Guadeloupe to Les Saintes

Despite our best intentions, we arrived after nightfall to discover that none of the lit bouys were actually lit, including the sector light guiding safe passage into the anchorage. Thank goodness for the chartplotter and a reliable crew to steer! We anchored in pitch blackness in pretty deep water and hoped we weren’t in the middle of the ferry channel!

I think Iain finally slaked his thirst for climbing up hills to get a look at the view after we’d trekked up to Fort Napoleon. The woman at the pay station took one look and pointed him in the direction of the (covered and cooler) museum when we reached the top, red faced and sweating.

In the shade of the museum building we really got an appreciation of the sea battles that went on between the British and French way back then, and an understanding of the ‘gentlemanly’ way in which battles were conducted and hundreds of ships sunk! There was even an agreement drawn up in advance as to how the battles would be conducted!

It’s interesting to see how the outcomes have shaped the different Caribbean island cultures today.