DESHAIES: In the French Islands, they typically have shops or restaurants where you can clear in. They have a little counter with a computer and a printer. All you have to do is fill in a form, print it and give it to the store owner to stamp it. They may charge you one to five Euros for the use of their printer or it's free. It's the fastest, easiest, cheapest place to clear in. The French Islands ROCK !
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| CLOTHES SHOP CALLED 'LE PELICAN' WHERE YOU CAN CLEAR IN & OUT |
'Sauce Chien' is often served in restaurants especially in Guadeloupe and Martinique. 'Sauce Chien', simply translated means Dog Sauce. It's named for the fierce bite of its peppers. Serve it with grilled fish, shrimp or lobster. It accompanies most meals and works well on vegetables and starches.
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| SAMPLE RECIPE: www.boatus.com/cooking/blog_view.asp?BID=273 |
We hiked up the Deshaies river bed with our friends Gigi & Bob on s/v Pinnacle. This hike did not have a developed hiking path so we had to bushwhack a bit but it wasn't too bad. We followed the river bed jumping from one boulder to the other. Along the way we saw lots of wild heliconias.
After socking in some water, we took the road to go back. We met a man along the road who gave us some fruit from his garden. He wanted us to guess what kind of fruit it was and none of us were correct. He said it was apricot but we never saw apricot like that, nor did it taste like apricot. Still, it was delicious.
He so wanted us to go back and have some Ti-Punch with him later that night. Ti-Punch literally means 'Small punch'. It is a rum based mixed drink that is especially popular in the French islands. The rum however, needs to be 'Rhum Agricole' which is the French term for cane juice rum, a style of rum originally distilled in the French Caribbean islands from freshly squeezed sugar cane juice rather than molasses. It's quite potent.
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| SUSAN & GIGI WITH WILD HELICONIAS |
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| BOULDER HOPPING ALONG THE RIVER BED |
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| THERE'S ALWAYS A PLACE TO COOL DOWN |
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| A LOCAL GIVING US FRUIT WHICH HE SAID WERE APRICOTS |
Wild Heliconias everywhere !
We visited, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful botanical gardens I've ever seen, and i've seen many. They also have parrots. You can walk there from the anchorage or call the gardens, and they'll pick you up at the end of town. They charge 15 Euros. Call 'Le Jardin Botanique at 0590-28-43-02.
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| PARROTS AT THE BOTANICAL GARDENS |
If there's a volcano, we must hike it. We rented a car (39,70 Euros/day) with Gigi & Bob to hike the Soufrière volcano. It was about a 1.5 hour drive on windy roads to the town of Saint-Claude near the volcano. I'm very glad we got a small car because the roads near the volcano are very steep and narrow. I wished I had parked lower down because the walk up to the trail head isn't far away. This hike was loads of fun and beautiful. It only took us about 4 hours to get up. There is also a natural hot springs at the trailhead which we used upon our return. There are no changing rooms nor showers but heck, what do you expect for free !!!
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| NEAR THE VOLCANO |
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| SOUFRIÈRE VOLCANO CRATER |
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| VOLCANO CRATER |
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| THE SULPHUR SMELL WAS EXTREMELY STRONG |
PIGEON ISLAND: We anchored off of Malendure beach, near Pigeon Island because we wanted to snorkel the famous Jacques Cousteau underwater park. The park is a protected area and no anchoring is allowed. I would definitely recommend it even though the anchorage is a bit rolly. It truly was a beautiful place to snorkel with lots of fish and huge barracuda. There are moorings for dinghies.
ILES DES SAINTES: Iles des Sainte is a cute little town with lots of little shops and great grocery stores. We hiked 'Le Chameau', a very steep hike from the dinghy dock. Great views from up there as it's over 1,000 feet high.
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| VIEW FROM 'LE CHAMEAU' |
If you like Forts, Fort Napoleon is a very nicely kept fort with English literature. The grounds are beautifully maintained. Even if you don't like forts, I think this one is worth seeing.
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| FORT NAPOLEAN |
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| VIEW FROM FORT NAPOLEON WITH ALPENGLOW |
ART IN THE FORT
Hints for Cruisers:
1 - You can anchor a Pain a Sucre and dinghy to Deshaies. It's a very nice anchorage.
2 - For laundry servicers, go to LSM "Les Saintes Mulitservice" on the 2nd floor in Deshaies. 10 Euros for a load (wash & dry), extra to fold but she didn't charge me.
3 - Immigration/Customs in Deshaies is also at the LSM office.
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