15:52.37N 61:35.81W

Thursday 17^th, Friday 18^th & Saturday 19^th March.

Before I start the log, I need to confess that we made a mistake (again) in identifying a fish. The barracuda we caught the other day was in fact almost certainly a Wahoo and would have been a great catch to cook and eat. We were very unsure as we brought it in and as it is considered very unwise to eat  barracuda out here because of the disease they can pick up from their prey, we erred on the side of safety. However we did photograph it so we could do the identification later and hence our confession now! (For those who know more about these things we have added one of the photos to the website (http://www.rhbell.com ) and we have a few more taken from other angles which I can email to anyone prepared to give an opinion.)

Anyway, on Thursday we headed into the small town of Deshaies in the morning to check in with Customs and to arrange a hire car for the next day.  Customs on these French Islands is a breeze as you simply put all the info into a computer and bingo it is all done for you. Better still the Customs clearance computer terminal is housed in a small internet cafe on the front so access is very easy and the hours a lot longer!

Car hire proved more of a challenge and we had to visit the Tourist Information centre to find out where we could do this. They sent us along to the only car hire outfit in town who were a lot less than helpful. The possibility of a car in the morning only ranked as ‘perhaps’ and the best they could suggest was that we should return at 0830 hrs. We asked if we could at least reserve a car should there be one, but he said this was not possible and that the arrangement was ‘first come first served’ in the morning. We then visited the Spar supermarket and bought 8 bottles of Tarapaca wine which is our absolute favourite and unavailable anywhere else that we have been over the past 4 years travelling.

In the afternoon we got a few things done as well as nipping ashore again and telephoning our eldest son Tom as it was his 26^th birthday – where does the time go?

Friday dawned hot and still, which has to be a first here. Normally the wind can be relied upon to howl through this bay but today it was almost eerie. We were up a bit early but decided that we did not want to miss the chance of hiring a car, so we set off in the dinghy at around 0745 hrs. As we headed across the bay another dinghy headed off from a French boat and guessing that they might just be planning the same as us, I suggested to Sarah that when we reached the dinghy dock she should leave me to sort out the locking the dinghy etc. whilst she nipped ahead and went to the car hire shop. This was a smart move as it transpired that the French couple were indeed acting on the same instructions as us and had intended to be a bit early. However it simply had not occurred to them that we might be doing the same and so they were more than a little shocked to find us stood outside the door when they arrived. They did not speak to us at while we waited and when the office opened, both Sarah and I had anticipated their next move and neatly stepped ahead of them into the room and conversed with the manager as they tried to rush the door! All very childish really but as it turned out, after the company had sorted us out with our car, the manager then turned the French couple away explaining that there was only the one vehicle. They were not best pleased and the Entente Cordial took another hit.

So off we went in our battered and very basic Ford Fiesta which rather critically did not have any Air Con. But it was at least a set of wheels. We spent a lovely day driving around Basse Terre which is the westward and highest of the two islands that make up Guadeloupe. The roads were a very refreshing contrast to Antigua and it was like being back in France itself with good fast roads and first class signposting (well, by Caribbean standards...).

We drove up to La Soufriere which is the volcano towering over the rain forests, but decided not to bother with the 2 hour hike to the summit. We then headed over to the town of Basse Terre which is the administrative capital of the country and wandered through the market (where we bought two straw hats – one for Sarah’s head and one as a light shade for our cockpit light!) and the streets for a while before pressing on to the wonderfully named Vieux Habitants. (Photo of me by the sign at http://www.rhbell.com ) where we found a fantastic little restaurant only serving a small selection Plat de jour and we had a really good lunch for next to nothing.

In the afternoon we headed up into the depths of the rainforest and visited a waterfall and walked a short trail through some of the forest taking quite a few photos of course.  Finally we made our way back to Deshaies where we returned the car and returned by dinghy back to Serafina  who now had some new neighbours in the bay. Still not a breath of wind which is a bit of a pain as it makes the evenings and nights very hot and humid as well as encouraging the mozzies.

The wind stayed away all night and when Saturday dawned bright and sunny it was still completely still with all the boats in the anchorage facing in different directions.

We raised the anchor and headed off south under engine and for the first time since we arrived in the Caribbean we had to motor almost the whole 35 miles to the Iles des Saintes. We were joined briefly by two large Common Bottlenose dolphins, about 7’long.   One of the dolphins had two Remora fish attached to its stomach.   These are large fish (about 14”) which use a modified dorsal fin as a sucker to attach themselves to their host, often leaving a nasty lesion.   They basically hitchhike a ride with the host, initially when small feeding off the parasites on the host’s skin and  then as their mouths get too large to pick off the parasites, “hide behind the cover provided by their hosts and suddenly dart forth to make a kill in a school of fishes”.   It was really sad to see these ugly fish attached to a beautiful dolphin – particularly so, as the dolphin rolled on its back to show them to us as if asking for help.

We did manage to sail across the 7 mile gap between Guadeloupe and ‘The Saintes’ but the wind died again as we arrived at our destination.

We chose not to go and anchor off the town of Bourg des Saintes as we had found it pretty uncomfortable last time we were here, and so we headed straight to a beautiful looking bay on the protected south western side of Ilet Cabrit. There were already a few yachts there and because of the light and variable wind they were all lying at different angles which made deciding where to drop our hook a bit problematical, however Sarah of course rose to the challenge and we ended up in a very good spot.

Very good snorkelling here along a coral reef that starts barely 40 metres from where we are moored which makes it all very easy. Lazy afternoon snoozing and reading after which I went snorkelling along the reef which was quite amazing and as good as anything we have seen in a very long while, well that is up until I met a moray eel out on its travels and I elected to return to Serafina for some tea!

We were astonished to discover that even though we are a long way from civilisation out here, we could still pick up wifi – and for free! Sadly this and a text from Mick and Dione rather took the shine off the day with the news that England had been outclassed by Ireland in the 6 nations rugby (bit like the cricket!!). However the day ended on a high note when we heard that Wales had lost to France and so England were this year’s tournament winners. Now there is just the small matter of a world cup coming up in NZ later in the year.......