As planned, we moved into the marina to allow us to hire a car as we had done successfully in Martinique. It proved much easier than expected, perhaps because this is close to the main town on the island – plenty berths, car hire place close by, supermarkets in walking distance, as well as the restaurants/cafes. The marina drains don’t half stink, though!

We arranged a car for Tuesday morning, and after a bit of investigation of the local facilities (shops, chandleries, boulangeries et al), toured the eastern island. This is the smaller and less accessible one (fewer roads, a bit more exposed on the coast line), with narrow beaches and big rollers marching in. Not a lot of obvious anchorages for us, we fear.

On Wednesday morning, we gave some thought and transmitted lots of waves of good wishes to Mo and Erin whose civil ceremony took place late morning, and where the Hannah clan was gathering to celebrate. Fingers crossed that it all went to plan, and a good time was had by all.

Le Jardin Botanique

Afterwards, we headed for the western island, and toured round the northern half. The main target was the gardens at Deshaies, which Ali had tagged as a priority. The site is an old plantation that has been transformed into public gardens. The topography reminded us of the gardens in the West Country, built into a hillside, with great views of the sea, revealed from time to time as you emerged from a cluster of trees or shrubs.

It was a fantastic place, and was as well run as any National Trust site in the UK. The gardens were full of tropical plants and trees, dripping with moisture from the misting system and bursting with vibrant colours, magnificent shapes and wonderful scents (except for the Flamingo pool!).  It was quite spectacular, and Ali had a great time showing me plants that we had buried in the UK – mostly house plants that had proved insufficiently hardy for our northern island home. One of the most memorable sights was a humming bird the size of my thumb, hovering and hoovering nectar from one of the shrubs which was in full bloom - the speed and precision of its maneuvering system is extraordinary.

We had acquired a new digital camera before we set off, since our second Fuji expired on us a few days ago. We hope this Nikon is hardier than the Fuji ones, with which it shares nothing! The batteries and chargers are a different size and type, the memory is different, and we will therefore have to buy a complete new set of back-up stuff. We had exhausted the battery of the Nikon during our 3 hour trip around Deshaies, so had to resort to mobile phone camera to capture everything that Ali wanted! Second battery a priority then!

Ali will doubtless give a better and more knowledgeable travelogue of the glories of the gardens....... 

Watergaw