We are at anchor off the picturesque town Bourg de Saints which was a three hour sail in 20 - 25 knot winds yesterday from Guadeloupe. This red-roofed community is the main centre in this cluster of islands called "The Saints". We have been doing quite a bit of hiking yesterday and today seeing many beautiful and well as strange sites.
One destination was the Napoleonic Fort complete with a moat around it, although we didn't bother paying to get in. The hike through the village and seeing it was enough. Cash is a bit of a problem around here and most places are not taking visa. Due to the strike in Guadeloupe (and the Saints is part of Guadeloupe) ATM machines have not been stocked with cash and the grocery store shelves have the look of your corner grocery store right before it goes out of business. Because of this, we've had
to put into priority what we spend our money on. We prefer to buy a refreshment at a beach bar while people watching, rather than get into a fort!
Another destination was a beautiful beach on the other side of the island. A tour boat had come in to the main town which meant small bus loads of tourists and an abundance of motor scooters were sharing the narrow road with us. Last night we chose a pizza place for supper which turned out to be a hub of activity. Perhaps due to language differences we didn't realize we were getting 12" pizzas each but it came in handy today at the beach. We enjoyed the leftover pizza again for lunch, and will again
tonight. Last night also, Dawn and I had a lovely time enjoying a ti-punch at a little waterside restaurant Bar La Crique while the guys took what few provisions we could find, to the boat. I was thrilled when the waiter said "oh you speak French" instead of the confused look I usually receive when I ask a question in French. My French teacher would be happy to know this!
Before coming to the town yesterday we did stop for some snorkeling which turned out to be surprisingly good. We saw a sea cucumber which I probably wouldn't have recognized if we hadn't seen it at the Aquarium in Guadeloupe. But that's a whole other story. We had originally meant to leave Guadeloupe immediately upon arrival because of the strike and go to The Saints where it was not supposed to be as bad. However, Laurie broke his tooth on some nuts so we had to stay until Monday so he could see
the dentist. The aquarium was only a 15 minute walk from the marina for me and Doug. We found it was open for business and we got to see a little bit of the town. Dawn drove Laurie in the dinghy to Pointe A Pitre to see the dentist and dropped him off. He got the work done and it was surprisingly only 37 Euros! He told us later that he saw a demonstration in the street with over a thousand people. Although there have been no demonstrations here in The Saints, we certainly feel the connection to
the strike here with lack of food and currency.
We are about to check the weather and will determine whether to stay here another day or head off south to Dominica.
