Guadeloupe: A long term stay
After 20 miles upwind in relaxed conditions, we arrive on the island of Terre de Haute. The archipelago of the Iles des Saintes belongs to Guadeloupe, which in turn is part of France. On the last few meters there is suddenly heavy traffic and it blows up to 30 knots right on the nose. To make matters worse, a motorboat runs over our towline and rips off our best bait, Tintifax. Not the best arrival. Exhausted, we don't make it off the boat and spend the evening together on board. Ines' parents go to bed early, but Bjerke and Levent come over for a few drinks at night to bury their frustrations. The two of them have made a small detour of 30 nautical miles to see whales in the south of Dominica. An undertaking that Bjerke in particular regrets, as there were no whales and his furling system broke.
The next day, we first go snorkeling and then take the AirBuddy to the reef next door. The underwater world is still in order here, meaning the corals are not bleached and we see all kinds of fish, a lobster, a turtle and a moray eel. In the evening, we explore the town and have dinner together. The Iles des Saintes are relatively touristy. So, for a change, we eat risotto, tortellini and terrine in a restaurant catering to European and North American clientele, which is also to our taste, accompanied by a good bottle of French wine. The next day, we introduce Herbert and Christa to the underwater world with the AirBuddy. The two of them have an unexpected amount of fun and we regret having kept this from them for so long, as they have to return to Austria in a few days.
The wave comes increasingly from the north around midday and it gets very rocky in the bay, but we are heading to Pointe-à-Pitre anyway to explore Guadeloupe by car two days before their departure. In the afternoon, we head north-east with perfect winds. Shortly after sunset, we arrive at the Bas du Fort marina in Pointe-à-Pitre. After dinner at the Route de Ruhm restaurant (this is the finish line of the famous Route de Rhum transatlantic regatta), we go to bed. The next day starts with an odyssey to get a rental car. The rental car store in the marina is permanently closed. I use Google Maps to find another one within a 30-minute walk, communicate briefly with the rental company via WhatsApp and by phone and we can have an expensive car straight away. Herbert and I set off quickly in the sweltering midday heat. We drive around the entire marina, through an industrial estate and into a housing estate. There is a residential building where the rental car store is marked. I quickly ask via WhatsApp and am told that the car will be delivered to the marina at some point. Annoyed, we walk back the way we came, get lost in a forest and return to the boat frustrated without our car. At least we get an ice cream as consolation. As soon as the ice cream is half eaten, at least the car is there. It is quickly taken over and we dash towards the trans-island road. This leads directly through the rainforest, past numerous waterfalls and hiking trails. Guadeloupe looks like a butterfly and consists of two naturally separate islands, each of which looks like a wing. Grande Terre in the east is flat and windy and rather less worth seeing, Basse Terre (of the same name as the capital) in the west has a volcano and is very forested with all kinds of hiking trails and waterfalls. We mainly want to explore Basse Terre. Due to the short time available, as it is already past midday, we drive to the Cascade aux ecrevisses waterfall right next to the road. It's only 5 minutes from the parking lot to the waterfall, so there are plenty of visitors. Nevertheless, the refreshing water does us all good and we enjoy the natural shower under the small waterfall.
We continue along the winding road through the forest to the west coast of Guadeloupe. We continue along this road towards Deshaies to the botanical garden, our second destination of the day. There we find a beautifully landscaped garden with all kinds of lush vegetation, a landscaped waterfall and wonderful views of the sea. The highlight, however, are the lorikeets. In the aviary with the small, colorful, cheeky birds we are entertained for quite a while. The birds are not at all shy and fly onto our heads and hands, dance with each other, fight and mate. We are the last visitors to leave shortly before sunset.
