Vive La France! Unlike the British Caribbean islands which all became independent with all that entails in terms of self - sufficiency and dependence on tourism, Guadeloupe and Martinique remain part of France with a resultant high quality of public infrastructure (roads, parks, docks, etc.) that reflects the subsidy from Europe. In concert with the thoroughly European availability of goods and the French flair for food these are great places to visit and stock up, albeit at prices that are higher than St. Martin.
This time around we spent another two days in Fort-de-France including an evening at their L'Atrium watching folk dancing. The markets are great and the shopping quite interesting - especially if you like ladies shoes! Unfortunately the anchorage is right beside the ferry terminal which is very busy on weekdays starting at around 6 AM. Don't put your coffee cup down or you'll be wearing it! Having been reunited with Bonanza in Dominica, we were in company with them and Daniell Storey on our Martinique visit.
Then we moved 2 ½ miles across the bay to Anse Mitan and had a delightful dinner at La Manureva, a beachfront restaurant overlooking the harbour.
The next day it was off on the 6 mile journey to Grande Anse D'Arlet at the SW corner of the island. Lo and behold, we were there for Martinique's third long weekend in May - that's right, the third - this one commemorating emancipation. (The others were FWI wide holidays - Labor Day May 1st and Armistice Day May 8th.) This is definitely something to be aware of if you want to provision.
The anchorage filled up but it was still quieter than we had expected. After a morning hike to Morne Champagne and wandering around the picturesque town of Anse D'Arlet which is in the next bay we returned to rest up for Emancipation Day celebrations which would probably keep us up after boaters midnight (9 PM). We went ashore for a cocktail with Roy and Michelle and discovered a very quiet little town with lots of family dining. Net result - back and into bed by 10. Wow!
Next morning we went 15 miles to Le Marin, leaving at 6AM to get around the corner before the wind came up. �'�39 for laundry and �'�78 for groceries later we are sitting in the cockpit enjoying a sundowner. While we were there we took the dinghys and explored a nearby river, the Riviere Grande Pilote.
After 3 days in Le Marin, we set sail for Rodney Bay, St. Lucia. It was the kind of sail they put on the yacht brochures, hence the opening photo of us enjoying the sail. Wind 10 to 15 knots on the beam, small wind chop, 4 to 5 foot seas on the beam, sunny - what a shame it was only 4 hours!
May 26th marked our third time in Rodney Bay, but we had never explored the area before. We anchored off Reduit Beach with flat water, offshore wind, rock solid (free) internet and great swimming. The only negative is jet skis circling us when the cruise ships come in to Castries, the capital.
We explored Pigeon Island, where Fort Rodney has a commanding view of the harbour (logical) and from the second hill which once was the lookout and signal station, you can see Martinique. Great hiking to get the land legs back in shape. Thought for the day: The Brits and French didn't drag those mortars and cannons up 45 degree slopes to the hilltops. If the water was deep enough to bring a warship close to shore, and the hill was steep enough, they would rig lines from the masthead to the hilltop and winch the cannons across and up!
On Friday we enjoyed the jump-up in Gros Islet, sampling the street food and beverages and meeting some interesting characters. Being both cruisers and seniors, we left before the music hit 100 decibels and the dancing got underway. Hit the sack at the late hour of 2230!
On the weekend the ladies visited the market in Castries, the capital. Believe it or not, Monday June 1st was yet another holiday - somehow we've hit 4 in the last five weeks.
Last Tuesday and Wednesday we rented a car and toured St. Lucia. This has now become mandatory on every island - you get a totally different perspective than from the water side and quickly appreciate that each island is unique. We hiked to the top of Mount La Combe on the Barre de L' Isle Trail , were guided around the Fond D'Or park by Paul, met the radio operator at the top of Cap Moule a Chique on the SE corner of the island and enjoyed the unique view overlooking the Piton's from the Dasheen restaurant at Ladera resort and on the highway above Soufriere. We wore ourselves out over the two days - especially the three hour near vertical hike in 90 degrees and 90% humidity. Guess what? There is still enough stuff left for another tour!
Friday we went back to Gros Islet and enjoyed a great dinner at Tilly's, followed by a walk around the busy bars and street vendors. The boat is now in the Rodney Bay Marina while we fly home for a brief visit from June 7th to 18th. Believe it or not, the marina claims 35% of its business is Canadian.
The trip home was a wonderful break, albeit full of appointments. It was great to see everyone and we truly look forward to getting home next summer.
