sain Martin and Guadeloupe so far. Planning logistics without a car or boat is hard here, esp. with a very limited timeline, and in the holiday season. I'm also beginning to feel tired - too much sun for my delicate geek skin.

I need to leave Saint Francois tomorrow morning, and the two main possible routes are: Dominica, then Sain Martin, or directly Saint Martin.

The Dominican route, way more interesting but more complex to execute, means I'd have to take a bus tomorrow to Pointe a Pitre, stay overnight near the port and take a ferry early morning to Dominica. Then I could fly to Saint Martin on Wednesday. I'd have to find a hotel on Saint Martin that would let me check in late evening.

Alternatively, I could fly to Saint Martin tomorrow and then possibly jump to St. Barth for a day or two. But is St. Barth interesting?

Or I could just stay in Saint Martin for the rest of the holiday, but this on the other hand seems too boring, even if I'm tired.

I think I'll try to execute the Dominica plan, and then stay for Wed to Sun on Saint Martin in some more cosy hotel, to recover. Maybe not in French Quarter this time?

I felt alive for a couple of days, before the real life brought me back down.

Travelling these days is a health risk, but sometimes staying home is even bigger risk…

Will they grant me visa on entry?

Will I know how to get to the hotel?

I think I should have planned it better, I don’t even have a offline map on the phone. Did I specify the correct hotel? How long will it take to get there? Was taking a laptop a good idea? Is 2600 KSH a lot for a taxi to the city center.