We head back to the marina along the north side, it is Christa and Herbert's last evening. We go to a Creole restaurant in the marina for a typical meal and have another great chat with the waitress. After a few beers and glasses of wine, we go to bed. The next day, it's time to pack and go on another island tour. This time it's the southern part of Basse Terre. After a short detour to the center and the market in Pointe-à-Pitre, the largest town on Guadeloupe, which is quite run-down, we continue along the south coast to Basse Terre, the capital. There we visit Fort Delgrès and learn about its history. In short, General Louis Delgrès fought against the reintroduction of slavery by Napoleon in 1802 and lost his life in the process. The fort is impressive, perched on a hill above Basse Terre and is still well preserved. Nevertheless, it was not only a defensive structure against competing European powers but also the center of French exploitation and oppression of African slaves on Guadeloupe for many years.
Basse Terre is considerably smaller than Pointe-à-Pitre, but much nicer to visit. The town was completely evacuated for 4 months in 1976 due to the threat of a volcanic eruption. Since then, the population in the conurbation has fallen from 73,000 to 45,000. After a brief visit to the Bologne rum distillery, which is nowhere near as glamorous as the distilleries in Martinique, we continue on to the small bay of Petit Anse. There, Christa and Herbert take a last dip in the warm Caribbean Sea before we drop them off at the airport. So 3 wonderful weeks come to an end, and after almost 3 months of continuous visits to the boat, we are really looking forward to a some time for just the two of us.
Full of anticipation for an evening alone together, we go shopping and then to the marina. Once there, we want to haul our shopping onto the boat and say a quick hello to our friends from the Stahlsund who have arrived that day. As we are about to announce our dinner plans, two more sailing acquaintances from the Zweinzel arrive at the dinghy. Birte and Jens announce their delight at finally meeting us, as they had already been looking for us. We just manage to turn down Jens' offer to come back with a bottle of wine with a heavy heart, but nature has other ideas. It starts to rain and we all end up in the belly of the Stahlsund. After the evening had already well and truly begun and Birte and Jens had said goodbye to their boat, we shared homemade burgers with sweet potato fries and numerous beers with Bjerke and Levent.
Both Bjerke and we still have some work to do on the boat. After three months of vacation with visitors, a good list of to-dos has accumulated. The next day, however, we still have the car and want to go hiking with Bjerke and Levent. Much later than we wanted, but it’s always the same with us, we don't set off until around midday. On the way to the Chute du Carbet 2 and 1 waterfalls, we make a stop at one of the “churches of the Caribbean”, a rum distillery. After all, Bjerke and Levent have never been to one before. As experienced visitors, we guide them through the rum tasting ceremony together with the lovely girls from the store. They always start with the clear rum straight from the pressed sugar cane juice, then move on to the rums stored in wooden barrels, from young to old and finish with a sweet rum punch. The distillery is again very rustic and has more of an industrial chic look.
We then hurry up to the parking lot of the waterfalls. Most of the visitors come to meet us and are finished with the hike. The lady at the entrance says it's 2.5 hours one way to the first (higher) waterfall and we're too late, as it gets dark at 6pm. The second waterfall was only 20 minutes away and still doable. A little disappointed, we set off anyway and reached the second waterfall 10 minutes later. It is impressive, but was far too easy for us to reach. Spurred on by our record time, we decide to attempt the ascent to the first waterfall anyway. We meet all kinds of hikers and even overtake a few. We gallop up the 1000 steps to the waterfall. Once at the top, we marvel at one of the most beautiful waterfalls with a height of 115 m from up close. In the end, we are even alone at the top and can bathe in the waterfall just as God created us. The water massage from the height is relatively intense and the water is quite fresh, so we finish quickly. On the way back from the waterfall, Bjerke and Levent join us for provisioning as they are expecting visitors the next day. Tired and exhausted, we end the day quietly.
