Next stop after Dominica was Guadeloupe, starting with the Saintes. We motored up in a continued flat calm. Last time we were there, the moorings were packed, with people sending in advance parties to search for spots first thing in the morning; however this time there was plenty of room. We had lunch in the coolest restaurant we could find and then Jeremy went off to Customs and Immigration. After that it was time for a swim and further refreshments at the Triangle Beach Bar. We had dinner at an excellent restaurant, sitting in a cool courtyard. The old buildings crammed together in the center of the Bourg create some interesting hidden spaces! We all loved the pretty, historic town and the great food here.

We decided to hike up to Le Chameau, a lookout tower at the highest point of the group of islands. We probably started rather later than would have been ideal, and we were very hot by the time we reached the top; however the views were lovely, over to Guadeloupe and back to Dominica. We spotted another path leading down through the trees and followed that back down. It was a bit of a scramble and came out rather a long way from where we started, but all ended well, especially after a cool swim! Later we snorkeled under the cliffs of Pain de Sucre and ate out again at an equally picturesque restaurant. After a quick trip ashore for the essential French bread and Pain au Chocolat it was on to the main island of Guadeloupe.

We made a lunch stop to snorkel at the Cousteau underwater park near the Pigeon Island anchorage. The water was a wonderful clear blue and there were so many fish it felt like swimming in an aquarium! Afterwards we moved on up to Deshaies at the north end of Guadeloupe. Last time we were here we were seeing gusts well over 30 knots sweep down from the hills; this time we were desperate for any hint of breeze, it was so hot! It was Jeremy’s birthday so the rest of us ran ashore to buy tacky souvenirs for him!

Undaunted by our sweaty experience hiking in the Saintes, we decided to tackle Le Gros Morne, which is a trail going up and over the headland between Deshaies and Grande Anse. We were rewarded by a spectacular beach, where we spent hours playing in the waves and enjoyed a delicious lunch in a beach-side bar. Later on, Jeremy checked us out and we had dinner on board. One more bread and croissant run and then we left for our final leg up to Antigua.