Company from home
22 December 2006 | Guadeloupe
Karin
Our second visit to Guadeloupe was even better than our first because some special relatives came for the Christmas holidays. So instead of going home for the holidays, our visitors brought home to us. My brother and sister in law, Kurt and Jane, arrived with their daughter, Julia. In addition they bravely brought two of Julia's friends, Karen and Liz. The girls were delightful company and we all had a great visit complete with only a moderate amount of sunburn. We met our guests at the marina in the capital city of Point a Pitre and spent the first night getting everyone's stuff on the boat and learning about using the head, etc. The time was even more festive because our good friends on Eira (Menno, Val, Daniel, John, and Daisy) were at the marina hosting Menno's mother from Holland. After getting organized, we spent a few days at three great anchorages -- each one with its own special attractions.
Ilet du Gosier is about three miles east of Point a Pitre on the southern coast of Guadeloupe. The anchorage is behind a reef that connects the mainland and the small island of Gosier. There is a very nice beach on both sides and the reef keeps the waters calm. It is a delightful place anytime, but especially nice on Christmas Eve. As usual in the French islands, the bagettes and other pastries are cheap, delicious and easy to get. For the first day or so we kept running out of bagettes, so we finally settled on buying five every morning and our guests were able to enjoy them all day.
Isles des Saintes is a group of small islands about 15 miles south of Guadeloupe. There is a small town, Bourg des Saintes, and an interesting fort on the largest of these islands. There are several places to anchor, all of them close to good shorkeling and beaches. As a place to spend time in a cruising boat the Saintes are just about perfect with plenty of places for a walk on the beach or swim as well as a town with interesting shops and the best ice cream in the Caribbean. The only problem was that we didn't have time to stay longer.
Ilet a Cochons was the final stop for our guests. Located a couple of miles west of Pointe a Pitre, it is convenient to town while being wonderfully secluded. The small island was great for beach combing, but a little rocky for swimming. An expedition led by Paul through the underbrush even discovered a small fort on top of a hill. Our guests left us all too soon on December 30, needing to get back to Connecticut for work and school. They insured a return invitation by hauling all the dirty linens and towels to the laundry -- a very thoughtful gesture!
New Year's EvePaul and I stayed here for a few days, spending New Year's Eve with our good friends on Eira. This anchorage is on the edge of the very large harbor at Point a Pitre and we were treated to the most spectacular fire works show I have ever seen. All around us different towns, hotels and other groups were shooting fireworks, one group starting as another finished. The whole thing lasted an hour at least, and we saw it all from the comfort of our upper deck! The next morning I noticed several small rafts drifting around in the harbor. Most were one to two feet square and had various things attached to them, like flowers, pieces of fruit, ribbons, and other decorations. I have never seen anything like it and I never did find out the significance of these small rafts drifting around on New Year's Day.
Trip through Riviere SaleeOur last adventure in Guadeloupe was through Riviere Salee, river through the mangrove swamp which connects the two "wings" which make up Guadeloupe's butterfly shape. This looks very easy on the chart until you realize that the two bridges that need to open in order for our boat to pass only do so at 5:00 AM! Since dawn isn't until about 6:30, this meant we would be navigating a fairly narrow place in the dark, including allowing for a cross current under a bridge which was only 6-8 feet wider than our boat. Another difficulty is the bugs, which are ferocious in the mangrove swamp! Both the spectacular anchorage on the north end of the river and the time saved by not going around the "butterfly wing" make a trip through Riviere Salee worth dealing with the difficulties.