The position of Les Saintes  between Dominica and Guadeloupe makes it an obvious stopover, but the cheery nature of the people and wealth of small restaurants makes it irresistible. Our great “discovery” this time was that Les Saintes Multiservices (L.S.M.), which runs the checking in/out process from their upstairs offices a few yards south of the ferry terminal and collects the mooring fees, also offers a morning delivery of croissants, pain au chocolat, pain au raisins, and baguettes from 0700; direct to the boat!  Ours arrived still warm on a Sunday morning.  Just complete the order form available from the mooring boat or the office the previous day, or call 0590 81 53 57.

 

The water to the north of the mooring area, which had disturbed Chris’s sleep as the swell intruded into the bay, is beautifully clear.  However, snorkelling along the reef at the entrance to the bay was disappointing.  There were plenty of sea fans, spongesand some coral, which made an attractive tableau, but almost no fish.  Perhaps more could be found in deeper water (I didn’t venture beyond 10m), but it reminded me of our tour guide in Dominica who said they have to fish in water 150-200ft deep now to catch Snapper. 

 

Inside the mooring area is the intact wreck of the Lindy, a ferry boat which sank at her mooring in 2008.  It is marked by two yellow buoys with crosses on top and sits upright rising to within a few feet of the surface.  There are plenty of small fish around the wreck to add interest, but the quality of the water is very different from that in the channel entrance, with visibility of only 4-6m when I visited.

 

Early morning from the Bourg des Saintes

 

Some of the visiting boats are quite large!