March 2017

When I think about Brenda and me aboard our first boat, a 20′ Cape Cod Catboat, way back in 1979, making weekend voyages measured in a few days and runs of a dozen miles at most, I can’t believe that I am writing this post from near Guadalupe of all places.

I can tell you that I NEVER imagined I’d be here much less sailing around tropical waters together for months at a time each winter.  I am indeed a very lucky guy.   And speaking of Brenda, here she is from yesterday at Fort Napoleon with Guadaloupe in the distance.  And, to do this with Brenda, the very same woman who has a photo of me from our senior prom wearing a light blue powder blue tux with dark blue piping, all the while sporting a particularly dashing Dutch-boy haircut.    I guess she wasn’t thinking “power blue tux” or sailing thousands of miles with me for that matter, when she said “yes” over forty years ago.   WHAT WAS SHE THINKING?  Oops!

I guess Ill leave it at that for now.  Don’t want to jinx it.

Anyway, yesterday we rented a golf cart to tour the island with our new cruiser friends on Hi Flight.    Unlike the one we rented a few years ago in Rum Cay Bahamas with our friends Dick and Anne of Nati, this one even had brakes.  Good thing as the hills were very, very steep.  Steep hills make for spectacular views.  Is there possibly any more spectacular view anywhere?  Here’s Dominica in the distance.  Actually, it’s looking good for us to visit there for a few days beginning tomorrow before we head back to Antigua. Each beach was more beautiful than the next.
With views from the fort like this, it would have been tough for anyone to sneak up on the French unless they were busy eating croissants and drinking local rum.
The fort had all the comforts of home for those Napoleonic soldiers, if in a severe masonry sort of way.  I doubt that they played cricket in this courtyard.  “Sacrebleu!  Banish the thought you English sympathizer you… To the guillotine!”  It seems that there were regular cruise line routes from France to Guadeloupe in the days before transatlantic air travel was common.  This cruise line poster was on display in the museum for the Ile de France, a steamship liner that my mother Shirley traveled to Europe aboard after graduating from college in the early 50s. She was in good company as Christopher Columbus also sailed the ocean blue although a few years before, aboard the Santa Maria.  Yes, I realize that was an awkward segue.  Anyway, here’s a nice model of his ship in the museum.  I’ll bet that this fort kitchen got plenty hot.  “Napoleon! Napoleon! your baguettes will be out of the oven soon.  It’s so frigging hot in here so hurry up!”I mentioned in a recent post that Brenda and I used to grow orchids so we are always attracted to them in our travels.   This one was in spike but not yet flowering.  I expect that the flowers are small and green, not terribly showy.  The plant is huge with “bulbs” over 1′ long.  The flower spikes are nearly 5′ long. The fort was in active use for only about 10 years.  Unfortunately, the museum descriptions were all in French and there wasn’t much about the history of the fort itself and what it might have looked like prior to restoration.  However, it’s obvous that a lot of time has been spent restoring it over the years.  Impressive attention to detail.
Perhaps I’ll close with the view from where we had lunch yesterday.  Not to shabby.  Even better, the food was French.  So, here we are in the Caribbean with plans to come back next winter.  Me and Brenda, and I for one, never imagined that this would happen so many years ago as I dressed for the prom in my powder blue tux.  Hey wait, it was almost the color of the water here.  Perhaps it was an omen?

So here we are in Guadeloupe.  And all I can say is “Really?”

Tomorrow, on to Dominica.

The title of today’s post.  “It’s the prettiest place I have ever been.” was uttered by Brenda after our first day here in Le Saintes, near Guadeloupe .  That description is in keeping with the sorts of comments we have heard this winter when we asked “what’s your favorite island?”.

I have to agree and should add that it comes with some of the best food we have EVER eaten.  How about foie gras with seared tuna, a sort of “surf and turf” for the refined palate and you get a good feel for what this place is like.

