|
|
January 24th, Tuesday - off the leeward coast
of
Guadeloupe
|
We
spent the last four days waiting out the heavy wind and
seas in the largest city on the island of Guadeloupe,
Pointe-a-Pitre. We found a nice anchorage with
plenty of room, far enough away from the noise and
lights of the city, yet close enough to the dinghy dock
so the trip to town was not too daunting. Of
course, the water was not clean enough for swimming, but
we are used to that when we anchor close to cities of
any size. The sanitation on most of these islands
is not exactly up to western standards, so it is best to
just stay out of the water. The only exception so
far has been Anguilla. They have gone to great
pains to preserve and protect their environment and the
water in the main anchorage is pristine.
There is a big marina complex just south of the city of
Pointe-a-Pitre called Bas Du Fort that includes
restaurants, gift shops and grocery stores as well as
all the usual boating facilities you would expect.
We considered getting dock space but figured the 57
euros per night would be better spent on other things.
Besides, the anchorage was amazingly calm and
comfortable so there was really no reason to move.
We put out a second anchor, mostly for practice but also
as insurance in case the big winds found us. We
heard from other marina guests who had just returned
from touring the island in a car that it was really
rocking and rolling on the windward side of the island,
although you couldn't tell it back in our protected
spot.
Guadeloupe, together with The Saintes, St. Martin, St.
Barts and a few smaller islands, are actually a
"department" of France. The atmosphere is a
strange mix of island warmth and colors and French
language and attitude. The language barrier is
tough, but the girls are a great ice breaker wherever we
go. Juliana's little "bon jour" never failed to
bring a smile to every passerby's face. We spent
the first day enjoying the marina complex, eating pizza
at the waterfront cafe where there also happened to be a
free wireless signal (love that!). The grocery
store was well stocked with fruits and vegetables as
well as baguette and cheese and good cheap French wine.
We also met some fellow cruisers from Switzerland,
Muriel and Gabriel and their 5 year old son Michael.
It is always a good thing when you find other cruisers
with kids!
The next day, we decided to rent a car to explore the
island and check out the rainforest and the waterfalls
that we had heard about. Guadeloupe is actually
formed by two islands in the shape of a lopsided
butterfly, which are separated by a river. The
western island, Basse Terre (low land), is larger and
quite mountainous, much of it covered by rainforest.
The eastern half is known as Grande Terre (large land)
and, of course, is small and low. Our 10am
reservation with Budget to meet us at the marina with a
car turned into an 11am shuttle service to the Budget
office 20 minutes away where Joe picked up our car and
drove it back to the marina to collect the rest of the
family by noon. Minus two hours of touring time,
we headed straight for Basse Terre and Le Chutes de
Carbet where there were three spectacular waterfalls.
We decided to find a place to eat along the way and were
almost disappointed (Sunday = closed) but found a nice
little Creole restaurant in the small village closest to
our destination. We had chicken and goat curry
which was quite good.
Guess what? It was really rainy in the rainforest!
We didn't let the constant rain deter us, however, and
we hiked up the 30 minute path to the waterfall.
We had heard there was a warm pool to swim in, but it
must have been at the end of the hour and a half long
path because the water we felt was cold. I wish I
had bought that waterproof enclosure for my camera
because it was too wet to take any pictures. We
did get to see the waterfall through the heavy mist and
clouds and could make out the small crevice over which
the water came tumbling down. It was quite
impressive. If the weather was a little better and
the kids a little older, I would have loved to make the
longer trek to the warm spring. We'll just have to
come back one day and do it again!
On
the drive back, just outside of town, we ran into a
parade of sorts. About 100 people were marching
down the street with their faces painted in black and
white, dressed in white robes with "blood" splattered
over them, and chanting to a drum beat. I suspect
it had something to do with the upcoming Carnival, but
we did not get the full story. Unfortunately, we
will miss those celebrations since we have to make our
way back to the Virgin Islands in the next couple of
weeks. That is another good reason to come back to
the Caribbean!
Yesterday, after school, we went into the city to get a
closer look at the local scene. There is a big
central square with a nice playground that the girls
enjoyed. We were struck by the ragged appearance
of most of the buildings in the main downtown area.
Although tourism is the biggest industry on Guadeloupe
as it is on most of the other islands in the Caribbean,
it does not seem to bring in enough money to pay for the
beautification and upkeep of the waterfront area.
I am not familiar enough with local politics to know
what other demands there are on the available revenue,
nor do I know how much of the infrastructure is
supported by monies from France. St. Martin and
St. Barts both seem to be much better off than their
southern brethren. I suppose these are all good
things for me to educate myself about, especially if we
plan on coming back to the area.
We
are on a roll with school, packing in seven days in a
row and 19 so far this month. I have calculated
that we need to do 24 days a month in order to finish by
the end of May. This doesn't seem too realistic,
though, so I'm hoping we finish everything by the end of
June. Juliana is almost done with her first grade
math. She is doing second grade in every other
subject. Joe has been doing three or four math
lessons each school day in the hopes of getting through
both first grade and second grade math this year.
That way she will be on all the same grade next year.
She got 100% on her latest math test, so both teacher
and student are doing a great job!
We
are making our way north to St. Kitts. We left
Guadeloupe at 4pm and we should arrive in Basseterre,
the capital of St. Kitts, by 7 or 8am. The kids
like it much better if we sail while they sleep, and Joe
and I don't mind the night shifts so here we are.
I'm on the 9 to midnight shift. The moon is not
out yet and it is pretty dark out there. It is
still blowing 25 to 30 knots with some pretty good
waves, but I love it! I'm not sure where I get it
from, but the sea must be in my blood somewhere.
All our best to everyone back home.
Cheers!
Christy, Joe, Cassie and Juliana
Next entry
>>>>>>>
Many thanks to our
friend Craig Homenko for his assistance in setting up
the website.
We also would like
to thank our buddy Scott Brunner who has been kind
enough to host the website on his server.
|
|