Now there really is work to be done. The car has to be returned, but washed and cleaned, the laundry from 3 weeks has to be washed and above all dried (not so easy with the rain cells constantly coming through), the engine has to be serviced, the water pump that has been leaking since Mindelo has to be replaced and the dinghy cover needs to be sewn. All this is best done in 2.5 days. Levent kindly washes our clothes while we get the car ready for return. Then it's off to the engine service, pumping out the old oil, putting in new, changing the oil filter and the two diesel filters, in between carrying 4 bags of laundry over from the laundry service and hanging them up and hoping it doesn't rain. The weather is kind to us. After the filter change, Bjerke comes by to ask if he can help. How fitting, as I'm getting annoyed again with the manual purging of the diesel system. Together we manage it relatively quickly and Bjerke also helps us to replace the water pump. In the meantime, his friends from Rostock have arrived and Ines and I dismantle the installed pump again, as we had forgotten a part. We are just about finished and it looks like a bomb has gone off on board. So we set off for the frying party at Stahlsund with our induction hob and spices. We place the induction plate on the jetty to keep the fat vapor out of the boat. Then we deep-fry everything the Caribbean has to offer, plantains, chayote, sweet potato and chicken knuckles. Of course, we also serve Caribbean hot sauce. Cardiologists hate this meal, but we feel we deserve it after a successful day's work.
In the morning, it's time to tidy up so that we can sew the sun protection for our dinghy. At this point, some of you may be wondering why an inflatable boat needs sun protection. The answer is: the strong sun around the equator is merciless and destroys even inflatable boats made of PVC, like ours, over time. Ines actually started the project at home and we thought we were already relatively far along. But it's goingto take another 1.5 days, because we have to go up to the jetty to measure the dinghy, sew it, go back down into the boat and then back up again to see if it fits until the cover fits perfectly and is finished. As the Stahlsund has already sailed off, we have time to work on it until late into the night. Once the work is done, it's just a matter of packing up and getting out of the harbor by midday. After a week in calm waters, we are sailing to the west coast of Guadeloupe in sporty conditions. Just in time for sunset, we anchor right next to the lighthouse at cape Vieux-Fort. After breakfast, we go for a quick swim and when we see a blue boat in the distance and have a quick look at the AIS, we realize that the Stahlsund is just sailing past. After a brief radio contact, we agree to meet in Malendure next to Pigeon Island. We also pack up and sail quickly north with the headsail reefed. Behind the volcano, gusts of around 35 knots hit us. After a third of the way, the wind dies and we have to motor the rest. When we arrive in the bay, we find what looks like a good anchorage near the small beach, which is lined with colorful bars. We spend the evening with our friends from the Stahlsund, enjoying grilled chicken. The next day we go snorkeling and diving to Pigeon Island with the AirBuddy. That's why you come here, because Pigeon Island is located in the Réserve Cousteau, a marine reserve. On our first underwater excursion, we discover all kinds of colorful reef fish, several octopuses and a turtle next to an intact reef. In the evening we have a social get-together. We spend the next day in a similar way, but things escalate a little in the evening and some of the participants are not feeling so well the next day. So I spontaneously go on a hiking trip with Bjerke and Paul. Since the pizza stand on the beach is still closed, we stop at a barbecue store. There we get huge portions of meat and chips, just in time to recharge our batteries. Then we go on two short, pleasant hikes, one up a mountain and the other a loop through the muddy forest with a solitary dip in the river. This was the last day with Bjerke and Levent after the previous evening had been so brilliant, we didn't even manage to spend the evening together after the hikes. The next day we go our separate ways. The Stahlsund heads south towards Marina Bas-du-Fort to fly from there to Germany or the Dominican Republic and we stay here to start our diving course. It's a sad farewell as we have crossed the Atlantic together, celebrated New Year's Eve and spent many great moments together. In return, we have an invitation to come sailing in Rostock.
