We left the Montserrat anchorage early on 1st May, to allow us plenty of time for the sail down to Deshaies, Guadeloupe. Sailing down the western side of Montserrat we were able to see even more clearly the devastation caused by the volcano at the old capital, Plymouth, which is right on the coast. It is an eerie sight, with all the buildings still intact but covered in thick layers of volcanic matter. There are still visible signs of the airport, churches, public buildings and housing but all is deathly quiet and still. It was like a scene from a film depicting the end of the World, or at least humanity - a city still standing but with not a living being in sight. The area, along with the rest of the south end of the island, is completely out of bounds as the volcano is still very much active. As we sailed further along the coast we could see the volcano smoking quite clearly and smell the sulphur in the air.

We made good time to Deshaies and dropped the anchor in pretty much the same spot as when we'd visited a few weeks before with Bill and Liz. We discovered that it's possible to sign in at a small shop in the town which was nice and easy and we decided to stay a couple of days to explore the area further, as we liked the feel of the place, which is friendly, picturesque, and being French they sell lovely bread and cakes!

We went for a river walk, again recommended in the guide, which was great fun but can only be described as a scramble as walking isn't possible! We went from rock to rock up the river, stopping a few times for a plunge into some deep pools with mini-waterfalls running into them. There was loads of wildlife to be seen including leaf-cutter ants, frogs, huge butterflies and some of the weirdest looking tree-trunk formations we've ever seen. After a few hours we scrambled up a ridge and managed to get onto a small lane that would lead us back down to the bay. We got caught in a downpour so sheltered under a tree for a while, which proved to be a huge bonus as the mangos growing on it were delicious!

Fresh water is always in short supply and can be expensive to buy so we took advantage of the situation and used the river to do our washing the next day. We were on our way back and bumped into Gerald and Diana, a South African couple with a catamaran anchored near us in the bay. What a great couple.... we decided a lunchtime drink was in order, and as we were all having such fun, this was promptly followed by a few others, followed by drinks onboard Whiskers... the rest is history as they say.

The wind howled through the anchorage for a few days and the forecast wasn't too great for sailing further south so we stayed put, eventually leaving on 8th May for Les Saintes.