That was just the start of it – there were 2 more cruise ships at anchor in the harbour and about a thousand other boats taking up the two small anchorages near Grande Bourg so after one aborted anchoring attempt we gave up and decided to head on to Guadaloupe – say Pointe-a-Pitre. That wasn’t to be either as the wind had turned more to the North making a sail to Pointe-a-Pitre on the nose and with only 4 hours of light and a tricky channel entry we turned to the west to head to the anchorage at Basse Terre – the capital. Well I think Doyle got it wrong when he said there was an anchorage there – the shelf looked about 12ft wide and the wind was blowing from the west so we had a lee shore full of rocks! Bugger that we agreed as the starboard engine failed, got a rope caught. We powered up on port and headed north to Pigeon Island. Along the way the rope seemed to clear itself and we were able to start starboard as well to make better time. We made it by sundown in time to see a beautiful sunset over the island.
We woke up in the morning and the north east swell had arrived in anger. We watched as the waves crashed onto the dinghy docks that suggested that we may not get ashore here easily…. which was an understatement. We dropped Debbie and thought we would see if we could find a way in as we had to check in to the country. We tried to find a river that was a bit to the south but with no luck so we tried the floating dinghy dock which looked interesting to say the least but the waves weren’t breaking over it anymore. As we neared we met a local dive instructor swimming to his boat and he suggested out best bet was to leave Pigeon Island and head north to Deshaies and check in there. It was an easier harbour to get ashore in this swell. So we upped anchor and headed north.
We arrived in Deshaies and anchored out the back as we always did and sat on the boat making sure we were dug in watching the waves crash against the walls of the beachfront restaurants. “How the hell are we ever going to get ashore in that – hopefully we can get in at the fishing harbour” I was thinking when we heard “Where II” being called from a rowing dinghy fighting the wind and swell. It was a guy named Indie from the yacht Pegasus anchored ahead of us. He gave us the low down on the dinghy dock and Customs so we could clear in. Customs were helpful but made it clear that really they didn’t want to waste time with yachts – better for us to clear at the local cyber café (Pelicans). We wandered around the village checking out where everything was and getting a baguette before heading back for the night.
The weather was crap for the next couple of days windy and raining and we stayed on the boat and even though there was bugger all sun so solar power was low, Wally the Wind Generator certainly made up for it and we were living off free energy for most of the time.
There is a variation on the boat boy in this harbour, in true French style…. Harold the bread boy! Each afternoon he comes round and takes orders and the following morning we get fresh, hot baguettes and croissants and pain au chocolate! With the bad weather we were even having hot coffee for breakfast (infused with local vanilla beans – very continental!)
Indie came and visited (I get the impression he was kicked off the boat as his partner Natalie was studying for some exams) and we decided to have New Years Day lunch on our boat (well really Indie did and we went along with it) So Indie and Natalie were bringing a French Ham, and wine and we did the quiche, salad and Champagne.
So New Years Eve was spent on the boat, we put champagne in the fridge and hit the sack early with the alarm set for 2350 so we could see in the New Year. Good in theory, but when someone is so tired that they can’t get up – the practice was not quite there. Anyway there were fireworks from shore and the boat next door was letting off flares so it was a bright welcome to the NY – I won’t say which one of us saw it in….
New Year’s lunch was delicious – the ham and potatoes baked to perfection and the company great. Although we hadn’t met them before, we had realised that Indie and Natalie were anchored not far from us in Brewer’s Bay St Thomas last year ( there were only 4 boats there) and knew our Bocce tormentors - Jim & Wendy on Merengue.
Once the rain stopped we decided it was time to see some of the island and headed to the bus stop to get a bus to Pointe-a-Pitre. Waiting, waiting, waiting… but no bus showed so we headed to the car hire and got ourselves a little ford and headed into town. We stopped at Grande Anse which was pretty and within walking distance of Deshaies, and went onto St Rose where we stopped for morning tea (pastries off course, we are in France) and headed onto Pointe-a-Pitre (missing the Rum Museum - can you believe it!?)
On the way in to town we passed a huge mall with a hardware (Mr Bricolage) and sports store (Decathlon) so we made a point of planning a return visit here on our way home so Karen could shop. The way in was busy and it reminded me of traffic jams back home which I don’t miss and didn’t expect to see on an island this small but there you go.
