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February 2006
We did not have time to stop in beautiful Dominica and the idea is forming that we will need to plan a season in the Caribbean again at a later date. From our overnight rest there we moved on to the Iles des Saintes and back into France. The main harbour is between the islands and very pretty, even if the holding is poor. Five attempts before settling at anchor!
We met old friends on Bluebird and Independent Freedom and climbed up to the old fort which guarded the northern approach to the harbour. There was a museum inside and rather embarrassingly it was dedicated to how Nelson and colleagues defeated the large French fleet here. Very well done none-the-less. We explored the outer areas and found many iguanas sunning themselves. Very unruffled by visitors they were more interested in gaining the maximum warmth from the sun in trees and on rocks.

This was a great place to take a little time off from sailing and we made the most of it. Lunch was taken each day at a waterfront restaurant where we could watch the well-heeled US tourists coming from the sailing cruise liners anchored near us in the bay. The super-yachts were a size larger here too and we suspected this was because we were nearer to Antigua.
Evenings entertaining or being entertained ensured there was little boredom or relief for the liver!
With great reluctance we had to move on to Guadeloupe and head for Basse Terre on the western island. This is the higher half of the butterfly shape and is covered with mountains, rain forest and the odd volcano. We went into a little marina at Riviere Sens which turned out to be falling apart but very welcoming indeed. We settled in and planned a day with a hire car to see some of the interior and climb to the high waterfalls to keep us as fit as possible in our old age...

When we sat in the car park in the national park we had a picnic in the car and were immediately raided by local birds wanting a share. They were so tame that you could hand feed them!
The rain forest climb started well with board-walks and stairs but after the first falls it rapidly deteriorated into rocks, mud water and tree roots on a steeply undulating trail. In some places you needed ropes to help ascend or descend. We found the whole trip quite shattering and those returning gave little comfort, “Extremely hard ascending and much more dangerous descending”! We did not make it to the foot of the higher falls but a glimpse through the trees when we had another fifteen minutes signposted showed they had disappeared into the clouds. We returned to base camp with our tails between our legs, definitely older but probably no wiser... Not surprisingly, those on the trail were more the age of our children!

The climb was well worth it even though we paid over the next few days. The two photos on the right show how the upper falls just disappeared while we were out there doing our best.