{"id":6912,"date":"2017-03-28T07:15:34","date_gmt":"2017-03-28T12:15:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/?p=6912"},"modified":"2017-03-28T07:15:34","modified_gmt":"2017-03-28T12:15:34","slug":"its-the-prettiest-place-i-have-ever-been","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/?p=6912","title":{"rendered":"“It’s the prettiest place I have ever been.”"},"content":{"rendered":"

The title of today’s post. \u00a0“It’s the prettiest place I have ever been.” was uttered by Brenda after our first day here in Le Saintes, near Guadeloupe . \u00a0That description is in keeping with the sorts of comments we have heard this winter when we asked “what’s your favorite island?”.<\/p>\n

I have to agree and should add that it comes with some of the best food we have EVER eaten. \u00a0How 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.<\/p>\n

This is the view that greeted me today from Pandora’s cockpit. \u00a0Actually, I had been up for an hour or more but work with me on this. \u00a0What a view. \u00a0 \u00a0Perhaps rainbows are the new sunsets…\"\"\u00a0A short while later a three masted schooner entered the bay under billowing clouds.\u00a0\"\"Today we are renting a golf cart, electric of course, to tour the island with some new cruising friends. \u00a0 One of our first stops will be at Fort Napoleon overlooking the harbor. \u00a0Of 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.<\/p>\n

As you’d imagine, forts tend to be up on hills and getting there can be challenging in mid day heat. \u00a0 However, in order to justify my daily ice cream fix, I just had to walk up there. \u00a0\"\"I made it. \u00a0“How about an ice cream Bob?” \u00a0 Yes, indeed.<\/p>\n

Pandora is in that mess boats, trust me on that. \u00a0And, to prove it, a sort of up close shot.\u00a0\"\"The town looked so picturesque from up on the hill. \u00a0All those little fishing boats. \u00a0I guess that’s why seafood is such a large part of menu selections.\u00a0\"\"Some mid size cruise ships frequent this island, places that the ships with 4,000 passengers can’t frequent. \u00a0This was one of the larger ones.\u00a0\"\"I was particularly smitten by this one, the MS Serenissima, a boutique ship that’s limited to only 100 passengers. \u00a0She’s 50 years old and was recently refitted. \u00a0I tried to get a tour but alas, no luck. \u00a0I did get a lovely brochure at least. \u00a0They do cruises in Europe all summer. \u00a0That would be so much fun. \u00a0They are part of the Noble Caledonia line of smallish cruise ships.
\n\"\"Anyway, I hiked up to the fort only to learn that it was closed on Sunday afternoons. \u00a0No logic, at least that I have been able to detect, to when the French close up shop. \u00a0 So, we will head up there today via golf cart to make the climb easier.<\/p>\n

I’ll have more to say about our visit soon but for now how about some “outside the gate” photos. \u00a0 The fort sports some very impressive walls and even a mote. \u00a0I could almost hear Monty Python actors spraying insults from the top of the wall in a heavy French accent.\u00a0\"\"I ignored a No Trespassing sign (heck they were closed) and walked all around the perimeter. \u00a0I don’t speak French but the sign I ignored didn’t look particularly inviting. \u00a0 \u00a0That tree looked like the perfect shady spot for a lioness and her cubs to lounge around in the heat of the day. \u00a0 Alas, only goats, always goats.\u00a0\"\"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. \u00a0 This tree really wants to live. \u00a0Not the easiest spot to grow.\u00a0\"\"The water here is very clear and blue, blue. \u00a0Not as clear as the Bahamas but beautiful, never the less.
\n\"\"Well, I guess that’s about it for now. \u00a0We are meeting for coffee with our friends before heading out for the day.<\/p>\n

I agree Brenda, this is a really beautiful spot. \u00a0Can I have another baguette? \u00a0I guess that will just have to wait until after my first croissant of the day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The title of today’s post. \u00a0“It’s the prettiest place I have ever been.” was uttered by Brenda after our first day here in Le Saintes, near Guadeloupe . \u00a0That 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","_s2mail":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6912"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6912\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6926,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6912\/revisions\/6926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}