Into the wind to find saints
Day 8: We sailed 12 miles, once again on a close reach to “Les Saints.” This is a place to see. A beautiful set of small islands south of Guadeloupe. The town is quaint, the anchorages are picturesque, and the place is coming into its own. There are nice little restaurants, churches, and the locals sit on their porches and greet visitors with smiles. We didn’t have enough time here, but we’ll get back. Remember that SIM card? Well, it was quickly drained down and we once again became the “dreaded Iolair internet pirates.” Great pictures that will just have to wait, but pirates are supposed to hoard treasures. Just google Isles of Saints with that high-speed connection.
Days - losing track: How is it the wind is always blowing from exactly where you want to go? I think it’s Neptune’s way of saying “ You can’t just freely sail around wherever you want. It will never be that easy, so take this you smelly, unshaven internet pirates.” Yes, still pirates. There is a website that let’s me “top up” our data time, but it’s all in French and I have no idea what happens if I push 1, 2, or 3. (Note: we looked for a French English dictionary in the local stores, but it seems the internet has rendered them extinct. We use google translate when we manage to pirate some data. Oh, and did I mention that the French have a habit of leaving off all their hard consonants when speaking? That just makes it all the more fun to figure out.)
After sailing back to the mainland Guadeloupe, we landed in Pointe a Pitre (POINT A PIT). We med-moored in a huge marina. I won’t even begin to tell you how much fun this can be on Iolair. We try to avoid it for several reasons, but the main one is…they pack you in like sardines. We had lots of interesting neighbors. Partying Norwegian men on the right, friendly Belgiums on the left, and lots of French travelers in old steel world cruisers making repairs, outfitting, and provisioning for their adventures. The French really love to sail and it shows. Unfortunately, this was Chris’s last stop with us. He jumped on a small plane to Antigua, then flew on to Charlotte and finally arrived at Dulles International only to have a 2-hour drive back to his apartment at James Madison University.
We now miss both our boys. They are great friends, great fun, great musicians, and great crew. Chris, Zac, and I have a new favorite German word, farhtfinder. Let's just say that a boat is a small space and leave it at that. Kel politely ignored our immature male behavior. (Actually, farhtfinder means path finder. A respectable thing, but I don't think we'll rename.) Hopefully, the boys are just crazy enough to want to come back soon. Besides we need them to tell us if we start acting weird or take on strong boaty odors.
Days - losing track: How is it the wind is always blowing from exactly where you want to go? I think it’s Neptune’s way of saying “ You can’t just freely sail around wherever you want. It will never be that easy, so take this you smelly, unshaven internet pirates.” Yes, still pirates. There is a website that let’s me “top up” our data time, but it’s all in French and I have no idea what happens if I push 1, 2, or 3. (Note: we looked for a French English dictionary in the local stores, but it seems the internet has rendered them extinct. We use google translate when we manage to pirate some data. Oh, and did I mention that the French have a habit of leaving off all their hard consonants when speaking? That just makes it all the more fun to figure out.)
After sailing back to the mainland Guadeloupe, we landed in Pointe a Pitre (POINT A PIT). We med-moored in a huge marina. I won’t even begin to tell you how much fun this can be on Iolair. We try to avoid it for several reasons, but the main one is…they pack you in like sardines. We had lots of interesting neighbors. Partying Norwegian men on the right, friendly Belgiums on the left, and lots of French travelers in old steel world cruisers making repairs, outfitting, and provisioning for their adventures. The French really love to sail and it shows. Unfortunately, this was Chris’s last stop with us. He jumped on a small plane to Antigua, then flew on to Charlotte and finally arrived at Dulles International only to have a 2-hour drive back to his apartment at James Madison University.
We now miss both our boys. They are great friends, great fun, great musicians, and great crew. Chris, Zac, and I have a new favorite German word, farhtfinder. Let's just say that a boat is a small space and leave it at that. Kel politely ignored our immature male behavior. (Actually, farhtfinder means path finder. A respectable thing, but I don't think we'll rename.) Hopefully, the boys are just crazy enough to want to come back soon. Besides we need them to tell us if we start acting weird or take on strong boaty odors.
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