Photo link:_Martinique, Dominica and Guadeloupe during December
Here we are in Dominica having spent the last 10 days in Prince Rupert Bay held hostage by the 
Christmas winds. However it has been a lovely 10 days, we just adore Dominica. We arrived in Roseau the capitol and southern anchorage after a fast crossing from Martinique. Our average speed was 6.6 knots and the 
maximum was 9.2 knots, we just flew with the wind. We had over nighted in Martinique in a tiny bay called Grand Anse D’Arlet. (We actually went ashore and had a short walk and will return on our way south.) An over night in Roseau was a reminder of the Dominican swell that occurs there, a non stop roll which gets annoying fairly fast. We left Roseau in the morning and arrived in Portsmouth, Prince Rupert Bay at 12:15, December 3rd. 
The day after we arrived we decided to visit Fort Shirley and The Cabrits.
We left the dingy at the PAYS dock on the beach and low and behold there was the little white dog we met on our 1st visit 8 months ago. He is not a puppy anymore but an adult dog and it does look like he must have someone feeding him. Off to the Fort we strolled with him accompanying us. 
Fort Shirley an old British fort dating back to the 1800s has been partially restored. The main buildings are in excellent shape, the rest are just ruins in the trees. The view from
the fort over the harbour was very pretty and while looking out we saw a Humpback Whale in the water below. He or she was resting on the surface. We watched the whale from the walls of the fort above for a good 15 minutes and then left to walk to the top of the 
West Cabrits. The walk up was very pleasant along a wide stony path. Along the way we saw, lizards, snakes and skinks and were able to approach them, as they were unafraid. At the top we were rewarded with a great view. In northerly direction it was possible to see Saintes and Guadeloupe. We then decided to have a bite to 
eat before climbing the East Cabrits. 
Our lunch stop at Fort Shirley served a delicious egg sandwich and passion fruit juice. It was excellent and just enough to fortify us before the next climb. The climb to the East Cabrits was lovely even better than the west. The path again was wide and through the forested hillside. It was shady which kept it nice and cool for us. Along the way we 
found the Commanders house ruins and then closer to the top we found batteries that were now just ruins. The view from 
the top was spectacular. We could see across the harbour, surrounding countryside and the swamp. It was an enjoyable visit. Martin AKA Providence who had been our PAYS (Portsmouth Association of Yacht Security), boat guy from before visited and invited us to join a group 
on a hike the next day. Setting off at 11:15 in Martin’s boat we were with a family of 4 off of Froya, a young couple Emma and Peter and Devi off of Arctic Tern. We disembarked and climbed aboard Martin’s mini bus which his wife drove dropping us off near the Morne Diablotin’s National Park and the Syndicate trail. Here we started 
hiking down the pathway heading into the 
rainforest. This area is typical rainforest and where most of the parrot population lives. Not long into our hike we saw our 1st two parrots. The Red Necked is the national bird of Dominica, but we saw only a glimpse of one of them, but had a good look at Imperial parrot as it flew overhead. We were also amazed to see a very rare humming bird just sitting in a grapefruit tree watching us. It was the very beautiful 
Blue Headed Hummingbird with its iridescent blues and greens. As the 
hike progressed we were blessed with the fall of rain. What would a hike in the rain forest be without rain, it made it very authentic. The pathways filled with rainwater, but it was lovely as the sun started to shine again it made spectacular rays shine down through the tall trees. Martin caught large yellow crabs and showed us the difference between the male and female. The female he caught actually had hundreds of baby 
crabs and when he set it down again it ran into the stream and started “birthing” 
them. These crabs are caught by the locals to make the national dish – Callaloo. Martin stopped along the way to point out many different plants and to explain their uses. Much of the info we had heard before from him when we 1st visited, but it was an excellent refresher course. We picked mandarins, oranges and bananas to eat along the way. The second half of the hike was down the very steep 
Waitukubuli National trail segment 11. Again we had 
hiked the area before but not this section. I asked Martin to cut me a hiking stick as I had learnt that they make it much easier when descending steep, muddy slippery slopes. At the bottom Martin cut open a few coconuts for us to eat the meat and then we climbed down the riverbanks to swim and clean up before the final walk back. We finished the hike back in Portsmouth at 4:30, it was 5 hours that to me seemed like just a couple of hours as it was just so enjoyable. 
The day that followed brought incredibly heavy rain. We set the water catch and filled the tanks within an hour or 
so. The river over flowed its banks and flooded part of Portsmouth. The riverbanks are a good 15 feet high. Out in the bay there was muddy wash off and all kinds of debris so it was not a day for a swim. 
Martin had told us where we could head for a hike out of town. Following his directions we headed towards the mountains following a 
lane, which changed into a track and then a path. It was through farmland and bordered by the forested slopes. There were some very nice viewpoints across the bay and over looking the Cabrits. At the end, behind a tethered 
heifer we found a narrow track down to a beautiful river glade. We hardly saw a soul for the entire 3 – 4 hours we were walking.
