On
to the Beautiful Butterfly Island - Guadeloupe
With
kind seas we made the 50ish miles to Deshaies on Guadeloupe in good time. Checking in is easy at the local Police
station. They provide a computer where
we fill out the form – the same system as we had on St Marten, so on the advice
of our friend Fiona, we took our old form and used it to answer all the
questions. (I did forget to mention that the keyboard is not our standard – so
extra care and attention are required in typing!) The form is printed for free
and the nice policeman checked our documents – passports and boat papers to
make us legal. They gave us a copy and
sent us on our way. During this process
Steve set his hat down and forgot to retrieve it; however, it was still there
when we returned the next day. As we
came through the door in the morning, we heard the policemen say “hat, hat” in
French – since they must have recognized Steve and knew what he was coming in
to recover. The hat was still on the
desk with the computer – the best place to forget things is a police station, I
guess.
We
wandered the short strip in town and visited several shops – the wine shop for
French box wine, the grocery for fresh veggies, and the bakery for treats!
 |
| Our wake up call - we were in the way of these fishermen |
 |
| Instead of asking us to move, they worked around us |
 |
| so carefully that the man in the water pushed their boat away from ours |
After retrieving the “hat” we moved a few
miles further south to the Pigeon Island area.
Our anchorage was south of the main mob and off a local hot spring fed
tub. In the morning, we plugged the
drain with a bag of sand – handily provided by the regulars, and waited an hour
or so for the water to fill enough for a warm soak. This is a special treat for boaters without a
tub – we finally left this oasis when some locals arrived to fill their water
jugs from the spigot!
 |
| Steve's haul on the beach while the tub filled |
This stop also
provided access to another bakery and a large Carrefour Supermarket where we
restocked essentials.
Taking
advantage of the light winds we headed across to the Saints – a group of
islands also belonging to France so not checking in or out was required. The
stretch protected by Guadeloupe was dead calm, but the seas got confused and
choppy when we rounded the end of the island and headed across the
channel.
Fortunately, this is a rather
short leg and we were safely on a mooring off Cabrit by 11 AM. The light rains even took a break while we
threaded our lines and launched the dink, so we didn’t even get wet. The
moorings are kind of interesting. Rather than picking up a line with a float,
we had to thread our lines through a large metal loop attached to the
mooring. Our bow is a long way from the
water and this ball/loop, so dangling the line and snagging it with a boat hook
was delicately achieved rather awkwardly on the first rope and more gracefully
on the second. Fortunately, our friends
had warned us of this procedure which helped, but practice was useful. While
hooked up we watched several charters and others also practice with these
unique moorings and most of them are far closer to the loop than we are!
Moorings are a good thing – they save the reefs and corals, allow more boats in
deeper water to anchor in a small space, and are easy to release when it is
time to depart. The small price charged
is well worth these advantages. Most of
the time, we don’t even have to pay on shore as an attendant comes and collects
by boat!
We
spent four nights in The Saints and managed several uphill walks to forts –
Fort Napoleon on Terre de Haut – the main island is a lovely museum and
expansive well- preserved fortification.
The other is the much smaller on the
hill overlooking our anchorage – Fort Josephine.
The exercise was necessary
since excellent French meals are available in beach front restaurants. The
small strip of “town” is easily accessible from the secure dinghy dock.
A few
vehicles run around – electric golf carts, small cars, scooters and electric
bicycles – but most of the traffic is two legged.
Lots of tourists come here on
ferries that also provide much entertainment to those on the dock and in the
harbor. The arrivals and departures are accompanied by mini “crowds” on the
main ferry dock which is off the town square. Several charming shops are here
also since this quaint island has been home to many skilled artist and
artisans. Just window shopping is a pleasure.
We did find essentials in the two grocery stores for the meals we were
not tempted to eat on shore as well as a bakery. The local specialty tart was
available from vendors along the main street.
Only
two islands in the group called The Saints, are occupied which is not
surprising given the paucity of level land on these steep, lush pinnacles. Fishing was the traditional occupation and so
without major agriculture, no slaves were ever imported. As many others boaters
have noted – a stop in The Saintes is a
high point of Eastern Caribbean cruising.
Marie
Galante, our next stop, is quite a contrast.
This is a large but relatively low island that lends itself to many
types of agriculture. Several “towns”
dot the shore – the largest is Grand Bourg which we visited on our car tour.
The narrow streets are crowded with closely packed two-story homes and
businesses. Much is painted in colorful Caribbean colors.
The spice market was an
especially colorful and aromatic spot.
Another small town is Capesterre fringed with reefs that protect the
shore and make it a popular spot for windsurfing. However, we made Saint Louis
our base, a small town with a large protected anchorage.
The shops are mostly for locals with a few
restaurants on the beach for tourists – ferries visit here as well as Grand
Bourg but the arrivals disappear quickly.
A new and well-stocked U Express grocery story is a short walk out of
town and well worth the effort. (I bought local cane sugar for $1)
There is a
nice bakery just at the end of the dock for those early morning chocolate
croissants. We rented a car here to tour about and visit the other towns, the
parks and a rum distillery.
The views of the cane fields were also
spectacular – especially since we lucked into some good weather after a day of
non-stop rain.
Before
reaching Grand Bourg, we stopped at the Habitation Murat – a former sugar cane
estate which is now an open-air park. There are two mill types, the windmill
tower and the circle used by donkeys or horses to crush cane. Ruins of the
extensive production factory remain and the family home has been restored as a
museum with interesting artifacts of life on Marie Galante.
Agriculture is
still very much a way of life here as we passed loaded cane trucks, saw lots of
domestic animals, and admired the lush green foliage of this tropical
paradise.
While
tourism is definitely part of the economy, it seemed that it was not the main
driver nor as intrusive as in other places we have visited. Life here for most people goes on whether
there are tourists or not. Kind of refreshing for a change!
Back
north to Gaudeloupe and Pointe-a-Pitre on Grand Terre. Steve’s broken tooth
needed more attention so we got to revisit the main island. Again our stop here
was a big contrast to the sweet back water of Marie Galante – we were greeted
by this car carrier on our arrival in the mooring field.
 |
| our view of the traffic from our anchorage |
However,
it was easy to spend a few days in this anchorage opposite the marina and town
of Pointe-a-Pitre. Great bakeries were a
short walk from the dinghy docks as well as several grocery stores and lots of
restaurant options. Several good
chandleries and even a fishing supply store to replace the line stolen on our
crossing. (lots of fishing and not much catching) We enjoyed several trips to the old part of
town with its classic Caribbean style.
The market was always bustling with fresh produce and madras clad ladies
selling their wares. Some were more
“shy” than others.
We
both got haircuts by this father and son team and Steve endured a few hours in
fabric and notions shops.
All a major
shift from the smaller towns and touristy stops. Tooth all mended – at least temporarily – and
with a window of relative calm – we headed further south....although it was hard to leave the delivery of morning croissants.
No comments:
Post a Comment