We finally caught up with our friends Skip and Maddie, in Deshaies, Guadeloupe. Over the past few years Skip has become our "cruising guru" and he has taken us, like others before us, under his wing. Thanks, Skip!
Visiting Deshaies was the first time I felt truly down island, since geographically Guadeloupe is in the lower half of the Leeward Islands. And Deshaies was the perfect mix of quaint French small village exploration, hiking, restaurants and site seeing. Another gem!
Skip and Maddie took us for a half day hike up the Deshaies River, which was beautiful. We stopped at a swimming hole for a brief cool off, and marveled at the lush vegetation
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| Maddie, Skip and Me along the stream bed |
We really enjoyed the hike, but never found the elusive falls at the top. So that night I again explored the stream, but this time at one of the waterfront restaurants with an internet connection. There I found another blog, written better than ours, and by a dog, no less. And with lots more pictures. Felt a bit like the canine protagonist.
Here it is, but please come back to us afterwards!
Now that you are back, time to describe another gem. The Jardin Botanique de Deshaies. Worth both the 45 minute hike up the road to the south of town, and the price of admission. Realizing that we didn't take enough pictures the day before, we made up for it at the Gardens:
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| Koi Pond |
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| Feeding Frenzy! |
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| Nectar for the lorikeets |
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| Make sure to share! |
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| Who's turn is it? |
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| Deshaies, on the way back from the Gardens |
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| Deshaies Sunset |
We made stops with Saralane along the west coast of Guadeloupe to visit the Cousteau Underwater Reserve at Ilet Pigeon, and then Les Saintes. Then we crossed over with Skip and Maddie to our next stop, Dominica:
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| Saralane escorts Pratique south! |
