Les Saintes: Fantastique…….

Dear friends,
The voyage from Deshaies to Les Saintes was marked by either insane wind gusts, to pockets without any wind, squalls (bursts of wind and rain) and scorching sun, so yeah, we managed.. I also did manage to loose the antenna of the BitStorm Wifi boost antenna thing. I thought I was clever by placing the thing just behind on of the stainless steel mast stays, there it will be safe… And it was, until a silly genoa sail movement had the sheets slapping around like crazy, and so the antenna was ripped out and now lies in about 800 m below sea bed, sorry guys…This comes to show, you cant be a lazy sailor, I just should have disconnected the  whole thing until safe and sound in a new anchorage.. I mean I wasn't going to use the antenna during the voyage.. So, now I am back to using the built in antenna of the laptop, and at least here in the Bourg bay, i have a very good wifi connection…
Les Saintes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%8Eles_des_Saintes) , Terre d’en Haut, what a place. Nice, clean, colourful… First part of the expedition, going to visit Fort Napoleon (it is only open till noon). The climb up was nice, with great views of the bay. I was hoping to find some more info and evidence as to the pirates who roamed this area, but i only found detailed info on how the French fought the English in 1782, and how that didn't turn out too well for ze French(this time). The actual battle was in the straight between Dominica and Les Saintes, and then I knew I would have to climb up the other (much taller) mountain with Le Chameau (309 m, but believe it felt higher…), overlooking the south entrance of the bay, towards Dominica. But I am getting ahead of myself.
Les Saintes are sometimes dubbed as the Gibraltar of the Caribbean, and that is why the French and English battled it out. I looked at the gravures and paintings depicting the battle.. hard to believe how they did that back then… no communication between ships, surprised by weather, heavy vessels.. It just makes you wonder…. Time was running out on Fort Napoleon, so down again towards to little town Bourg, grabbed a baguette avec fromage for lunch, and after visiting the tourism office for a map, of I went to climb mountain Le Chameau   It was steep, but all to the top, easy going concrete slabs… It was just me and….. goats…(what is it with those animals..). The what ever it was lookout construction is in bad shape, unfortunately, but the views… breath-taking… I just sat there for long time, meditating, contemplating, admiring… So, herewith the pics of today….

		Les Saintes Climbing Expedition EXIBIR APRESENTAÇÃO DE SLIDES BAIXAR TUDO

I like it here, and will stay for a couple of more days, then on to Dominica (more pirate stuff, as apparently they used this island as a back drop for the movie Pirates of the Caribbean..). Can’t wait..
In the mean time, all the best
Pieter

Blackbeard’s favourite hang out–Deshaies

Dear friends,
According to various books, my current anchorage, Deshaies (Guadeloupe) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deshaies) was a one of Pirate Blackbeard (Edward Teach) favourite hangouts. Just waiting for those Spanish Galleons to pass by…
Anyway, today was weather wise not such a good day, strong wind gusts and rain showers slamming through the small anchorage with about 20 sailboats.


So, what does one do.. Well, I had purchased sufficient wifi internet time at the Pelican Store (same place where you do the custom check in thingy) so I spent time looking for pirate related articles, and other internet related tasks.   Still in St Maarten, I had purchased the BitStorm Wifi signal booster antenna. And I must say, that it indeed picks up and boosts the available internet signals. For some you still need login passwords, but visiting the signal provider, drinking a coffee and squeezing the waiter for the password usually  works. So, in the comfort of the Onda Boa I have full internet access.
After lunch, went to shore and forgot that here they do things the French way: most shops etc are closed until 16:00 hrs..I wanted to visit the library, just to see if they have more documents regarding the pirate presence.

Anyway, went back to the boat, took Lucky for a swim…
Tomorrow, weather permitting will go to the small island group on the South West tip of Guadeloupe, Les Saints only 24 miles away.
Stay tuned for new updates..
In the mean time, be good
Pieter