This is the view that greeted me today from Pandora’s cockpit.  Actually, I had been up for an hour or more but work with me on this.  What a view.    Perhaps rainbows are the new sunsets… A short while later a three masted schooner entered the bay under billowing clouds. Today we are renting a golf cart, electric of course, to tour the island with some new cruising friends.   One of our first stops will be at Fort Napoleon overlooking the harbor.  Of course, this area of the Caribbean saw some pretty intense action between the British and French and just about every harbor seems to have it’s own fort.

As you’d imagine, forts tend to be up on hills and getting there can be challenging in mid day heat.   However, in order to justify my daily ice cream fix, I just had to walk up there.  I made it.  “How about an ice cream Bob?”   Yes, indeed.

Pandora is in that mess boats, trust me on that.  And, to prove it, a sort of up close shot. The town looked so picturesque from up on the hill.  All those little fishing boats.  I guess that’s why seafood is such a large part of menu selections. Some mid size cruise ships frequent this island, places that the ships with 4,000 passengers can’t frequent.  This was one of the larger ones. I was particularly smitten by this one, the MS Serenissima, a boutique ship that’s limited to only 100 passengers.  She’s 50 years old and was recently refitted.  I tried to get a tour but alas, no luck.  I did get a lovely brochure at least.  They do cruises in Europe all summer.  That would be so much fun.  They are part of the Noble Caledonia line of smallish cruise ships.
Anyway, I hiked up to the fort only to learn that it was closed on Sunday afternoons.  No logic, at least that I have been able to detect, to when the French close up shop.   So, we will head up there today via golf cart to make the climb easier.

I’ll have more to say about our visit soon but for now how about some “outside the gate” photos.   The fort sports some very impressive walls and even a mote.  I could almost hear Monty Python actors spraying insults from the top of the wall in a heavy French accent. I ignored a No Trespassing sign (heck they were closed) and walked all around the perimeter.  I don’t speak French but the sign I ignored didn’t look particularly inviting.    That tree looked like the perfect shady spot for a lioness and her cubs to lounge around in the heat of the day.   Alas, only goats, always goats. Under the category of “life always finds a way”, I was impressed with the Ficus trees that were growing out of tiny cracks in the walls.   This tree really wants to live.  Not the easiest spot to grow. The water here is very clear and blue, blue.  Not as clear as the Bahamas but beautiful, never the less.
Well, I guess that’s about it for now.  We are meeting for coffee with our friends before heading out for the day.

I agree Brenda, this is a really beautiful spot.  Can I have another baguette?  I guess that will just have to wait until after my first croissant of the day.

It’s Sunday morning and we are sitting on a mooring here in Le Saintes, a small archipelago of French owned islands off of the coast of Guadaloupe.  These islands, as are much of the eastern Caribbean island chain, are remnants of ancient volcanoes, a few, that are still somewhat active.

However, Le Saintes are much older, in geologic time, so have worn down to a fraction of their original elevation.  You can still see clearly, in some of the rock outcroppings, their volcanic origins.  This shot, of nearby Pain de Sucre surely looks like the remnants of something thrust up from deep in the earth. The town we are visiting, the largest in Le Saintes is called Bourg de Saintes. This collection of islands is actually a part of Guadaloupe so we didn’t have to check in after leaving Guadaloupe.   The waterfront is lined with quaint little shops and restaurants.  It’s very popular with tourists who come over from the mainland by the ferry full all day long to enjoy the beaches and village.

Doesn’t it just look so Mediterranean?
The water in the harbor is really too deep, at about 45′,  for anchoring so they have put in moorings nearly everywhere.  That’s probably the best thing and they don’t cost much, less than $15/day for a boat the size of Pandora, less if you stay a week. There are more boats than moorings though, so it’s a race to see who can get to an open mooring when one opens up.  The other day we raced to try and get the only open one only to have a local launch roar up in front of us to snag it for someone else.  “Saved seat!”.   They reminded me that there was plenty of space to anchor about a mile from town.   Thanks a lot as it’s a wet run to town.  The moorings are much better.

