Hurricane season

 The hurricane season has begun….

We’ve been making our way further south at a much more rapid pace. We unfortunately only had time to visit the west part of Guadeloupe. Our first anchorage was in the town of Deshaies, charming little village which happens to be where they shoot the series Death in Paradise. Being fans, it was a treat to visit the film location. Deshaies also have the most beautiful botanical garden. 

The capital, Basse Terre, was a little disappointing, with dilapidated buildings, lots of garbage,  very drab colourless houses. It was also one of the most rolly anchorage that we’ve had so far.  Sleeping was a challenge to say the least. Just rocking and rolling all night. Everything rattling in the cupboards. Not very restful. We were quite happy to move on.

The islands of Les Saintes, which are part of Guadeloupe, were a treat. Beautiful picturesque islands, lush and green, few cars and many scooters. The most challenging  part of the main island was the opening and closing of the shops and restaurants. The restaurants were open for breakfast and lunch, closed at 2:00 in the afternoon and would reopen around 5:30 but would only serve dinner at 7:00. Shops including grocery stores closed at 12;30 and reopen at 3:30. Tourists arriving on ferry boat for the day had better bring a packed lunch just in case 🤣

A short 5 hour sail to Dominica. One of the smallest and youngest island that got its independence in 1978. This is a paradise for nature lovers. The interior has many mountains, beautiful waterfalls, boiling  lake, hot and cold springs. Great hiking in the interior and great snorkelling on the coast. Walking in the rain forest, you’re more than likely see just about every fruit grown on the island, from pineapple, soursop, breadfruit , papaya and mangoes. It’s been a real treat.

The capital, Roseau, is a beautiful  city, full of life. Great restaurants, cafes and shops, local vendors selling their fruits and veggies on the streets.The houses are painted in vibrant colours with great balconies, decorated with gingerbread 

The Dominicans are super friendly and do love their reggae music and their ganga (pot). Even with our boat anchored about a 1/4 kilometres away, we could  smell pot drifting  by us. You kinda have to wonder how things ever get done on the island but they seem to make it work😳 

We sailed over to Martinique, probably one of our best sails this season. 36 nautical miles that took us 7 hours. Great winds, small squall  and me who still squeals when the boat heals too much lol.

So far we are loving Martinique a lot. We’ve only arrived a few days ago and like everything about the island. We’ll be here for a month, mostly in the town of St Pierre. The town lies at the foot of Mt Pelée volcano that erupted on May 8th, 1902 and wipe out all the 30 000 inhabitants except 2 souls. One was a convicted killer that was spared because of the thickness of the prison walls. Not sure if that’s called a « pardon » 😂

Of course, we arrived in the nick of time to the French island as our wine🍷supply was running dangerously low. So unaffordable in Dominica. Went to the weekend fruit, veggies and fish market. It was brilliant. Not since the DR have we seen such a beautiful variety and at great prices. Bonus, we visited a fantastic local rum distillery, combined with baguette and cheese, we might stay here permanently lol.

Seriously, we’ll be heading to St Lucia for July 1st and leaving the boat for a few months while we head back to Canada to visit family and friends. Even though St Lucia is still in the hurricane zone, it hasn’t been hit in 34 years. We’ve decided to roll the dice and take a chance.

Cheers

Mike and Pierrette 

Main set for Death in Paradis (Police Station)

Sunset Deshaies Guadeloupe 

Botanical garden Deshaies

Botanical garden Deshaies

Botanical garden Deshaies

Botanical garden 

Botanical garden 

Run down buildings, Barre Terre, Guadeloupe 

Monuments made by local artist to honour the slave uprising, Basse Terre, Guadeloupe 

Never have enough sunset

Les Saintes, Guadeloupe 

Rented a scooter for the day, Les Saintes, Guadeloupe 

Trafalgar Falls, Dominica 

Enjoying a pint, Portsmouth, Dominica 

Massive tree vines, Roseau, Dominica 

Self explanatory 

Roseau Dominica

Beautiful streets of St Pierre, Martinique 

St Pierre, Martinique 

St Pierre Martinique 

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Great local rum

Distillery - aging rum

Mt Pelée volcano, St Pierre, Martinique 

Saturday market

Tuna for supper