Once home we discussed the implications of such a move and even asked ourselves about the madness in leaving a lovely house in a quiet village, selling cars, retiring early,abandoning youngsters whilst we followed a dream. We had answers for all these questions and rang back to St Lucia to say we would like to put in an offer for the piece of land that we had fallen in love with. We also started to think about the house we would want to build. We had been recommended a young architect called Malcolm,a local guy with great ideas. We cant believe how he transformed my dreadfully childish sketches into right enough drawings.
We gathered all the necessary documents to apply for an alien land holders license. This took ages as they wanted fingerprints and police reports of good character,neither of which is available in UK. The RAF came up trumps with fingerprints and CRB checks sufficed for the references. Banks and income was also scrutinized.
Time went by and we were keen for progress reports but nothing was forthcoming. Eventually we were told that our parcel of land was now tied up in some legal wrangling and we would have to return to choose another piece. We were so disappointed. We went back in June and started to look around again. We nearly signed up for a piece that would have been very expensive to build on and then we got excited about a small piece that had excellent views but the price quoted was in US dollars and not EC. With no time left we were almost abandoning the idea when our builder to be - Mr Brown - called to say that he had been in a bar the night before and had heard about a plot that might be OK. We dashed across to see it. It was not perfect, in quite a busy area but did have a mango tree or two and also stunning views of Marigot Bay. We spoke to the bar owner JJ , who was the contact for the owner and he said he would negotiate on our behalf. We left the Island once again excited that the plan was back on track. Well, once home we waited and waited, sent lots of e-mails and eventually got the news that the sellers wanted 27EC a square foot. JJ thought this was far too much as he had sold the land to them earlier in the year for11EC. Eventually the owner came back and said they had changed their minds and it wasn't for sale anyway. So back to square one, but this time much further on with things at this end. House on market,resignation handed in and boat booked onto a ship to be delivered to the Caribbean in November.
We e-mailed friends in St Lucia to tell them of our plight and had decided that we would just carry on with our plan,minus the bit about buying land. One of the replies urged us to look at other plots and sent maps and topography to help us visualize it. So, in September we went back out again having confirmed with the seller of our chosen bit of land that it was for sale at the price of 12 EC dollars a square foot. It all looked very positive. We went over for the 3 days again, hired a car and made for Marigot. The plot was our first call and it certainly had potential.The next day we met the agent , agreed on the deal and arranged to see him the next morning to sign agreements ,hand over deposits and meet our lawyer. A celebration lunch had also been organized so this was to be a great day.
We arrived at Jonothan's office bright and early , only to be told that the sellers had changed their minds. We were devastated,all that money and time to visit yet again and all the excitement evaporated instantly. We met up with our lawyer, Peter, for the planned breakfast. He was just as surprised as us. He said he knew the owner who now turned out to be the daughter rather than the father( he had given her the land a few months earlier) apparently her husband felt the land was worth more and wasn't sure that they should sell. We were so deflated that we cancelled lunch and made our way into Castries to make the appointments with the bank to open our account and also to organize a P.O. Box which all now seemed a bit redundant .
We had a quiet lunch by ourselves and thought hard about the next move. Maybe Marigot wasnt the place for us?
We had a swim, an afternoon nap and then went for a walk. Half way down the hill we got a phone call to say if we paid 15EC dollars a sq ft the land was ours. Well a 25% hike is a lot but we were keen and there had been other plots that we had looked at that had been dearer. So we accepted and then went and had a meal in the bay. Not quite as excited , as we had been let down so many times we weren't convinced that this would happen. Well here we are a few months down the line,retired, house almost sold,completion should take place in 10 days time. The land licence is with the cabinet for final approval and all flights are booked. The youngsters will join us for Cristmas and my Mum is already booked to come out in February. The plan for the moment is to meet our boat in Tortola and sail down to St Lucia. We shall then live on the boat whilst the house is being built and nip off every now and then for a sailing break. Still sounds like a great plan. We are very excited but we do have our nervous moments, but hey, if it all turns to worms we sell up and come back. Nothing to loose and everything to gain. The next post will be from warmer climes....fingers crossed!