Meanwhile, back in St. Lucia we spent two days putting the boat back together, provisioning and catching up on sleep. Then it was an overnight stop at the Pitons and onward to Bequia on the 22nd. After a couple of nights in Bequia we set sail for Mayreau in the Grenadines.
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Comments [2]
Nell and Phil
Moon Dancer
Well, somehow a week passed whilst we hung about in Jolly Harbour. We enjoyed lunch (flying fish) at Café Bamboula on our visit to the Antiguan capital of St. John's. Lunch was so good that the ladies went day shopping and tried a repeat performance. The restaurant closed the day after as May 1st is considered the end of the cruise ship season.
Generally speaking, the tourism season in the Islands has been tough on the travel industry with many layoffs. Before leaving Antigua we said farewell to Randy & Sue (Nancy Dawson) heading home to NS for the season and to Lisa and Norm (Williwaw) sailing back to Cape Breton to conclude their Atlantic Circle trip.
On April 30th we set sail with Daniell Storey bound for Deshaies on the NW corner of Guadeloupe. We had a great sail until a squall came over and the wind switched to the south. Oh well, if you aren't going to windward...
Deshaies is in a beautiful location surrounded by mountains, but the town doesn't look like much from the water side - a tribute to the odd hurricane and tropical storm that chews up the beachfront buildings and docks. However, the water is crystal clear and the beach is actually lined with restaurants. We enjoyed lunch at Le Coin des Pecheurs. One new local highlight was Harold, who dropped by the first evening by dinghy and asked what we would like delivered in the morning: baguettes, croissants, pain chocolate, crepes, etc. Wow- it was all great, delivered warm at 7:00 AM.
Deshaies is home to a fabulous botanical garden the equal of any we've seen anywhere - well laid out, superbly maintained and well signed for those who don't know a bromeliad from a pine tree (like Bill). At first, �'�14 a head seemed a bit much, but it was well worth the fee.
On May 2nd, encouraged by an expected period of SE winds and squally weather we moved on to The Saintes, the island group south of Guadeloupe. The highlight of the first day was a hike up to Fort Napolean which has a neat museum devoted to the French - English naval battles in the area and a fabulous view of the surrounding islands.
"A Day In The Saintes" for those who want to know what cruising is really like (on the good days like May 4th).
We are up before 7AM to heat water for washing, get the coffee going, lower the dinghy (it spends every night hoisted on the davits) and listen to the Chris Parker weather forecast that comes on around 7:15. Over coffee and breakfast we log in to the SSB Coconut Telegraph at 8 AM so we can locate our fellow cruisers. On this particular day, we go ashore to check in with the French authorities since this will be our 4th day in Guadeloupe and no-one was available to check us in at Deshaies or here on the May 1st long weekend!
We dinghy ashore - this time to the swimming area - and lock the dinghy to the dock. The town features narrow streets, lots of motor scooters and a host of restaurants and bars. Shops open early (7 or 8), close from 12 to 3 and are open until 6 to 8 PM. We wander past the boulangerie and epicerie and note that the tiny lean-to that serves as a fish market is open and busy. At the mairie we fill out the forms and are asked to return in 1 hour since they have to FAX to the capital (Bassetere) for approval. No one looks at our passports or boat documentation.
While we wait, Leona and I climb up to the shrine that overlooks the town. Then we shop at the bakery (hot fresh baguettes) and grocery store (fresh veggies). After picking up the documents (still no peek at the passports and registration) Leona and Michelle return to the fish market where they have fresh tuna and dolphin (mahi - mahi). They negotiate 3 lbs for �'�10 - Leona gets a bit extra 'cause the fish monger has a T shirt indicating he prefers blonds, and she is blonder than Michelle. Back to the boat to store the booty and have lunch on board.
Later we head ashore to visit the shops and have a glass of wine at the sidewalk café that is on the square in front of the main ferry dock. Then it's back to the boat where we enjoy superb fresh tuna steaks on the barbie with some fine wine. This is followed by a movie in the cockpit and to bed before 9. What a strenuous day! The night wasn't so great what with squalls and a swell on the beam rolling us around but that's the price of paradise.
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We left The Saintes on Tuesday, May 5th bound for Pointe a Pitre 21 miles away on the main island of Guadeloupe. We anchored off La Fouillole (we can't pronounce it either) near the marina complex.