Over the next few days, we learn to dive and get to know the fish of the Pigeon Island reef by name. In between, we enjoy excellent pizza in the restaurant next to the diving school. Several well-known boats enter the bay. One of them is with Andi, an Austrian who lives in Stuttgart, and another is also a Najad called Lady Five with two Canadians who live in the Netherlands. We've seen each other several times before, but have only now been able to meet in person. We also meet Monika and Georg from the Yalka again, with whom we have already been to Tobago together. We spend a few nice evenings together with a wide variety of people. For almost 2 weeks we slip into something like everyday life. Getting up, diving, a little social life, eating and sleeping. Wonderfully relaxing. Although they are in the same area, our dives are very varied. The highlights are a sleeping nurse shark, barracudas, numerous turtles, rays, lobsters, crabs, octopuses, moray eels and the last dive at night on the wreck. It was a bit scary and at the same time incredibly fascinating and exciting. At first, you can't see anything except the cone of light from your flashlight and your fellow divers. Shortly afterwards, you see the wreck, a sight that reminds me of the footage of the Titanic. Everything is overgrown and there are fish, lobsters and crabs everywhere. In the torchlight you can see the true colors of the surroundings, as the red light is not filtered as on normal dives. We dive into the engine room, where we find old fuses and all sorts of other technical relics. Some of the switches can still be pressed. Outside the wreck, we discover a large ray, which we observe for a while until it disappears into the vastness of the ocean at night.
After completing our Advanced Open Water Diver, it's time for us to sail on. Guadeloupe has been a nice place to stay for almost a month now, but we're slowly realizing it's time to move on, but first we have to clear out and that's in Deshaies on Monday. So we first head 10 nm to Deshaies, where we are lucky to get hold of the last mooring buoy, otherwise the bay is pretty full. Deshaies is a strangely crowded place, we don't even get a table to eat in the evening. There are some nice little houses, but nothing that would justify this overcrowding. Perhaps it has something to do with the popular series “Death in Paradise”, as the police station for the series is located here? We will never know. On Tuesday morning, after 2 days at the buoy, we set off for a new island: Montserrat.
Useful tips:
You can clear in and out in Guadeloupe just like in Martinique at different places (marina offices, cafés, restaurants, etc.), except that there are significantly fewer of them and you should pay attention to the opening times, as it is particularly difficult to clear out at the weekend. We mostly looked around on Noforeignland (app). You can use the following link to fill everything out online in advance and then just have to print out the papers on site and have them stamped. This usually costs EUR 5, but the documents are invalid if they are not stamped. The clearance papers are particularly important for onward travel to another island, where they are required in stamped form on entry. Sign in · demarches-simplifiees.fr
The Bas-du-Fort marina next to Pointe-à-Pitre is a huge marina which is well protected. There is a good selection of boat stores and repair facilities. The night for our 33-foot boat cost around EUR 30. The local car rental company was permanently closed so we used Sunset Car. They bring the car to the desired location, but this also costs 80 EUR per day and you have to return the car clean inside and out. The number is: +590 690 48 7117. A possibly better alternative, especially for longer rental periods, is probably to get a car from the airport.
In the Îles des Saintes there is a buoy field directly in front of the town in Terre-de-Haut (it was full when we arrived there) or you can anchor a little to the southwest of it. This is not a problem as long as there is no north swell in the bay, then it gets very uncomfortable there and it is better to anchor one bay further southwest behind the Pain-de-Sucre.
Diving: We did our diving training at Atlantis Formation, which was much cheaper than in Dominica and Antigua and cost around EUR 450 for the PADI Open Water and EUR 400 for the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver. Pigeon Island was highly recommended for a diving trip. A dive normally costs around 50 EUR. Atlantis Formation
Hiking: There are various beautiful hikes of different lengths along the inter-island road through Guadeloupe.
The loop at the Maison de la Forêt through the forest was very nice. You can complete the loop in a relaxed 2 hours, depending on how long you stay in the stream. There are also very nice picnic areas with barbecues.
You can climb up to the Mamelles in about 1 hour and have a very nice view from there.
A longer and more challenging hike leads to the Chute du Carbet. The 2nd (lower) can be reached in 20 minutes, the 1st (higher) in approx. 1:30 - 2 hours each way. The 3rd is also said to be very nice, the path is officially closed, but - according to our diving instructor - it is still relatively easy to do and is said to be very lonely.
The botanical garden in Deshaies is also an absolute recommendation. Not only does it have a beautifully landscaped garden, but the lorikeets are also an excellent source of entertainment.
Rum distilleries: We visited the Bologne and Montebello distilleries. Both distilleries are relatively rustic and have little to offer apart from a nice store on site and free tastings.
