New Year's Day

We woke up at 5:45am and hurriedly packed whatever we could not pack the day before, and brought all our lugguage. I woke up Alena at 6:00am, and we then waited on deck and said goodbye to everyone else, who had awakened early to see us off. Apparently, the night before, Norman had returned to the Illusion without telling anyone else, so everyone partied until 1:00am before returning. Apparently the street dancing was quite something and very exciting, though someone had told the crew that this year was particularly quiet because of the recession.

At 6:10am, Norman came up to have some parting words with us. "You didn't pay the water taxi last night. You're responsible for all the fees, since you didn't have to leave early. When the water taxi guy shows up, he won't take your bags until you pay him." Those were his last words to us.

From St. Vincent and the Grenadines

At 6:20, the water taxi hadn't shown up yet, so I gave him a call. He sounded groggy, as though he had been napping in his boat, but showed up with 10 minutes and delivered us to the ferry dock with plenty of time. I paid him 50EC for his trouble, we got onto the ferry, and watched as a glorious rainbow poured down from the sky. As the ferry departed the harbor, I took the last few pictures of the Sailing Vessel Illusion, quiet and serene in the morning light.

From St. Vincent and the Grenadines