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Mar 27th - Picked up a mooring by Pigeon Island, off the west coast of Basse Terre, at 10am after a 12 hour night from Montserrat. We were reunited with John and Brenda from "Willow" and after a big hello, they jumped in and swam over to us! We drank coffee and filled each other in on what we'd been up to since we'd last seen them in St Martin. They left and went for a dive, whilst we got comfy and went for a snorkel by the rocks of the island.
Guadeloupe at sunrise:
Quietly in the distance
Pigeon Island
Around 1pm we all decided to leave Pigeon island and head south to Anse La Barque, just an hours motor away. So we all headed off, and anchored together in the small habour in time to go for yet another swim, have a cold drink and watch a great sunset. Then it was off to "Willow" for dinner!
Gretchen from Quietly >
John, Brenda and Dalton from "Quietly" >
John the chef! >
A tasty meal! >
Mar 30th - All three of us raised anchor and we sailed south to the town of Basse Terre. We tested our new ballooner on the way there and everything was fine, then moored up stern to at the marina. Our first time in a while and we were a bit big for the berth! But after much fiddling we were comfy, then it was our turn to help "Willow and "Quietly" moor up.
Mar 31st - Andrea, David, Tom and Brenda and John went off hiking to one of the waterfalls, the Chutes de Carbet, They rented a car and drove through the National Park, which is the majority of the south of Basse Terre, with ferns and lush green plants covering the landscape of mountains, rivers and waterfalls. The hike to the waterfall went through the forests, on a cleared path, then dropped to a steep scramble over the rocks as it reached the falls after an hours hike. They had the place all to themselves, and Brenda and Tom went for a swim in the pool at the base of the falls to cool off in the fresh water. Then it was another hour back to the car and they got back to the boat just before darkness fell, perfect timing!
April 1st - Alex's 19th Birthday!! Set sail at 1pm to go the Iles des Saintes, off the south coast of Basse Terre. Arrived in Pain de Sucre at 4pm, to the tune of "Willow" singing Happy Birthday to Alex across the water! Quietly soon followed, and once again it was the Trio! At 6pm everyone came over to "Gallant" and we had a birthday tea with sandwiches, biscuits and cakes. Brenda decided to adorn Alex with a 'head dress' made from a plastic lai, a paper napkin and some Xmas lights! Then we discovered that putting the lights up Alex's nose was quite entertaining, making her look like Rudolph! After everyone was stuffed we went up into the cockpit and Alex opened her presents, the highlights being a hula hoop, a bucket and spade and a set of Boules! Then the candles were lit and everyone sang Happy Birthday, and dug into the chocolate cake, with Alex eating hers in one go! We chatted and drank wine until the wee hours, and then we said farewell to everyone, and all went to bed.
Brenda decorates Alex :
Rudolph >
The first present . . .
The cake
Hula Hooping on deck!
April 3rd - Relaxed on the boat, swimming, snorkeling, Tom even got the windsurfer rigged up and did some windsurfing. In the late afternoon Andrea and David motored over to the main town to snoop around, whilst Tom gave Alex some windsurfing lessons.
April 4rd - Thought we'd get off the boat and take a look around the largest of the islands in the Saintes, Terrre d'en Haute, and what better way to get a feel for the island then by scooter?! So we had a rather wet motor over to the main town, Bourges des Saintes, on our dingy, then hopped onto two 100cc scooters! Tom and David were the drivers making Alex and Andrea the passengers, and we had a great time! The island was quite small, so there wasn't much to do, so we ended up going everywhere. We took the back roads to the residential areas, to dead ends, up hills, to beaches and of course, through the main streets. The views were fantastic, whizzing by us as we speed through the island. We could see all the boats in the anchorage, including ours! We went to visit Fort Napoleon, up on a very steep hill, and after crawling up the switch backs, we realized that it was closed! But we had a snoop around anyway, looked through the keyhole and enjoyed the panoramic view. We also found the local yacht club, right on the beach, and all painted blue and yellow. There were hammocks and sofas, as well as the essential bar, and an outdoor shower hidden behind a palm tree! We had a drink, played with the Rotweiler puppy then whizzed off again on the scooters. But the fun had to come to an end, and at 5pm we reluctantly returned them, and motored back to the boat.
The view of the main town, Bourges de Saintes >
A random beach we found! >
The anchorage, Pain de Sucre, to the left of the round hill >
The yacht club, right on the beach!
Fort Napoleon >
Through the keyhole!
April 7th - Raised our anchors and had a fantastic sail over to the mainland, Grande Terre, to the biggest city on the island Pointe-a-Pitre . After a quick beam reach over, we arrived at the Port de Plaisance Marina, the Amel headquarters in the Caribbean, and moored up stern to, next to seven other Amels! Our plan is to stay here for about five days to install a new battery charger and get some questions answered, as well as uploading the updated website! Then were sailing up to Antigua in time for Classics Race week, starting on April 15th. The week following Classics is Antigua Race Week, the biggest regatta in the Caribbean so we're hoping Tom will be able to find a place on a boat going back to Europe.
April 10th - We went out for the day in a rented jeep with Sarah from Devon, who we'd helped in the Saintes when her anchor got caught up with another boat, and she also on an Amel! So she returned the favour by taking us out to visit the 'Cascades' inland. As we entered the Cascades National Park, the temperature instantly dropped and the vegetation became lush and thick. We visited 3 waterfalls, some were busy with tourists, but one was completely deserted, and peaceful.
< posing with Sarah on the rocks.
On our way back in the open top jeep the heaven decided to open. So there we were driving down the motorway, trying to put the roof back on! Suffice to say, we couldn't do it, and we had a refreshing shower!
