Blog 82
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Hmm… we are now in Guadeloupe soon
to be on our way back to Antigua so
there seems to be quite a chunk missing from our blog.
Firstly, we are on our way back to
Antigua so that Tim can finish of the oral exam part of the Yacht Master Ocean
course. Once he’d completed the first part of the course, way back in
March, we headed to St Martin where Tim covered the base while the manager was
on holiday. During that time that, I flew back to Canada for an extended stay
to visit and get some dental work done. I had a much lovelier time than Tim, but he
got through it, and on the 23rd of May we left Fort Louis Marina
headed directly for Martinique.
The reason we were sailing straight
to Martinique, a two-day passage, was to be offshore long enough for Tim to get
all the sextant sights he needed to complete the course. It was a good plan
except for the fact that the sailing was pretty miserable. We were on a
fetch (one long tack) in moderate winds and in an uncomfortable sea.
We were both rather out of shape for living life on a 15 degree angle and I
was feeling it. Guadeloupe, only 6 rather than another 24 hours
away was developing a very alluring je ne
cést quoi.
Tim had got all his sights done,
moon, stars and noon so there really was no reason to carry on if we weren’t
enjoying it. And we weren’t, so we didn’t. We changed course for
Deshaies on the north west corner of the Guadeloupe and arrived late afternoon
of the 24th with that beaten with a stick feeling you get after a
tougher than normal workout.
After a couple of days in Deshaies,
we head down to Les Saints via Pigeon Island, where we anchored over
night. Pigeon Island is within the Jacques Cousteau Underwater Reserve Guadeloupe and the snorkeling and diving is very good.
We sailed for Les Saintes on Sunday the 29th and
anchored off La Tete Rouge.
That's La Tete Rouge on the left and Larus to the right
of it.
There fewer and fewer spots to anchor in the
Saints every time we visit. A favourite bay to anchor in is next
to Le Pain de Sucre, a spectacular rock formation, and most of the
anchorage has been converted to a mooring field. You can anchor behind
the yellow buoys but the depth is generally too deep.
We did quite a lot of walking but enjoyed it most in the early morning.
We did quite a lot of walking but enjoyed it most in the early morning.
I
did the early morning walk two days on the trot because I forgot the camera the first time,
but it was worth it.
Although we'd seen the fishing cages the day before, there
was no one about so I could take my time getting photos. The sticks
leaning against the tree in the background are what is used to make the frame
for the chicken wire.
Grand Bourg, the only town in the Saints is, not surprisingly, very picturesque and it follows the curve of the bay right around to the beach next to La Tete Rough.
Behind the town where the terrain becomes more mountainous were groups of houses between fields. The photo
below on the right is a goat field. You can tell the fields that have goats because there isn't a slip of
greenery to be seen.
("Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin," said the Billy Goat Gruff.)
Most of the goats are well and truly fenced in, but there were some exceptions.
They've even posted a look out.'
This must be what goat heaven looks (and smells) like. I did wonder what they do with all the goats. I hope they have a thriving local cheese trade.
I know, probably too many photos of goats.
These
walks were to the south of the main town on the way to, but not as far as, Le Pain de Sucre.
We hadn't visited this area before and really enjoyed it. When we head
south again, we'll definitely have another look around Les Saintes.
Hey! You can comment here if you have a Gmail, Livejournal, Wordpress, Typepad or AIM logon. We think/hope that you will get a notification when we reply to a comment if you have one of these logons.
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Great new blog site. And really, there's just no such thing as too many photos of goats! Especially the baby goats.....
ReplyDeleteM & S
If only I could figure out editing video, then there would be video of baby goats!
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