Guadeloupe Point a Pitre 1st April 17
Leaving Les Saintes was very hard; we had such a nice time there. Still, the wind was right and the sun was shining so we had breakfast and lifted anchor. We are aiming to reach Point a Pitre about 20 miles away around lunch time.
We had a nice breeze all the way through, another fantastic sail in the sunshine, but not as fast as getting from Dominica to Les Saintes. The traffic is quite heavy with big ships around, the most we have seen in a long time. We are following the south coast of Basse-Terre confusingly named as it is the part of Guadeloupe on which the Soufriere volcano and other high peaks are. The views are superb, green fields of canes on the lower parts of the mountains. Pointre a Pitre is at the entrance of the river that effectively cuts Guadeloupe in two, on Grande Terre and it is a big port in a huge secluded bay. After negotiating a field of lobster pots, slaloming to avoid them and the traffic, we enter the bay. We have decided to moor up at the “Bas de Fort” marina, we need some fuel, water, food and a washing machine. Ian is planning to do his oil and filter change and other bit and pieces, there are a good selection of ship chandlers here. We can only secure 2 nights (marina is full) so the priority is food shopping and the washing…. Ian is keen to get some food so we set off early in search of the shopping centre. Love French supermarkets, full of cheeses and meat and fishes and stuff we have not seen for a while. And all decently priced.
As for the washing, it took 3 loads but at the bargain price of 3 Euro each! cheapest ever! Shame that only one of the machine out of 3 is working, it took me a good chunk of the morning. The boat is looking like a Chinese laundry with clothes and bedding flapping in the wind all day. It does feel weird being back in a marina after so long at anchor. Living cheek to jowls and all the coming and going on the pontoon is quite interesting.
The marina is quite pleasant with plenty bars and restaurants a few shops and plenty people milling about. As for the showers the apple green and dark red colour scheme is a bit bewildering and the mosquitoes relentless but hey, the water is hot! I met Norma there and she very kindly invited us back on Minnie B for aperitif where we met Phil. Ian is delighted, English/Irish people on one of his favourite boat an Ovni. We had a very useful few hours over a glass of wine discussing, hurricane season plans and plenty of other topics. These people were amazing, they’d lived on board for years and had been everywhere. Very inspiring. They both were full of useful tips and advice.
Two nights are up and we need to move to the anchorage outside the marina. Despite being right by the port, with big shipping going past or container ships being loaded and unloaded, it is surprisingly quiet. The wash is not so annoying and the wind and sea flatten at night making for peaceful sleep which we were not expecting. There are a few of us but again the bay is so big that it does not feel crowded. The view is interesting, on our left the cranes of the ports and on our left the most incongruous building ever, the most modern and exciting architecture which would fit right in on the South Bank in London. This amazing building house the Memorial ACTe – Centre Caribeen d’expression et de Memoire de la traite et de l’esclavage, to give it its full title. I really want to go and see it close up.
Ian needs a new phone! His has taken water and has died. So off we went to town I the dinghy. The dinghy dock is by the covered market and fishermen are selling they fished right off their boat. The catch is colourful to say the least. It looks fantastic. The fruit and veg market is equally vibrant with all the ladies dressed in brightly coloured madras, complete with elaborately knotted foulard on their heads. The usual array of spices and rum is on display.
We found the main shopping street and hunt for a phone shop, obviously I am being distracted by clothes and shoe shops which are numerous and quite cheap. Found pink flip flops with heels! At only 5 euros! Got 2 pairs! Nothing like retail therapy. A linen dress and 2 shirts later, Ian finally reached the phone shop and get a replacement. There are so many fabric shops around and I am amazed by the diversity of design. Even the wedding shops are full of madras and broderie anglaise dresses but with very modern twists.
For a bit of culture, we spend the next day at the Memorial. The building is fantastic to look at and the contents are well displayed and presented, treating a very difficult period of the Caribbean’s history with facts and dignity. Some of the displays are very disturbing and moving. We spent over 4 hours perambulating the museum, fascinating stuff, we both learnt a lot about the slave trade and all its impacts, economic, social and cultural. (all this with headphones on setting off interactive displays). The most disturbing fact of all is that according Amnesty International nearly half a million people are in slavery, one way or another today. Well worth the steep 15 euro each entrance fee! By the time we came out, the heavens opened and not really wanting to get absolutely drenched on the way back to the boat in the dinghy, we took refuge in the museum shop. I can confirm that it is extremely well stocked in an array of very interesting books, on Guadeloupe, the slave trade, architecture and other fascinating topics. Given that the rain lasted for nearly 2 hours, we had plenty time to enjoy the books! The staff came to have a chat too so all in all we had a good time despite the atrocious weather.
The next 2 days have been dedicated to taking care of Mr X. Oil and filter change, waterproofing the windows, sewing the main sail cover. Well that was just Ian. We have managed to get some internet access on the boat so I have caught up with emails instead.