English Harbour - Shirley Heights Jump Up

Last night (Sunday) we were invited to get together with Mike & Kylie ("Meggie") and Mark and Jackie ("Kardia") for a hike up to the fort at Shirley Heights for the weekly jump up. Our Lonely Planet guidebook called the barbecue "one of the island's nicest scenes" and claimed that "drinks are reasonably priced". We made plans to head up after Kevin finished uninstalling the autopilot (which hasn't worked since Bequia. More on that later.) By 4:30pm we could already hear strains of steel pan music floating down from the fort (we are anchored just beneath it). So we headed ashore and Mark managed to find the trail. It was truly a steep "hiking" trail, not just a walk up the road, and after about 20 minutes we arrived, breathless and sweaty, at the top. We were ready for some beers for sure.

The place was already crowded with what appeared to be British tourists, and everyone was dressed in what I like to call "cruise ship casual" (clothing that people *think* they should wear while on a tropical vacation, but which just serves to mark them as tourists, etc). We saw a lot of flowy white outfits, crazy printed pants, and a few girls who were more dressed for clubbing (heels and short skirts) than an outdoor barbecue. We could tell THEY hadn't done the twenty-minute hike to get here and had just taken a cab instead. Anyway, it was pretty obvious that we were in a tourist trap when we saw the beer prices (EC$8, a little less than $3, but still more than the average of EC$5 that we're used to). The food looked pretty pricey as well, so instead of eating we just listened to the band play. And they were very, very good. I know most of you are probably sick of hearing how great steel pan music is, but we really enjoy the atmosphere of the live steel band. For some reason, it doesn't sound the same on the recordings. We bought a CD a while ago and listening to it just isn't the same as seeing it performed live.

As it started to get dark, we decided to hit the road. It quickly got too dark to see the trail but we had enough flashlights and we all managed to get down without injury. We all had dinner and drinks at the Mad Mongoose; it was a late night by cruiser standards. Then this morning, Kevin spent the afternoon in town trying to find someone to repair our autopilot. It's been leaking oil so it seems to have a shot seal somewhere. The company that manufactures it is in England, so we are trying to avoid having to ship a 15-pound part back and forth across the Atlantic if we can find someone local who can repair it. A new one would cost $2500, so if we can get the old one working for less than that, it will be worth it. In the meantime, we've been practicing our helmsmanship and are getting really good at steering by hand.