Marigot ... Is Swell, in so Many Ways

I've been a bit quiet lately but all for a good reason, really! Firstly, the north swell is up in the anchorage and while we seem to have anchored in a very sweet spot compared to the boats around us, it is still a little too rolly to be able to compose at a keyboard (a little mal de mere, as the French say). It's so strange in this anchorage, there must be a shallow spot behind us because while we get a lift and drop with the swell, the boat behind us is getting the worst ride with even breaking waves pushing him around. I think he must be feeling so sick he can't even contemplate moving his boat. As an example here are some of the boats taking the swell IN THE ANCHORAGE last night. Don't worry, we slept really well. Just can't read or type...

Marigot is "swell" in so many other ways though, the least of which is the food. I'm not sure I'll be able to stay here for too long or I might need to implement a daily climb up to the top of Fort St. Louis above the town each morning. The patisseries as I've mentioned are just to die for, but even the grocery store offers so many options all shipped in from various regions of France; my favourite is the cheese counter.

Ok, these little morsels did NOT go home with us.

The streets are pretty charming to walk through, a real mix of Europe, the Caribbean and a strange elite tourism alongside the local grittiness. Can't quite put my finger on it yet, but I'll figure it out.

There's even an air conditioned North American style mall, but it was quite empty.

We've found a little dockside restaurant down on the Dutch side of the lagoon that is still extremely French. The first day I had a burger with blue cheese, and not just a little crumble thank you! Our lunch today, we shared a lamb shank with the most delicious carrots and potatoes. Who knew they could be soooo good?

Gotta love it when the cheap beer gets even cheaper!

The biggest thing we've been up to though has been the replacement of our dinghy. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing really wrong with our current dinghy and outboard except that they are just too big and heavy for us. We've decided to replace them with a light-weight aluminum AB and 9.8HP Tohatsu engine. The total weight is just over 150lbs which is less than our current dinghy on its own. We should now be able to drag our new sweet ride up on the beach with no problem!