We spent the following day walking the city, with its various markets (fish, spice, veggies and flowers: all separate), churches, parks and wild and crazy shopping. Vive la consumerism - there must be more shoe shops in Point a Pitre than Montreal!
The next day we rented a car with Dave & Michelle (Daniell Storey) and toured Basse Terre (the west volcanic island). Every time a cruiser rents a car they look for a super market, so Leader Price was the first stop. Priority two is rum tasting, so next stop was Domaine de Severin for a tour and a sip or two. After all they have a dozen different products - you can't stop with one!
The preliminaries dispensed with, we headed off to Guadeloupe National Park (one of 7 in all of France) to check out the rain forest and mountains. Leona led us on a mud slide / hike trapezing down through the rain forest to the Saut de la Lezard (Lizards Leap). The very impressive water fall was followed by Dave inventing shortcuts uphill through the mud. Lunch at another waterfall picnic site brought the energy level back to snuff and cleansed us of mud (except Leona's butt).
The next day we toured Grand Terre (the east limestone island). This island is smaller so we planned to tour, then provision for our stay in Dominica, the next stop south. Unbeknownst to us, it was a holiday - can you imagine having two long weekends in a row? We started at a spectacular cemetery in Morne-a L'Eau - most of the hundreds of mausoleums feature a unique black and white checkerboard motif. We then went to Port Louis on the north inside of the butterfly first - and ran smack dab into a cycling rally involving about half of Guadeloupe! In fact, we got on the course somehow... After resigning from the race, we headed off to La Moule on the east coast - an interesting blend of modern seafront and historic downtown. Next was Pointe des Chateaux - the eastern most point in Guadeloupe where the relentless sea has sculpted formations reminiscent of - you guessed it - Chateaux! It was a great place for a picnic - wild sea, big hills and a cooling sea breeze.
After a stop at Le Gosier and the fort Fleur d'Epee we descended on the Cora store at Bas du Fort only to discover it was closed due to the holiday. That meant we had to provision the next day (Saturday May 9th) without the car. Fortunately, Dave & Michelle had a couple of carts so we could capitalize on the �'�0.68 500 ml beer that was on special as well as all the other goodies in the reputed largest supermarket in the Caribbean. Unfortunately our hands were full so we have no pictures of our ½ mile procession down the freeway shoulder back to the marina dinghy dock.
One thing we'll remember about Guadeloupe: from the charming lady at the tourist bureau to the vendor at the veggie market to the passer by translating labels to Leona in the grocery store, everyone we met was unfailingly helpful, friendly and accepting of our weak French.
On Sunday we left early on the 40 mile passage to Portsmouth, Dominica. It was a great sail for most of the trip, although the winds howled around the north corner of Dominica at 30K+ with 8 to 10 foot seas. The last five miles was truly a wild ride - no autopilot for this part!
Dominica has lots to do and see and the people are really helpful and friendly. Not for nothing is this the Nature Island. While here we've enjoyed a trip into Roseau (the capital) for a walking / shopping tour; hiking Cabrits National Park and the Fort Shirley restoration and ruins and a guided boat tour of the Indian River (see our header picture) with Martin who really knows his flora, fauna and history.
One complaint - for some reason there is a SW swell creeping into the harbour. When the wind dies at night, the boat swings back and forth across the swell - sometimes flat, other times rolling like crazy. Very tough to get a full nights sleep. So we decide to try the other side of the harbour since the grass looked greener. NOT!
Worse, one of the nearby boats was robbed by three young guys in the middle of the night, losing computer, electronics, dinghy, documents and money. Police and the Indian River Guides were quick to respond. We were reminded that the Indian River Guide security patrol only operates in the northeast part of the bay, so we returned the next morning. Dominican coast guard responded from Roseau by Zodiac(15 miles away) within an hour. Not only that, but the Minister of Tourism came out to the boat the following day to register his concern. This was the first incident in the past 4 years and everyone took it very seriously. At time of writing one suspect has been arrested, and the dinghy recovered.
We never lock our companionway while we are aboard - this strategy needs to be re-thought!!
Our last day we took a guided hike to the Syndicate waterfall, featuring an excellent hands on course on Dominican flora on a farm that seems to grow everything and ending with a visit to Dublanc, a quaint village on the west coast.
Tomorrow, it's off to Martinique!
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Stay safe and continue to have lots of new adventures!!
