Following post written by Crystal S. Lewis and Ashley G. Rudolph
From the moment we set foot on Sugar Beach, our visit with the Suttons aboard the Genau was unbelievable! We arrived on Wednesday(2/26) in Vieux Fort and found our driver, Solomon, after asking around. Turns out everyone knows Solomon! After a 45-minute drive through smaller towns, across one-land bridges, down dirt paths, and around hairpin turns, the two Pitons got closer and closer. As we descended the mountain toward the shoreline, we finally saw Brooks approaching in the dinghy for our transfer to the Genau. Big hugs went all around!
After getting settled in our cabins (a big thanks to Mills and Charlie for sharing their personal space!) and opened gifts and notes from friends back home, we dinghied over to the Viceroy to have a snack and relax under the palm trees. Cute hanging lanterns and tiki torches started to twinkle and glow as the sun went down and we continued to catch up on the happenings of eastern NC. We returned to the Genau for Lee to cook dinner for us - freshly caught dorado and tuna by the locals that morning. We received instructions from the captain on hatch protocol as well – close your stern hatch when people are showering(Crystal), you may need to prop open your top hatch (Ashley), and close all the hatches when it starts raining (everybody!). Just like Florida, the forecast is always to expect a quick rain shower. Opening and closing hatches is an all-day and all-night occurrence! You’re likely to wake up to slightly damp bedding because you missed a quick drizzle overnight.
At some point the $190 million Alfa Nero superyacht cozied up alongside the Genau as well as a few other luxury vessels (such as the “All Inn,” a less-mega-yachtish-but-still-very-impressive-boat-if-seen-along-any-ENC-waterfront). We ogled the Alfa Nero several times over the days, some of us (Crystal) taking it a little to the extreme (she may or may not have had a pair of Lee’s “bi-noculars” ready for covert ops as the crew dinghiedback and forth unnecessarily over the days).
As previously blogged by Brooks, at sundown it truly becomes pitch black and visibility is zero. This became a benefit when we decided to stargaze later that night. Southern constellations were even visible! Encyclopedia Lee narrated their significance and readily offered insight into various celestial bodies.
Thursday’s activities consisted of waking up to play Uno at 8 am (organized by our cruise director, Mills), followed by snorkeling along Petit Piton within Pitons Bay. Mills and Charlie were sweet to help Ashley get situated with her gear since she had never really snorkeled before! We saw lots of sea urchins hiding among the coral and even a blowfish lurking beneath a small overhang. After snorkeling, we took the dinghy over to Hummingbird Café in Soufriere, the closest town to the Genau, as recommended in the Rick Steve’s version of the Suttons’ guide to sailing. Order their vegetable crepe if you’re ever there! The kids and Lee swam in the Hummingbird pool (a perk if you eat there) and we were in awe watching actual hummingbirds flit around the lush vegetation. After we returned to the Genau to grill hamburgers for dinner, the most harrowing event of our stay happened. A couple of young fishermen rowed up to the side of the Genau to say they “think” they saw our dinghy floating out to sea. A quick check by everyone confirmed this fact. With the pitch-black night upon us, the only option was for Lee to leave the Genau and go in search of the dinghy with our new found friends. They didn’t get too far since two of them were row three grown men in a very small skiff. At this point, the Alfa Nero crew cruised by on their twentieth trip to shore in their MUCH larger dinghy and Lee was able to flag them down. He politely asked if they might be able to help him reach the dinghy. After much hemming and hawing with their captain aboard the mother ship, they consented to take Lee to locate our dinghy. Hurray, they saved the day! Once we were finally settled following the dinghy incident, we all played a confusing round of Mad Libs and a rather competitive Bananagrams set(Brooks’s winning streak aboard the Genau was broken by Ashley, all in good spirits).
On Friday, we took Solomon’s water taxi over to Soufriere to meet a driver (Solomon’s Rastafarian stepdad) who took us to the world-famous sulfur mud baths. We submerged ourselves into very HOT mud pools for the first layer followed by painting ourselves with black gritty mud. Tribal designs were the norm, but Charlie got the personalized quote “Let it slide,” which seems to be the customs “custom” commonly experienced by the Genau crew on this journey so far. After our mineral treatments, we went to the famous Diamond Falls to wash away the mud under very COLD cascading water and springs. As we made our way back to town, we stopped for photo ops at the UNESCO World Heritage monument commemorating the Piton conservation area and an open-air fruit and vegetable standoverlooking Soufriere. We ate lunch at Bernice’s, Solomon’s mother’s restaurant, and went to the local market for provisions (Sailing cruisers’ word for groceries!). We loaded back onto the water taxi and cruised by an actual bat cave on our way to snorkel at the Jade Mountain beach made famous by the Bachelor (Jake and Juan Pablo’s seasons). When we got back to the Genau that evening, Lee took us on a quick sunset sail and Mills gave a Cirque de Soleil show complete with tickets and concessions (who knew the mast and sails serve as the perfect show set?!). Following our entertainment, we all got semi-dressed up for the first time and dinghied to shore for a short taxi ride to dinner at the Boucan, Hotel Chocolat’ Restaurant where everything is made with a version of cacao (“Chocolate, you ask?” “Yes!”).
Saturday was met with sadness and tears as Ashley and Crystal prepared to depart. Brooks dropped us off at the same spot with lots of hugs and well wishes to go around. Solomon and his sister took us back to the airport (we caught up on the Bachelor, which she watches every Monday night, too!) and we arrived back in NC via ATL safe and sound. And that’s all folks! Except that the Suttons remain in St. Lucia due to major electrical issues … stay tuned for more details from the Genau crew themselves... There’s a tale to tell there for sure!
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