It's morning we climbed the 'hill' to Fort Napoleon. There was a restored battery where many battles were fought. I have been reading the book 'Caribbean' and it details some of the history we learned today in their museum especially the great battle des Saintes. The fort was HUGE...and filled with iguanas romping about! We had some great views too as well as good exercise walking up the hillside! See my Facebook page for more pics and views from up high!
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We sailed from Guadeloupe to Des Saintes. Thinking it would be a walk in the park, like our last sail down the leeward side of Guadeloupe, we were pretty relaxed until we neared the S end of Guadeloupe. The clouds were very dark and the winds picked up. Knowing that squalls pack wind, we furled the Genoa and motor sailed on our already reeled mainsail. It was a beat past the island to The Saintes...just 5 miles, but we were crashing through waves as they washed over the trampoline and the cabin. Winds were sustained at no less than 30 k and up to 38k! We did arrive in one piece, very salty! Snorkeling was good off Ilet a Cabrit, but the past 2 nights have been very gusty, swinging Matou this way and that! This morning we moved towards the town Terre d'en Haut.
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We had a short sail down the Top half of the leeward side of Guadeloupe to Pigeon Island. We actually anchored by the shore and took the tender to the island. It has restored our faith in good visibility snorkeling! The area is a Cousteau marine park that had 2 small islands in close enough proximity that you could snorkel around both. It ranged from 50' to 3' deep and you could see well everywhere! Since Guadeloupe is so mountainous, it attracts a lot of rain. I would say that we had rainbows for a good part of the day. The bay is really called Pe'te Malendure, but Rainbow Bay is a better name. We could be doing better here in these French islands if we knew some French!
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We climbed uphill 1.5 km to get to the botanical garden. It was worth the trip! What an amazing array of plants, birds, and waterfalls! And good exercise!
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We left Falmouth Harbor, Antigua at 7:30 am this morning and set sail for Guadeloupe. Seas were head high and winds 20-23k pretty steady. The sail was a beam reach, so the waves hit us mostly broadside...lots of rolling, but consistent. Overall, it was a great sail with no rain or squalls! We arrived in Deshaies at 12:30...40 miles in 5 hours...not bad! Deshaies is a quiet French town. We dinghied ashore to clear customs and had a lunch of Tapas...no food we recognized except the houmis (humus) and bread! It was very good. We also went to the bakery across the street for desert...yumm! Guadeloupe is very lush and mountainous, so I think we can expect the rain we are having now quite often.
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We sailed downwind to Falmouth Harbor and anchored. It was a choppy sail, but not too bad. Once anchored, we dinghied to shore and walked to English Harbor to clear customs for our sail tomorrow to Guadeloupe. English Harbor is a stunning port with a lot of history. We visited the museum and walked around. Tomorrow, Guadeloupe!
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