Main Street is very charming. Every building painted bright happy colors. I liked this shabby chic building with a local vendor selling her hand made jewelry parked out in front. Much of the island that is just too rough and steep to build on.  However, where they are homes, they adhere tightly to a particular style, red roof and all.   I expect that there are strict codes to be sure that nothing is built that will threaten the local flavor, or “Frenchness”. On main street there is a very nice church.  Yesterday afternoon the choir was singing and it wafted out onto the street.  Many tourists, including me, were milling around enjoying the sounds. The view from the steps of the church was very soothing.   Love the lamp. Not sure that this rooster was too focused on the music, or me, for that matter.
Before we left Deshais Guadeloupe to sail down here a few days ago we were visited by a swarm of honey bees that tried to set up shop under our bimini.  It was really alarming to see how many there were, thousands.  In only a few moments the “clump” grew in size.  For more than an hour I tried everything to discourage them.   I sprayed water, poked at them with a boat hook but nothing would deter them with more and more arriving every moment.  No amount of harassing kept the swarm from growing to what looked like “pounds” of bees.  Finally, when the mass doubled in size yet again I gave up and broke out a can of bug spray that I had put on board in anticipation of a possible roach problem in Cuba.  I hated to do it but they were clearly settling in for a long visit.  I didn’t see evidence of the queen but was really worried what might happen if she showed up.

At first the spray just riled them up and then they would just settle into another spot on the bimini.  Then they started to coat the solar panels.  More spraying and a LOT of VERY pissed-off bees.  Finally, after a few hours they were gone.  Amazingly, I didn’t get stung.

The next day we moved on and sailed down the leeward side of Guadaloupe.  It’s interesting to make passage down the lee side of a large island like Guadaloupe, with mountains that are thousands of feet high, as the winds can be quite variable as they tumble over the highlands.   Deshais harbor, in particular, is known for funneling the winds so that anything more than 15kts on the windward side of the island blasts through the harbor at twice that speed.

It was plenty windy as we pulled up the anchor in Deshais, gusting to the mid 20s, but by the time we were a few miles out the wind settled down nicely and we had a terrific sail down island, hitting more than 9kts through the water a few times.  And, all of that on perfectly smooth water.

We had been told that as you approach either end of a large island, the wind funnels past the headlands boosting the wind speed to about 10kts more than the actual or gradient wind.  This only lasts for a few miles, either side of the headlands, and then settles down again.  The wind direction is also “bent” or diverted so that while we were on a beam reach for much of our trip, we suddenly found ourself hard on the wind with 25kts+ as we rounded the point.

Fortunately, things settled down again a few miles out so we were able to find our way here with a minimum of fuss.

Sailing between islands that are so mountainous is a very different experience for us, especially when compared with the low lying Bahamas where the land has no effect on the wind.   It’s also a lot less stressful with thousands of feet of water under the boat when compared to mere feet in the Bahamas.

So, here we are visiting yet another charming and oh-so-French island.  Brenda has declared that it’s the prettiest place that we have ever visited.  That’s good as we will likely be here for about a week as some weather is developing north of the Bahamas that will likely bring adverse winds to this part of the eastern Caribbean.  With that in mind, we will just stay put till things settle down later in the week and not probably not venture any further south on this trip.

After that, we will head back to Antigua in anticipation of Brenda’s flight home.

Perhaps I’ll close with a shot of town from the bow of Pandora.  Yes, a really charming spot and  a good one to be “weathered” into.   Such are the compromises of the disadvantaged cruiser.   Somehow we will just have to cope.   Wish us luck.

Yesterday Brenda and I decided to visit a local botanical garden in Deshaies that was highly recommended by a number of cruisers that we have met, the Jardin Botanique de Deshaies gardens.   Brenda and I have been to quite a few botanical gardens over the years but never a “real” tropical one.  It was wonderful.  I took plenty of photos and frankly don’t know which are the best.  Having said that, here you go.

