FLASH BACK - “FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD”

Cruising and eating go well together. There’s time to plan, time to prepare, time to enjoy.

If we had to, we could live for months on the staples in our pantry –
brown rice, beans, pasta, sauces, canned ham, canned potatoes and corn, canned salmon and tuna. There are baking supplies for bread, muffins, and cookies. We also keep a varied supply of chutneys, olives, vinegars, oils, and condiments.

While navigating the Erie Canal system through New York State, and then traveling along the eastern coast of the US, it was easy to find familiar stores and familiar brand names. In Titusville, Florida, we met up with Kim and Terry who had their boat on the hard. They were getting ‘Clarity’ ready for adventures further south.

They offered us the use of their truck to re-provision the heavy stuff – cans and bottles. We didn’t even try to fill the truck. Where would we put it back on ‘Beach House’?

In the Turks and Caicos, Simon and Charlyn, at South Side Marina in Provo, offered cruisers weekly grocery runs ……

…… in their pickup truck. Getting there was more than half the fun.

Food shopping became more of an adventure when we got to Luperon in the Dominican Republic. We got to try out our bit of Spanish, and our pesos went lots further than dollars. The super mercados ……

…… occasionally offered an unusual combination on their shelves.

After almost a month in the DR, we were snapped back to

American attention in Puerto Rico. The Super Wal-Mart beckoned. We rented a car in Salinas and topped up on our pantry staples. Bet you didn’t know that Whoppers and Muskateers are staples. Antihistamines and bug spray too.

When this kind of reprovisioning happens the Admiral gets to exercise her magic act. Making it disappear.



And then the next miracle - remembering where everything is stowed. I’m anal enough to keep a stores log – most of the time I know where that is.

In Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas in the USVIs, we had another eye-popping signage moment – our favourite.

Guess they’d re-arranged the store but hadn’t changed the signs yet. Or is there a hidden message???

But the best food attraction for cruisers in the Caribbean is the abundance of fresh fruit and veggies. Not everything is grown locally, of course, but red, luscious tomatoes every day of the year? What’s not to love about that.

In St. Martin ……

…… the open-air market was more a tourist attraction for the cruise ship clientele than a true local market, but we stocked up anyway.

Fort-de-France, the capital of Martinique, is a big bustling city with excellent supermarkets ……

…… but this market, away from the touristy areas, was a big hit. Always shop where the locals shop – you can’t go wrong.

Our first morning in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia, Gregory came by with his ‘produce boat’.

I know I spent more for fruits and vegetables during our 10 days here by using Gregory’s service, but supporting the local entrepreneurs is fun and part of the experience.

When we anchored in Marigot Bay, St. Lucia, Cornelius came by on his surf board, looking to sell us some bananas.
I bought three or four bananas – cost us a cold beer - and told him if he could get some passion fruit, I’d buy them. Gregory showed up later that afternoon with a large shopping bag - full of star fruit. But I am a sucker for these guys who do something to make a living rather than panhandle in the street. We were handing out star fruit to cruising friends for days.

In Port Elizabeth, Bequia, the local market was yet another experience.

We were out for a walk with Ray and Genna from ‘Nighthawk’ and thought we’d check the place out for future reference. The guys in here were real characters, offering us a taste of their wares, and, some local “herbs”.

The far side of the town square in Clifton, Union Island, has a mini mall of fresh veggie kiosks.

Bags of limes, passion fruit, and tomatoes found a good home on ‘Beach House’.

Hillsborough is the capital of Carriacou. There are several fairly well-stocked grocery stores ……

…… but we found the best tomatoes at the sidewalk stands.

And every Saturday morning in Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou, Esme opened up shop on the picnic table under the trees at the end of the ferry dock.

There seem to be a lot of pictures of me shopping for food. It's time for some pictures of Geoff eating.


And bringing you up to date, here’s the market that’s right in the middle of St. George’s, the capital of Grenada – for tourists or locals? We’re not sure yet.

We’ll have some more pictures of St. George’s soon, and we’ll take you with us when we explore cooking with the island produce – breadfruit, christophene, and dasheen, to name a few. Right now, I’m off to get dinner started.

Oh, and for your other brother Darryl - there's Carriacou road kill...........................

In case you can't recognize it, it was a crab!