Saturday morning, to our surprise, we found that the shops were open. So we did a bit of provisioning – we particularly wanted to get some supplies of pate and cheese before we left the French islands – and spent most of the morning in the internet cafe doing the laundry. They will do it for you – at a price – but we decided to catch up on a few things while we were waiting for it so did it ourselves. All done and back to Morphie…. But it was mid afternoon by this time….
Whilst ashore I had felt quite land sick – and the rolly conditions in the anchorage didn’t help when we got back either. It was blowing like stink too. So we decided to stay on board and have a lazy afternoon. I had a couple of hours sleep and Richard sunbathed on the deck. Later on I felt better and we had a light supper…. whilst the catamaran in front of us continued to play music very loudly. In the end we retreated down below and shut the hatches….it was horrendous….and they partied all through the night again…. Grrrrrrrr……
So Sunday morning we were feeling tired and grumpy! But the sun was up and it looked like a nice day. So we did a few boat jobs in the morning and headed into the town beach for another bobbing afternoon.
Interestingly a pagoda type structure had been erected on the beach – so we thought something might be going down later… but nothing did, people were just using it to get shade under! All a bit strange…. But not as strange as the guy with the largest e-cigarette we have ever seen!
We enjoyed our bobbing and people watching. And the sky was starting to look ominous again….. particularly the clouds building over Guadeloupe in the distance. Looks like more weather coming.
Back on board and we spent some time watching the frigate birds and the pelicans fighting for scraps as the fishermen cleaned their catch. Later on there was a moody sunset… Definitely looks like more weather on its way.
Monday morning and yes it is pouring. Just a usual UK Bank Holiday Monday then LOL! We sit out the squalls – and the white-outs – as they come through and head into town for a leisurely lunch in a small restaurant overlooking the anchorage.
And the food was fantastic.
The anchorage had started to clear out as people headed back home to get ready for work I guess…..and thankfully the party boats had gone too! Hurrah…. Back on board and we had a quiet evening before retiring to bed early.
Tuesday morning and up really early – slipped our mooring ball at 7.00 am with coffee and rolls already made up for the run across the channel and up the coast of Guadeloupe to Deshaies, our next port of call. Another cloudy and gloomy day but the rain stopped around 8 am…. Said a fond farewell to the Saintes as we headed out.
Had a great sail – with wind behind us and following seas – past the lighthouse and marvelled at how built-up and European looking Guadeloupe is. Which is common amongst the French Caribbean islands… Half way up the coast we had a 120 degree wind shift so, of course, the wind is now on our nose! So we ended up motoring the rest of the way, sadly….
Arrived into Deshaies and it is busy…. We end up having to anchor in 35 feet of water but couldn’t get in any closer. Oh well….. Only staying for one night anyway as we are going to make this a jumping off point to Montserrat. We missed Montserrat on the way down the island chain last year as the weather conditions were not conducive…. but the forecast for the next few days is looking very favourable. Very excited!
So we went ashore – primarily to check out of customs for the following day. And, of course, the little shop that does this is closed. Between 12.30 and 4 pm – for lunch! The town is completely closed right now….hard to believe this is just after 2pm on a Tuesday! Oh well…. We head off to a local hostelry and had some lunch ourselves. What else could we do??? Lovely cod fritters this time. Actually this enforced stop was pretty handy because I picked up their wifi code and they allow us to use it – free of charge – in the anchorage… result!
Found the local bakery – I am really going to miss the daily fresh baguettes! – the pretty church and the supermarket after lunch as well as completed our customs / immigration checkout. Which in the French islands consists of typing stuff into a computer, printing it off, getting a stamp and paying a fee…… Quite a different approach from the ex-British islands who still do everything in triplicate using carbon papers!
We are now back on board and are planning an early night as we want to be up very early and off in the morning for the nine hour or so passage… Hopefully this rolly, 360 degree movement, will abate when the sun goes down!
Bye for now
Jan