As you enter the gardens this is the view that greets you, a beautiful reflecting pool. The pond is teeming with koi, all looking for a hand out.   “Feed me, feed me”.They have a lovely cafe on top of a waterfall.   We had lunch there with another cruising couple, Dale and Cori of Hi Flite, who we met when Cori offered to take our photo. They have lived aboard for 14 years.  We enjoyed getting to know them a little bit.
This is the shot that got us together.   We thought that a photo of us in front of a poinsetta would prove that we haven’t forgotten that it’s winter somewhere. I have absolutely no idea what this flower is but it’s the size of a grapefruit and grew on a very tall stalk that looked a lot like bamboo, but wasn’t.Of course, we have seen these before but never in such profusion.   Actually, I have always seen them as part of an arrangement in a hotel lobby.  They are about 3′ tall.  The plant itself, 20′.Bananna flower stalk.  You can see the baby banannas lower down the stalk.
Everywhere you looked there was a riot of colors and textures.  Very well laid out to be viewed as grand spaces…As well as intimate corners.   A lovely “fallen” tree, repleat with bromiliads overhanging a pond. With all the lush vegitation, birds of all kinds.
Brenda and I used to have a greenhouse and have a soft spot in our hearts for orchids, especially phalanopsis.  Stag horn ferns are also a favorite of ours. There was an aviary we could walk inside of.  Many parrots flying all around. This arbor, a sort of rainforest tunnel, sprayed a fine mist every few minutes.  It was covered by a tangle of vines.
Crazy flowers hanging inside and the very oddest color.  They looked like they were dyed this odd color of blue.  Very fleshy and each cluster was about 18″ long.  Here and there, cozy sitting areas to sit and enjoy the scenery. Of course, what botanical garden is complete without flamingos?  Unfortunately, these were not the bright pink one associates with these as that color comes from a diet heavy with brine shrimp.  The birds are healthy but not that impossibly pink color that they are in nature as they don’t get live shrimp all the time. Plenty of bring colors though, to make up for the rather drab flamingos including this Macaw parrott. Or this impossibly red passion flower, named after the stations of the cross. Of course, what post is complete without a shot of me standing in front of a tree? Earlier in the day I watched as a local fishing boat slowly motored around the harbor while one of the crew tossed bits of grass onto the water.  I can only imagine that the “flotsum” was put out with the hope of enticing schools of small fish to rise to the surface.   After a while the crew became very animated and began putting a long net over the side, encircling a school of fish. They drew the ends of the net together and began to pull it into a smaller and smaller circle. Eventually, they drew the net completely closed and pulled it aboard, a teeming mass of silvery little fish.  I don’t know what kind of fish they are but they appear on menus at the local restraunts.  Sardines perhaps?  I guess we will find out tonight when we eat out. This is such an interesting place and to see fisherman practicing an age old process of catching fish for the market was wonderful to watch.  In it’s own way, it was as colorful as the flowers and birds of The Jardin Botanique de Deshaies.

We expect to stay here for perhaps another day and then may head a bit further south before we turn north again to head back to Antigua.

Well, we did it.  We left Antigua after nearly a month.  Don’t get me wrong, it is a very nice island but the bread?  Well, let’s just say that it’s not French.

Our son Christopher left two days ago to head back to San Francisco after an all too short visit.    It’s the first time in a few years that we have actually seen him relaxed and not thinking about work every waking moment.   He was quite disiplined about email and I don’t think he even looked once.  Amazing.

However, he did spend time reading up on quantum computing.  That’s what he does.  Don’t know what that is?  Ask him, I guess.

He explained that the papers he was reading were hard to understand (no kidding) but after the second reading he, sort of, got it.

Notice his “lobster” complexion?  That’s what happens when you visit the tropics after spending 18 hours a day in a lab for months… Oops!We visited Shirley Heights on Sunday evening with about 1000 of our closest friends.  It was a lot different from when Christopher and I hiked up there a few days earlier.  However, what a beautiful place to watch the sunset.   And, it seemed that just about every tourist in Antigua thought the same thing.

