GUADELOUPE

We sailed from St-Pierre, Martinique to the Island of Marie Galante off the mainland of Guadeloupe, taking us exactly 12 hours.  If it wasn’t for the several squalls, we would have had a fantastic sail.  The squalls screwed up the wind strength and direction.  Along with the current, we had a hard time making it to Grand Bourg Harbor thus we had to use our motor. 

We visited this island mostly by car.  It’s a small island so in a day, we drove all around the island and visited some sites along the way.  Our first stop was the Domaine de Bellevue Rum distillery.  It was kind of early in the morning but yet we couldn’t help but stop by the tasting counter and purchase some Rum agricole. 

NOTICE THE 59% ALCOHOL CONTENT

Anse Canot has a beautiful, mostly private anchorage with a nice beach.  It was one of the beaches without sargassum seaweed.  This seaweed was particularly thick around Marie Galante unfortunately.  It stinks but mostly it’s a nuisance for fishermen and tourists on beaches. 

My favorite site on Marie Galante is a natural round sinkhole with a 200 foot high rim and an arch at the bottom open to the sea.  It is named ‘Gueule Grand Gouffre’.

Gueule Grand Gouffre

We stopped by the town of Capesterre.  It was run down and had much sargassum seaweed so walking along the seashore wasn’t pleasant due to the smell.  Hopefully, the seaweed will subside soon.  The town of Saint-Louis was also run down.  Marie Galante used to produce much agriculture and sold their produce on the mainline.  Nowadays, it’s a sleepy island in which tourists come by ferry from the mainland to visit for a day. 

SARGASSUM WEED

We had a fun sail from Marie Galante to St-Francois.  We landed a Mahi Mahi and made a fish chowder.  We shared our meal with friends Vince and Ralph as they shared their Wahoo with us a few days prior.  Their Wahoo measure 59 inches.  They were so kind as to give us some of their fish for later.  Thanks Vince & Ralph !

The tiny airport in St-Francois is extremely close to the shore.  All day long, you can see skydivers, gyrocopters and many small handmade planes.  Around the marina are some very nice shops and several restaurant/bars where you can people watch.

At Iles de Gosier we anchored between the island and the mainland.  The island is quite small but very quaint with a working lighthouse and snack bar.  We snorkeled and saw a large octopus which we watched for quite some time.  It slowly swam over rocks and coral and every time it moved, we saw its camouflage change with its environment.  Of course, I did not have my camera with me.

ILES A GOSIER

From Iles de Gosier we dignied 3 miles into Point a Pitre, the major city in Guadeloupe.  The dinghy dock was right across from the fishermen’s market and La Darse fruit and vegetable market. 

We visited the Victor Schoelcher museum.  From 1829 to 1830, he visited slave plantations in the south of the United States and during a stopover in Cuba, he discovered the cruel reality of slavery.  When we returned home, he began his career as an abolitionist writer.  He adhered also to the young French Society for the Abolition of the Slavery.  For almost 20 years, Schoelcher devoted his life and fortune to the abolition of slavery in the French colonies.  He campaigned relentlessly, which contributed to the French decree abolishing slavery on the 27^th of April, 1848.

“A two storey limestone building was built for the museum and was inaugurated on July 21^st, 1887.  It was one of the first museums to open its doors from France overseas"

We anchored at Iles a Cabrit which is part of Iles Des Saintes.  It is an uninhabited island with over 100 sheeps and goats.  Having sundowners on the beach was difficult as the chickens would peck all around us hoping to get some of our appetizers.  

There are a couple of wonderful hiking trails on the island with views from each side of the island.  Napoleon had built a fort on this island for his wife called Fort Josephine.

ILES DES SAINTES

We anchored in Deshaies only to provision and clear out of the country since we’ve been here before.  See previous blog on Guadeloupe from April 2015.  We did however dinghy over to Pigeon Island to snorkel at one of Jacques Cousteau’s underwater park.

HINTS FOR CRUISERS:

Grand Bourg, Marie Galante:

Anchorage:  There is only room for about 4-5 boats near the docks.  Chris Doyle says you can tie up to the docks for free but there isn’t any room as many local boats are already there along with fishing boats with their fishing lines on the dock.  Don’t count on getting a spot there.  Also, you may need to put a stern line out as it’s a tight anchorage. DO NOT anchor near the ferries.  It is very protected in a northern swell.

Buses:  From Grand Bourg, buses go to Capesterre and St-Louis every 20 minutes in the morning but good luck waiting for one in the afternoon to get back to Grand Bourg.  They have no schedule.  They basically leave St-Louis and Capesterre towards Grand Bourg to make the last ferry.

Customs:  Pass the tourist office until the road curves to the right.  The customs office is the pink building with white doors in the left hand corner before the road curves to the right.  There are no signs at all.  Use the door on the right side of the building.  Ph # is:  0590 97 54 49.  Cel phone # 0690 83 33 10.

Car Rental:  There are several car rentals along the ferry docks.  ~ 35Euros per day.  You can tour the whole island in one day.

Provisioning:  Le Carrefour is one street up from the docks on the right.  They sell ice for 3.50 Euros.

Ice:  Le Carrefour and the gas station.

St-Francois:

Anchorage:  Good and large

Iles de Gosiers:

Laundry:  From the dinghy dock, walk past the park and when you hit the first major street, turn left.  Walk about 3 minutes and the laverie is on the right side.  It has 4, 8kg washers (5 euros) and one 14kg washer (8.50 euros).  The 2 very large dryers are 1 Euro for 10 minutes.

Pointe a Pitre:

Grocery:  It has a Super U and Economax along with several smaller grocery stores.  You may also choose to buy fresh produce and fish at the markets (they close at 14hrs).