As we wanted to venture further afield we rented a car for the day. Driving south along the coast road our 1st destination was Emerald Pool. To get there we drove inland along the road beside the 
Layou River. It was very scenic and as we drove we could see that there 
had been substantial damage from flash flood. The road wound up around Z bends with wonderful views but steep drops. The forested slopes are very beautiful coming down to the roadside with many kinds of flowers lining the ditches. At 
Emerald Pool we walked down the path and found a very lovely waterfall, which emptied, into a large emerald coloured pool. Unfortunately it was sprinkling on and off so capturing the colours was a challenge. Our second destination was the Trafalgar Falls in the 
Morne Trois Pitons National Park. Again the drive there was along very scenic mountainous narrow roads. The falls were an easy hike and very 
beautiful. We could see them as we hiked through the trees, as we reached the viewing platform the falls were stunning to look at. There are two falls the Mama and the Papa. They fall into the valley from a height of 200 feet and the water then feeds into the hydro plant down the hill. We decided to clamber over the wet rocks to get closer to the falls. On 
the way we stepped into one of the colourful streams and found the water to be HOT! It was one of the many hot springs in the area. Below the falls it was impossible to get a shot of them both, as the picture was just enormous. The water roared down, pouring over and around the huge boulders. Quite an incredible sight! We continued to follow the mountain roads in the Morne Trois Pitons National Park to our next destination: Middleham Falls. 
This time we had a 2 hour hike which was uphill much of the way. The pathways are very rugged but excellently 
maintained. They have wooden steps placed along much of them to stop erosion and this really helps when climbing up and down. When we arrived after our vigorous climb the beauty of the falls and surrounding slopes stunned us. John reckoned that 
they were just about the best he had seen. There was a misty haze 
blowing off of the water as it plunged 100s of feet down and from the viewing platform it created beautiful rainbows below. We enjoyed a snack of a tangerine and the set off back to our car. The final stop was to find the 
Titou Gorge. 
After several attempts to find the correct path, (John even drove through a river at one stage) we finally discovered the path, which lead over the aqueduct, along the riverbank and to the gorge. We were only able to see it from above, as we didn’t have the time to swim up the gorge. All in all it 
was an excellent day out and we still have much to see and do in
Dominica. 
One evening there was a potluck dinner/barbeque 
on the beach under the PAYS shelter. Devi off of Arctic Tern and Barb off of a trawler organized it. Many of the 
families we had met in Grenada were there. It was a fun evening and a great social gathering. We also did many more necessary chores. One chore John had to attend to be repairing the autopilot again! On our way across in the heavy seas another bolt had snapped, thus it was just hanging together and close to completely failing. We had spare bolts form previously so John made it as good as new again. 
We departed Dominica on Friday 13th and had a boisterous sleigh ride with a double reefed main and a reefed jib all the way to Guadeloupe. The top wind gust was 32knots in a supposedly 20 – 25 knot forecasted day. Aeeshah did very well our average speed being 6.7knots, (top speed of 9.3K) and the autopilot was perfect, however John did hand steer through the rougher seas that were around 10 feet. We anchored off of Piegon Island which is the site of the Cousteau Underwater reserve. As John had to check the anchor we both went for a snorkel. The reef in the reserve was pretty and John saw many large fish in the deeper water. We departed for Deshaies in the northern part of Guadeloupe the next morning.
Deshaies is a lovely anchorage, but it has the wind chute 
effect that brings the wind blasting down from the highlands around the bay. Upon arrival we had lunch and then went ashore to check in and found that everything was shut from noon till 4:00pm for lunch. Yep, it’s the traditional European lunch and siesta tradition. So we wandered around till finally the boutique, which has the customs computer inside opened. Checking in is a breeze 
in Guadeloupe; just fill out a form on a computer. Our first adventure was a hike up the Deshaies River.
It was recommended in the Doyle Cruising guide plus a friend highly recommended it. Off we set, it starts with a path along the riverside, where we disturbed a couple washing in the river. The path then ends and the 
hike continues through the river. Well there had been tons of rain so the river was high and the river rocks were wet and slippery. Normally one could 
just jump from rock to rock but on our day it was safer to walk in the river to avoid the slippery rocks when ever possible. That’s fine if you can see the bottom but where the river was deep and flowing swiftly it was 
really tough. We kept at it for over 2 hours through the rain, over rocks, up slippery slopes, sliding down banks, wading, wading, wading, clinging to branches, going under fallen 
trees, around massive boulders, edging along gorges and still we did not see the destination that had been described to us. I was past being fed up, just plain 
forlorn, muddy and wet, plus my knee injury was nagging me. John was very frustrated as it was not a hike but a slog and I was going too slowly. He went ahead and still could not see the expected end point. So we tried going inland and encountered barbed wire fences. Down to the river we returned realizing that we would have to return that way. We did try to bush wack along the banks 
but after being bitten by ants that were ½ inch long and felt like nasty stings we relented 
and slid, crawled, waded back down. The entire trip took over 4 hours and we didn’t get to the end point where we could have walked back by the road. We described our venture to April and Cane off of Spirit of Argo, they thought that their dog Quinn would love this hike and I guess they thought they would reach the end. Off they went the next day only to have the same results. They told us that even Quinn gave up, turned around to go back. They however climbed uphill through the barbed wired fields and found a road back. Here is their account, written through Quinn’s eyes: http://www.spiritofargo.com 
We had a lovely evening aboard Spirit of Argo with several other couples. One of which are Matt and Christine
off of Nana Parahi, they are Australian and upon hearing we were off snorkeling the next day and then off to Base Terre another day, Christine said she would love to come along. The snorkeling trip was quite nice. We only went as far as the mouth of the bay, but there were different varieties of coral and many fish. John also found lobsters, which he left for another time. 
