Mum aboard! - Antigua to Deisheis

Stargazer of Southampton
Susie and Adam (both think they are skipper)
Sat 3 Mar 2012 21:52
04:03:12, 16:18.47N 61:47.94W

Picked Mum up from the airport on Wednesday evening in Antigua, we hired a car for this since it was hardly any more than getting a return taxi journey but meant that on Thursday we could use the car to see some of the island inland.  At least in Antigua they drive on the left but the roads do have some occasional very large pot holes which we managed to avoid.

Thursday we went up to Betty's Hope which is the site of the first Sugar Plantation and mill on Antigua, they had done quite a bit of work to restore it but that was a few years ago so it looked a bit like it needed some more work now, but interesting to find out more about Sugar, we didn't pass much sugar cane on Antigua now - although they make rum still you don't see the cane fields that you do in Martinique.  Had a drive through St Johns (not intentionally) then out down Valley Road which goes through the forests of Antigua - these are dry forests though not the rain forests of the higher islands and we stopped at one of the beaches for our lunch and to allow Mum her first paddle in the Caribbean.

Betty's Hope Windmill below


Up early on Friday morning to go and check out of Customs in English Harbour ready for the sail to Guadeloupe.  This was Mum's first sail with us outside of the Solent! - wind has calmed down from earlier in the week though as had the swell so we had quite a smooth ride which was also relatively dry!   Arrived at Deisheis in Guadeloupe for 5 in the evening after a sail of just over 6 hours - just enough time to anchor, have a brew and watch the sun go down over the horizon, then star gazing with Mum (and a mission to find Mercury which kept Mum and Adam out of my hair for about an hour while I cooked tea!).  

Today (Saturday) we were up and out by half past eight to climb the hill at the back of the village of Deisheis up to the Botanical Gardens before it got too hot - spent most of the day there in the end, the gardens are very impressive and luckily for us it was quite cloudy and the gardens are shady so nice to walk around so we had a nice wander.  

Deisheis bay always looks dark to me - but there is often cloud rolling off the hills here and the bay is quite deep, however, when we went ashore and the water was shallower it is amazingly clear with shoals of fish hiding around the jetty 

The fish were being eaten by the pretty unafraid pelicans - imagine the owner of this boat might have quite a bit of Pelican poo to clean up. . . 

Mum got introduced to some parrots at the Botanical Gardens. . .  we need a parrot for our boat I think but unfortunately you can't take these home with you

Saw plenty of Hummingbirds around the flowers in the garden

Strange Tree


Mum and I having a rest in one of the seating areas around the garden


Went for Coffee and Panini's in the village after the Gardens then back to the boat to relax for 3pm
Providing the wind looks good then we're bound for Dominica tomorrow.. . .  .Mum's escaped going for a swim again today - perhaps tomorrow!