Dominica 3.0 – Portsmouth, Dominica, March 8, 2024
Ron and I enjoyed a couple of low-key days snorkeling, Ilse Des Saintes, which is a small set of islands just south of the main island of Guadeloupe. We redid a couple of hikes we did last year, one called “Le Pain” which ended up being about 6.5 miles. It was an elevation of about 1,200 feet but once we got to the top the view was stunning!
Amazing view once you make it to the top
The next day we took it a bit easy the next day and kept our hike to 3.5 miles up to Napolean’s Fort.
The fort was closed so we explored the moat.
After that we decided to give Dominica another try. We had stopped here twice before and had always felt a bit uneasy. We aren’t really organized tour kind of people and typically prefer to explore an island by ourselves (which we did last time). Many of our cruiser friends simply loved Dominica and we decided to give her another try. This time, however, we would hire a guide. The first tour we did was the “Indian River Tour” which is where our guide actually rows us up the river explaining local flora, fauna, and wildlife. It also so happens that the movie “Pirates of the Caribbean 2” was filmed here in that river, so we got to see some of the movie set as well. It was relaxing and we met a few new sailors but unfortunately, they were heading north.
Never gets oldMade specifically for the Pirates of Caribbean Amazing The black pearl was hereCrab man. Drinks anyone?
The Death March – Les Saintes, Guadeloupe, May 2, 2023
Terre-de-Haute is a lovely little seaside community in a terrific anchorage. It is definitely the touristy part of Guadeloupe but very safe and nice to walk around. On day one here we decided to do a hike marked “moderate to hard” on the all trails map, which what we have used to guide us on all our hikes so far. Note to self, their scale of moderate to hard is different than the “Campbell Scale” (our ability rating scale). The hike was named “Le Pain” and it definitely was! It was 5.5 miles with final elevation of 1,210 feet straight up! Basically, we spent the next 2.5 hours hiking up a steep rocky off-road path up to a little set of ruins. Apparently, this little set of islands has changed hands many times between France, Spain, and Britain due to its strategic location but in the end landed with the French. It was by far the most challenging hike we have done this season and brought both of us to our limits. At least when we got to the top, the views were worth it!
Le pain? Sure seems easy. This is steeper then it appears. Almost to topHe said we would die. Notice to two younger people exhausted. The views incredible. On top of the world. Paved road down thankfully!
Funny story on the way to the trail we passed a little house with about a dozen bird cages one of which was home to a parrot. The only word the parrot knew was “asshole.” Pretty funny as we walk by, he calls Ron an “asshole.” We got a good laugh our of that one.
After that we took a couple days to snorkel which was fun since Guadeloupe is a volcanic mountainous island and the coral against the black sand was really pretty. I haven’t seen this since Hawaii many years ago. The amazing thing here is how big some of the sponges are. They are as big as me! It was kind of nuts but the water is clear and warm as bath water.
Huge sponges
On our next hike we ended up going to Fort Napolean which was a nice little history lesson. It was not nearly as difficult but still a nice little uphill walk. The fort was cool but sadly all the explanations were in French so I ended up doing a little reading when we got home to interpret what I had just seen. The fort itself was huge and the first moat I have seen. Pretty cool overall with a brick oven, cistern, and slits in the stone for gun protection.
Very well preservedFort offered great viewsSo many slaves on board. Humans suck
We had intended to head over to Dominica the next day but not realizing it was a holiday, we did not get to check out. Who know the French Labor Day was on May 1st. We waited and headed to Dominica the following day. The nature island is awaiting.
Cement Donkeys 