A visit to The Jardin Botanique de Deshaies was a real 
treat. It was a hike out of the town for about 2k and the entrance fee was quite steep, but it was well worth it. The best garden display I’ve ever seen! There was just every type of plant along the pathways. Thousands of species from cactus to orchids, a 50 foot waterfall with a river 
and ponds, a walk in avairy with colorful parrots, rosy flamingos, all in perfectly manicured gardens. We spent an afternoon enjoying the gardens. 
Our visit to Basse Terre was excellent! 
We caught the bus in the morning and found that it was a 
large comfortable coach ride. It did take 2 hours, as the roads are narrow, winding through the slopes with tight z bends. However this gave us a chance to see the coastline and the villages along the way. In Basse Terre we wandered around looking in the quaint shops, down the old 
alleyways, past ancient buildings, along the river and harbour front. I just loved the old old 
architecture, especially the churches and the monastery. It is a very colourful capitol city as there is bright graffiti on many of the walls; the more modern buildings too have bright signs and colourful woodwork. We even had a quick McDonalds lunch, a 
tasty chicken wrap. However getting back was a bit of a nightmare. We caught the 3:15 bus and at 4:30 we were 
dropped off in Pointe Noire, the last major town before Deshaies. We were told that the next bus would take us the rest of the way and it would be along soon. – At least this is what we thought we heard…….6:00pm and many 
busses later we were still waiting. Then a local lady took pity on us and told us the truth, “no more busses, very bad bus service, no no taxi here” 
Well she also saved the day by getting her hubby to drive us back the remaining 30 kilometers, we were so grateful and John rewarded their efforts. We have also hiked up the hillside next to our anchorage. 
Found a trail through the parkland and then were rewarded with a fabulous beach on the other side. There we walked the beach and then ate an ice cream in a 
café before heading back along the road. Another afternoon we set off to find the end of the river trail that we had failed to find. This time we went up the lane that we should have 
descended 
upon return. What we found was a lovely –but steep, shaded narrow lane that after passing a religious site came to an end at the river. There we could see the trail going up the other side supposedly to the caves and waterfall, which was the end 
point. Yes, we tried to venture up but after 20 minutes decided, why bother lets go down and swim in the river pools. So we stripped off and plunged into the cold, refreshing river water. Our Christmas decorations are up, the lights are strung, 
we had our friends in the anchorage “over” for our Christmas party – now all we need to do is buy each other a few stocking stuffers. We had decided it would be Guadeloupe for Christmas Day and then to leave for Antigua on Boxing Day. 
We went with several other cruisers on the bus to get to the mall near Pointe-A-Pitre. Again it was a long time getting there on the bus. Once at 
the mall we all split up to do Christmas shopping. After an hour and a half of picking up a few little gifts for each other 
John, Chrissie and I set off to “explore” the capitol. We found that Pointe-A-Pitre was just as interesting to visit as Basse Terre. It was however twice the size with many more people due to it being Christmas Eve. We enjoyed walking around see the
old architecture and the very cool graffiti. This time we found the bus depot and caught the bus, 
which delivered us all the way, back to Dehaises. Christmas day was a quiet day. John and I had a morning together, doing breakfast and exchanging gifts to each other – just small odds and ends. 
We took a short walk through the village and graveyard – here they have tombs above the ground – very different. Early afternoon we went onboard Matt and Chrissie’s boat for champagne and snacks. In the evening they came to ours for John’s wicked rum swizzle – I don’t drink rum it but everyone seems to like it. We cooked a lovely piece of French medallion steak for dinner. We were happy with the day, but did miss home especially as we never got the opportunity to skype and chat to everyone.
Aeeshah had a really rough sail to Antigua. The weather had been extremely 
windy and to the south the islands had had horrendous weather, the worse in many many years. People had been killed; extensive damage was reported in Dominica and St Vincent. We had waited for dayssss for the right weather. We left the anchorage around 7am and got out to the open sea and it was blowing up to 38knots, consistently over 25 knots with seas over 10 feet with chop on top. Really crappy, but it calmed eventually, I didn’t get sick and we arrived in Antigua after 54 miles at 2:00pm. Antigua is beautiful!!
“Our job in this lifetime is not to shape ourselves into some ideal we imagine we ought to be, but to find out who we already are and become it.” — Steven Pressfield
“The events we bring upon ourselves, no matter how unpleasant, are necessary in order to learn what we need to learn; whatever steps we take, they’re necessary to reach the places we’ve chosen to go.” — Richard Bach
