Old friends from Northern Ireland, Greg and Carol flew in to Guadeloupe on Wednesday 15th March - we say "old" for two reasons: first we have known them for a long time and secondly, despite showing us their passports giving ages within touching distance of our own, we believe that they are in remarkably good shape for people who are really in their late 90s.

The first full day of their visit involved heading for the Route de la Traversee, waterfalls and rain forest. Greg had to be stopped from jumping off a waterfall emulating a guy who was even older than him. Then on to Deshaies for G&C to re-enact scenes from "Death in Paradise" - Carol had to be put under serious pressure not to leap off the end of the harbour wall on to a passing boat, trying to impress Greg with her imitation of one of the sexy police officers in the series. What is it with all this leaping????

An excellent lunch was taken at Mahina followed by a visit to the splendid Deshaies Botanical Garden. Then back to the marina for yet more rum punches and kir. We thought that we could hold our own when it comes to downing a few beers and wine but we could see we were going to up against some formidable topers on this trip.

On Friday 17th we headed for the anchorage at Le Gosier so that G&C could try out their new full-face snorkelling masks, and to visit the rather good evening market. All went well and suitable snacks such as Accra were sampled and since it was St Patrick's Day, Guinness was drunk ... by Phil ... who is English ... and the others are Irish. Weird.

We then headed for Marie Galante where we stayed two nights, walked the beach and had a fine dinner at Chez Henri. Unfortunately the place was very busy so all our efforts to hire a car came to nought. Nevertheless, we had a relaxing time and it came as a relief that there were no attempts at leaping anywhere.

Next it was on to Pigeon for some more serious underwater exploration and our anchoring spot was good. We dinghied the mile or so to Pigeon Island for another leaping opportunity where G&C entered the water with aplomb ... or was that like a plum ... The place was quite busy but there were lots of fish and some reasonable coral. We stopped off on both the south and north sides of the island.

A shopping expedition to the Carrefour replenished the devastated wine cellar and beer locker (and G&C had not been with us for a full week yet) - the small harbour provides a place to take the dinghy and it is a short walk to the supermarkets.

On Wednesday 22nd March we headed for Les Saintes and sure enough the wind veered into SE so we had a bit of a beat and motor-sailed part of the way to arrive in time for ... more drink. G&C leapt into the dinghy, insisting we headed for a bar serving rum punches so it was two bars and then dinner at Café de la Marine which was good. The drink seemed to have calmed them down so leaping was in abeyance for the rest of the evening. We had anchored outside the mooring ball zone just to the west of the fishing dock and it was fine.

Then on to Dominica on Friday 24th March - this was another leap for G&C, only this time it was into the unknown of the beautiful island and its cultural contrast with Guadeloupe: population of Dominica 70,000; population of Guadeloupe 330,000. We had a cracking sail in 12-18kts ESE wind and having left Les Saintes at 0820 we completed the 22nm trip by 1215. No sooner had we arrived than Greg leaped into the dinghy to head for Customs and Immigration to clear in. G&C were most disappointed that although they had to be added to the crew list they could not have titles such as Commodore or Rear Admiral. Delusional ... or was it the rum punches????

We had hired a car from Silver Linings for two days and headed for the sights, although we were slightly delayed as the Police are insisting that drivers get a permit (EC$30 for a month). So, off to Trafalgar Falls where fortunately there has been a rock fall so that the pool into which you could leap has disappeared. Phew! That was a relief.

Then on to Champagne Reef to see the volcanic gasses bubbling from the seabed [sadly no photos as idiot cameraman, Phil, forgot the underwater camera, Ed]. Of course G&C were in their element and leaped about all over the place.

We had been told that a break in the road from the 2015 hurricane had been repaired and set off for the east coast - wrong, wrong. The National Parks Officer at Trafalgar Falls presumably told us it was open so we would not be disappointed ... So a gentle trip back to Portsmouth and a visit to Cabrits park and Fort Shirley which was well worth the time.

Sunday saw us up at the crack of dawn for the Indian River trip - ferried by Marcus the atmosphere was ... well ... very Pirates of the Caribbean ... and there was the cabin of Calypso the witch. Then off to the Red Rocks near Calabashie and a superb lunch at a nearby beach restaurant, Escape. We had a fine drive around the north end of the island coming across a group of churchgoers who were in their Sunday best, but repairing the road so that traffic could progress.

Then the piece de resistance - the Sunday evening BBQ put on by the Portsmouth Association of Yacht Services - otherwise known as the Boat Boys, albeit that some of them must be as old as G&C. There is unlimited rum punch so there was no holding back G&C. After the meal, the tables were cleared for dancing and off they were again: G&C leaping about like dervishes, although they said it was a jive they had learned at their dancing classes.

We met up with old friends Richard and Susan on Sea Bunny and had a good news update.

So, back to Iles des Saintes and a fine sail in 14-16kts ESE, picking up a mooring in the bay to the east of Le Pain du Sucre. Yes, you guessed ... G&C leaped into the dinghy for more swimming and snorkelling, which they did again on Tuesday morning before we headed back to the marina at Bas du Fort.

No sooner had we tied up than they leaped ashore in search of bars for rum punches and a restaurant for dinner. Their researches were thorough and eventually they returned having tracked down the perfect rum punch - goodness know how many they had sampled in their afternoon sojourn. So we ate at Seaberry and the food was superb - frogs legs, prawns and scallops. Yum.

Then Wednesday 29th March came and G&C were off to the airport for the return to Northern Ireland. It had been a busy Elite Luxury Cruise but full of fun and we were sorry to say goodbye, albeit that our livers seemed to breathe a sigh of relief that rum punch would be only an occasional tipple and in modest quantity. We look forward to G&C's next visit though.

Photos in the Gallery.

And now? Well we slowly head south to arrive in Trinidad at the beginning of June.