Regards, Sherry
On March 11th we finally left Fajardo, PR and ended up in Sun Bay, Vieques. This gorgeous bay on the south coast features over a mile of lovely sand beach along with a picnic park, decent snorkeling and some good hiking. One day we visited the town of Esperanza and had a great lunch at Duffy's. We spent five nights here with Bonanza waiting for the winds to lay down a bit so we could start the beat to windward. During the wait, our dinghy visited the Spa for the semi annual bottom scrub and overall cleaning! The next leg was a short rough trip, to a neat well protected anchorage in Ensenada Honda where we explored the reef and the mangroves for a couple of days.
On March 18th we motored over to Charlotte Amalie in St. Thomas and the following day to Lameshur Bay, St. John. Lameshur Bay is in the National Park, so we took a mooring for the night. The following day we went for a 6 mile hike to the Petroglyphs, and then motored around the corner to spend a night in Coral Bay. Unfortunately, we didn't like the anchorage so diverted to party central - The Bight, Norman Island, BVI. That night, March 20th was deemed time for a dinner ashore - ribs at the Pirate's Lair. The next morning we sailed and motored to Leverick Bay, Virgin Gorda to stage for a window to St. Martin. This 80 mile leg crosses the Anegada (aka Oh-My-God-A) Passage up-wind so it has a reputation for being quite rough.
We arrived in Marigot, St. Martin at 0630 on the 23rd after an uncharacteristically smooth motoring trip. No SOD - that is, no salt on deck! A tot of rum was offered to Neptune (and the crew) in thanks for our first smooth eastbound passage of the year.
For the rest of March we anchored in Simpson Bay Lagoon (French side under the Witches Tit) and seem to have been busy every single evening. Andy & Kitty visited us from Anguilla and stayed overnight. We also attended a street festival in Grand Case and a reunion of the Stray Dogs on Dreammaker. Exhausting, especially when you include provisioning! This is the home of $18 US for a 24 of 12 oz Heineken cans, less than $15 for Presidente and Carib. Best beer price anywhere, pop is similarly inexpensive, and grocery prices and selection are great, especially compared with the other islands.
On April 1st we passed through the Sint Maarten bridge and headed out for Anse Colombier, St. Barts. Beautiful spot, we've promised ourselves twice that next time we'll check in to St. Bart's and stay for a few days exploring. We left there the following morning at 3AM arriving in Jolly Harbour, Antigua at 5 PM. We checked in the following morning and anchored near Nancy Dawson.
On the 6th we motored the 15 miles up to Antigua's North Sound, anchoring in Jumby Bay. Spectacular beach, but Long Island is private - occupied by private residences and an upscale resort. How upscale, you ask? Well, the April special prices were $2500 - $3500 US PER NIGHT, which included all activities, food and beverage and your personal chef and housekeeper. For some reason, we only saw two guests!
The next day we moved to another spectacular beach on deserted Great Bird Island.
After that it was back to Jolly Harbour and on to Falmouth to await the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta which runs from April 16th through 21st. There are 59 entries ranging from the 24 foot Springtide to the 140 foot Rebecca and including J boats Velsheda and Ranger. We'll be rooting for Nancy Dawson of Dartmouth and Pasha of Lunenburg, the only Canadian entries. Races run from Friday to Monday just off English Harbor / Falmouth.
These folks know how to throw a regatta! I've never seen so much free booze and food. As Dave on Daniell Storey put it "these are Gold Star Days", which is cruiser talk for any day you spend no money.
There are great places to watch the races from the cliffs on the coast of Antigua off Falmouth and Jolly Harbour. Exciting watching all flavors of traditional yachts - capped off by watching the Js duel! you all know the groan your sheets make when you are close hauled and ease them off, well drop it a couple of octaves so it's more like thunder and make it audible at ½ mile and you are close! The races were blessed with 15K winds and sunshine with reasonable seas.
The cap for us was a chance to join Randy and Sue with their guests Stu and Tara on Nancy Dawson for the second race. We had a great time and particularly enjoyed the spectacle of Velsheda, Ranger and Eleonora (each 135 feet) roar past 100 meters away in line astern (see our header picture). It was great until we stalled out in several minutes of swirling winds due to their passage!
On Tuesday the 21st they hold gig races in the afternoon and the awards in the evening. The gig races were great sport, but we couldn't stay up for the 9PM awards ceremony!
Tomorrow its off to Jolly Harbour to stock up and wait for a window to Montserrat or, that failing, Guadeloupe.
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