Guadeloupe

Island Kea II
Steve and Katrin Everett
Fri 1 Feb 2008 18:54
Position 16:13.26N 61:31.40W 
 
We have now been in marina Bas-du-Fort nr Pointe-a-Pitre since Monday.  We have been able to seek help with the fact that the boat would not go into reverse, a slight problem with the cables and Steve has managed to fix the main water pump which means we can again have showers and wash up on board. 
On wednesday we decided to go for a cycle ride and managed to get the bikes working again despite the rust.  Salt is not good for steel bicycles.  We went what we thought was the way to Pointre-a-Pitre but ended up on a duel carriageway which was a bit scary.  So we ended up in going a lot longer round.  In the town there is an interesting mixture of modern blocks of flats and old caribbean style houses (wooden shacks).
Yesterday we hired a car and drove to the north west part of the Island and then back to a beach on the south east coast.
We visited Deshais which was very pleasant - this is the place we will probably be at anchor tomorrow night before heading off to Antigua on Sunday.
Just outside Deshias is a Botanic Garden which we spend a couple of hours walking round.
We saw some interesting birds:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
After that we drove accross to the south east and visited Ste Anne which has a lovely white beach but the area has become a bit run down after Club Med arrived.
 
Here is a picture of Katrin on the beach....
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Guadeloupe seems very nice.  It is a part of France and does have the modern facilities without having been spoilt.