Pointe-a-Pitre is a pretty town with some distinct architecture – starting with the grand Tourist bureau.
We strolled along the streets and through the market stalls, buying the local vanilla beans very cheaply compared with other islands before heading to the Schoelcher Museum.
Victor Schoelcher was one of the first advocates of the abolishment of slavery in these islands and the museum has a collection of slave exhibits including slave neck collars, models of slave ships and even what appeared to be a slave sales registry or cargo list (I am not quite sure as all the explanations were in French). We finished off the visit here looking for handbags (as you always do in a tropical island).
Next we checked out the marina complex and then headed home via the mall (where we got drawer rails for Karen’s new shelf in the galley – my next job) and face cream from Carrefour. We then did the shopping run to Leader Price to refill my Brie, ham, beer and wine stock as my vegetarian partner has been quite taken by ham baguettes since we have been in the French Islands.
Next morning we were up early as we had the car until noon and took off for the hills. Our first stop was a lookout at Morne Louis which was up a tight little road littered with the results of mud slides. We made it to the top to be greeted by comms towers and absolutely no where we could get a view through the foliage! Not much of a look out! Another car was arriving as we left but I did not have enough French to say “Don’t bother!”
We then made it to Maison du Foret – an early picnic ground next to a fast flowing stream. This is a beautiful little area with heaps of picnic pavilions and further along the road, an interpretation centre (known as this obviously because we non-French speaking people need an interpreter to understand any of the signs), a suspension bridge across the stream and a 20 min walk which we decided to do (hiking again!).
The rain forest was wet and slimy and full of big trees and stag horns (some of them with name tags in French) – it was pretty whatever it was we were looking at. We made the hike in 24mins (an extra 4 for a detour around a fallen tree) and if you know Karen, crossing the suspension bridge was a great achievement too!
We headed back to Deshaies and dropped off the car, deciding that if tourist information was open we would head up to the Botanical Gardens. It was (first time in two weeks) and we did. They call the gardens and a bus will come down to town and pick you up which, although it is only 1.5 km it is all up hill so it is worth it.
Entrance fee was €14.50 each, which standing at the gate seemed as steep as the ride up, but we swallowed it and paid (we had just got a free ride up the hill) and were greeted by a thousand odd 35 lb koi carp. You could buy food and feed them but they looked fat enough and we needed some money over to buy our own lunch. The gardens are beautifully laid out and include not only the carp, but lorikeets (from Australia), flamingos, blue parrots as well as thousands of trees, flowering plants (half not flowering at this time of year but they had photos of what they would look like if they were flowering), orchids, waterfalls and even a Norfolk pine from Australia!
Big day, but we decided that we should forego the free bus ride back down the hill and then headed back to the boat.
After all that excitement, the next morning we decided that we would take a good weather window and head north to Antigua. If we missed it we would be stuck in Deshaies for another week at least, so the diving will have to wait for our return trip this season. So we checked out, and spent the afternoon doing maintenance on the boat (Engine checks, re-stitching the trampoline and finally clearing the rope from the Starboard prop).
Tomorrow we head for Antigua!
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Mum
DATE: 1/30/2011 10:57:23 PM
Really enjoyed this blog this morning, Matt. Fantastic photos.
COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Anne Foster
DATE: 2/3/2011 12:29:32 PM
G'day WhereII and Happy New Year, I found you again after a long absence-good to hear how things are going Matt, you are obviously far too relaxed and at ease with the world. The blog is great-it all sounds magical and I love that Karen is eating ham, those French foodie influences are hard to resist! All is well here. We are leaving Melbourne town soon, alas not for Caribbean waters but for the sunny climes and brilliant beaches of Perth. Dave is working on an alliance over West (at my restless insistence of "c'mon let's do something new now that we've conquered the child rearing thing") and we will be there for 1-2 years at this stage. Sol and Elsa are 2 and 1 and full of fun and I should probably consider working again but I'm hoping to become a beachcomber and get a tan to rival Karen's... watch out for Pirates and I'll check in on you again soon. Cheers, Anne xx
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