Here’s Critter and his mom.  That’s what his older brother called him when he was too little to pronounce Christopher.
Our friends Bill and Maureen of Kalunamoo went with us.    They are our closest cruising friends and they too spent a long time in Antigua, mostly with us. Ok, ok, how about a nice shot of Critter and his proud parents? Now that all the portraits are out of the way let’s move on to sunsets.  And, you know how much I like sunsets.    As Shirley Heights is considered the perfect spot to view such things, let’s have a few more shots of a remarkable display. “Bob, don’t stop… More sunsets, please.”  Ok, just one more, if you insist.Before Christopher left us to fly back home, we decided to move from English Harbor to Falmouth for a change of scenery.  It was amazing how lumpy it was outside of the harbor from all the strong winds.  Fortunately, it’s calmed down now so we could make the run to Guadaloupe.

Remember when I mentioned that we had snagged someone else’s anchor in English Harbor when we dropped it to back down to med moor?  Well we did, so we knew that we would have to hire a diver to untangle things.  They followed our anchor chain all the way out to the “tangle” and attached a lift bag to our anchor and filled it up with air.  Up came the anchor.   I reeled in the chain, anchor, diver and all.   Brenda kept Pandora in forward gear, still tied to the seawall to keep the boat us from hitting the dock. When the diver and anchor were near the bow he untied everything and we were on our way.  It was quite simple.  All it takes is $60U.S.  Tangles are so common in English harbor that there are divers on call all day long so they can come to the rescue, for a price, at a moment’s notice.  They are very busy divers.
So, after taking Christopher to the airport and drying off the tears, Brenda and I headed off for a bit of sightseeing.

We visited a, sort of, restored, sugarcane plantation called Betty’s Hope.   One of the windmills used to crush the cane is still operational and does demonstrations on certain days.  There were no “sails” on when we were there as they were not open.  However, the native goat community was in full swing. They kept careful tabs on my every move.  Some stood on a wall seemingly to say “You’re obviously not from around these parts.  You can go now.”There were some “kids”, so young that their umbillical cords hadn’t yet dropped off.
Fast forward to yesterday when we headed out to make the 50 mile run to Guadaloupe.   The forecast was for gradiant wind of about 10-15 kts.   When going between islands the wind is strongly effected by the high peaks of the islands.  As you leave the lee of an island you often see much stronger winds as they are funneled around the end of the island making the wind near the islands about 10kts stronger than the speed of the actual wind.   This meant that we had winds of over 20kts as well as a passing squall to contend with as we left Antigua.

After we were about 5 miles out things settled down nicely.   As we approached Guadaloupe things picked up again but backed a bit so the stronger winds were from behind the beam, giving us a pleasant run.  Once we were in the lee of the island we lost much of the wind and had to turn on the motor.

That’s the drill, we have been told, when you go from island to island.   Along the way we let out a fishing line.   Happily, we caught a small tuna.    Brenda prepared a ceviche tuna salad but without a recipe and little experience with such things, she wasn’t very happy with the results.  Oh well, better luck next time. So, here we are, anchored in Deshaies harbor Guadaloupe.  A picturesque fishing village.  It’s beautiful and oh, so French.  What a sight, a tiny village tucked into the base of the moutains.
Interestingly, clearing into a French island is so simple, unlike Antigua which involved three offices and multiple forms as well as a meaningful fee.  In the French islands you can clear using a computer, in this case, at a “T” shirt shop and all for 4 Euros.   I guess they know you are really more interested in a good meal so they don’t want you to waste any more time on paperwork than is absolutely required.

Everything is neat and tidy in town with a beautiful montain backdrop. I saw a lady selling ice cream out of two old fashioned hand churns. There was quite a line of folks waiting for their turn.   I hadn’t yet found a way to get Euros so I couldn’t have one myself.  Well, perhaps today. Guadeloupee is the first of the “islands that brush the clouds” that we have visited so we hope to spend time in the rainforest on the windward side of the island in the next day or so.     So, for the next few days, we are anchored in this beautiful spot.    Well, I guess I had better sign off for now as it’s time to head ashore so we can eat a croissant.  Oh yeah, we had a baguette last evening with some nice cheese and a bottle of French rose.  So glad to be with the French again.

I so needed a baguette.  All better now.