Les Isles des Saintes
We were anchored in the well protected harbour of Terre de Haut in the archipelago of the French islands of Les Saintes from the night before. Across the bay from us was the charming town of Bourg with its red roofed and whitewashed houses glistening in the early morning sun and the green hills rising against a blue sky behind. Yachts of various types and sizes surrounded us. As usual there were choices for the morning ashore and some of us were determined to experience all three. The earliest group left with Berit in the Zodiacs to snorkel around the volcanic cone of Pain-de-Sucre while others set off with Lennox to visit Fort Napoleon and its museum and cactus garden on the summit of a hill above the town. Others were happy just to stroll the streets and investigate the many small boutiques that dot the colourful main street of Bourg that give a decidedly French Mediterranean flavour to this Caribbean port. There were local ice cream parlours to savour and side walk cafés to lounge at, while taking in the passing scene. After lunch we set sail from the anchor, adding sail as we left the shelter of the islands and were soon roaring along through the channel which separates Les Isles des Saintes from the parent island of Guadeloupe with all sails set. The Captain and second mate let out a great “hoorah” as Sea Cloud II reached a peak speed of 10.7 knots, which was a record for the entire season. Once in the lee of Guadeloupe the winds faded but it gave an opportunity for the Zodiacs to be lowered and for many of us to be taken out on the waters around the ship to snap photos of it under full sail with a background of green volcanic mountains, puffy white clouds and a deep blue sea. At cocktail hour, and later at dinner, we began saying our farewells as the ship headed for Antigua and the end of our cruise.
