Just off the southern tip of Guadeloupe’s mainland is this enchanting group of small islands. The guidebook describes them as having a distinctly Breton feel to them, which is certainly true. We came in around lunch time after a somewhat boisterous ride over, and looked for a mooring but failed to find one – this anchorage has a reputation for being busy! Fortunately friends on Evening Star, from the Salty Dawg rally spotted another boat leaving, jumped in their dinghy to grab the buoy and radioed us to come in. Sailors Helping Sailors is the Salty Dawg motto!

The little town of Bourg des Saintes bustles, with numerous ferries coming in from Guadeloupe and Martinique. We had fun wandering around the town and gorging on wonderful French bread, as well as trying some of the excellent local restaurants. French is the main language, and I found long-forgotten vocabulary coming back to me – although not grammar, so I still had a hard time communicating with the locals!

We hiked up to a fort for views, and alternative versions of the historic Battle of the Saintes between the British and the French (spoiler alert: The British won!). I also joined Evening Star for a hike over the hill tops to Baie de Pompiere; this was rather sketchy as we never actually found the trail, and instead scrambled and bush-whacked, hoping the bushes we were ducking around weren’t poisonous Manchineels! We again had fantastic views and ended at a nice beach for a swim.

Baie de Pompiere must once have been one of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean but unfortunately has been invaded by Sargassum seaweed. This problem seems to be impacting most Atlantic-facing beaches: it piles up, it’s smelly, no one is sure what is causing it and there doesn’t seem to be a solution. Meanwhile it destroys marine habitats, prevents turtles from reaching nesting sites (they can’t climb over the mounds) and has put beach bars and restaurants out of business. Very sad to see.

There was so much more we’d have liked to do in these lovely islands that we will just have to come back again – so meanwhile, it’s Au Revoir.