Atlantic Odyssey anniversary

Exactly a year, a whole year - to the very day as I write this - since we set sail from Tenerife on 9 January 2016 into the wide blue yonder. Remembering now the feeling of excitement mixed with not a little trepidation as we cast off from that place with 3000 miles of ocean between us and landfall in the Caribbean … well it's hard to believe, and how the time has flown. We celebrated the anniversary this evening with a delicious meal of mahi-mahi fish cooked by William (job in the galley awaits you Will). He, Laurel and Flora have now been here a week. 

Now here we are, still safely berthed in St. François marina on Guadeloupe. 

Much enjoyment has been had during the week, especially by the back-up team from Follyfin. Flora is a real little water baby, swimming once or twice a day and loving splashing in the warm sea and the pool at their apartment.

One of our first expeditions was to Pointe des Chateaux, the SE tip of the island and not far from where we are staying. There one can witness the power of the Atlantic in all its majesty. From there it is possible to see the island where Christopher Columbus first made landfall on his second voyage. QLa Désirade is the 700 foot high, flat-topped island seen in the distance below, so-called because he and his crew were so happy to see it after over two months at sea.

On another afternoon we explored the north coast of Grande Terre - the large island making up the eastern half of the lop-sided butterfly shape of Guadeloupe as a whole. Being the windward side, and having had much volcanic activity in the past, the coast is much indented. Our geological friends will be delighted to know we found an almost circular cove, a cirque even, which provided yet another swimming opportunity, sea urchins permitting.

On Saturday Laurel headed out with Noa Plongée (with a little apprehension) to refresh her scuba diving proficiency after a 6-year break … but the name of the outfit, even without the ‘h’ on the end, was a great incentive as was a nearby shop named ‘Laurel B’; it was obviously meant to be!

Meanwhile, back on Follyfin, you know by now that there is always something in need of fixing on a boat? This time it's the water pump which has packed up, meaning that we can't get any water out of any of the taps in the galley or the heads. So the Bosun has spent much time this week trying to repair it. Having finally given up, a trip to the chandlers in Pointe á Pitre would be needed at some point before we set sail again.

Yesterday, Sunday, we decided to venture further afield to explore the interior of Basse  Terre - the western half of the lop-sided butterfly shape of Guadeloupe. It is geologically much younger than Grande Terre, with more recent volcanic activity, so is much more mountainous and covered in tropical rain forest. Basse and Grande Terre are both islands, separated by a narrow mangrove channel, the Rivière Salée. Handily, the chandlers was on the way so the Bosun was able to purchase a replacement water pump for Follyfin.

Taking the Route de la Traversée, which cuts east-west across Basse Terre, enabled us to appreciate the mountains and the rain forest of the national park. The high point of our Sunday outing, in more ways than one, was a visit to the Parc Zoologique et Botanique des Mamelles. If ever you are in this neck of the woods, this is a must-see place. A very well constructed walkway leads one through the gardens which are set in the midst of the tropical rain forest on the side of a mountain; the range of vegetation is vast and wonderful. It feels wild but it is discreetly managed. There is a fantastic tree-top rope walk which runs right round the garden up in the rain forest canopy. The others were unphased by it but I admit I found it slightly precarious at first.

As well as the plants there are animal enclosures containing a range of big cats, turtles, terrapins, crabs, birds, small mammals, bats, monkeys, reptiles etc. Flora was particularly taken with a small green gecko which cooperated by staring at her through the glass wall of its home.

We have another week here in which there will no doubt be lots more swimming, relaxing, exploring, diving, snorkelling, fresh fish, and maybe even some langouste (Guadeloupian equivalent of lobster)… we'll see! Below see an example of the tuna they catch around here.

Flora is busy acquiring her sea legs for the short excursion on Follyfin, out of the marina, that we plan for later this week. Watch this space...

STOP PRESS!

The day after the text for this blog was composed, the Bosun/Engineer announced that the water pump had been fixed - another triumph for that indispensable member of the crew. The Skipper awarded him an extra grog for his trouble.

P.S. It's now 2 days after this text was composed. The delay in publishing this post was caused by the extreme flakiness of our internet connections in this location. Grrrr!