We might have a favorite new anchorage after spending 5 delightful, peaceful days in the French islands known as The Saintes. The first little island we stayed at was Ilet a Cabrit, uninhabited except for wild goats and roosters, hens with their chicks running about. We think the name means Goat Island??? We hiked up to Fort Josephine, ruins of a French fort built in the late 1700's, and now occupied by the goats! We then visited the main island, Terre den Haut, and hiked up to visit the magnificently restored Fort Napoleon, built in 1867, with a commanding view of the town and harbor. We were very impressed with the extensive collections in the museum housed in the fort.

Fort Napoleon, c1867

We also had a lot of fun diving in The Saintes, and were happy to be able to try out our new scuba gear. It's very hard to get great photos underwater, but here are a few decent shots. They do not show all the beautiful colors and patterns and designs in every piece of coral, or the intricate details of even the smallest of fish.

I think these are Horse-Eye Jacks

One of my favorites - Foureye Butterfly Fish

Guadeloupe is actually two large islands separated by the Salee River. The island is French, so we tried very hard to speak our limited Cajun French with the warm and hospitable locals, who almost always can speak some English. Highlights of our visit include meeting a wonderful family from Belgium who rescued us when our rental car battery wouldn't start up in the mountains after hiking in the rain forest. We invited them to come for a short sail with us the next day over to Ilet du Gossier, which is just a beautiful sandy island with palm trees and a lighthouse.

Ilet du Gossier

Ricky, Robin, Fleur, Chloe, Danielle and Marc having dinner at the marina.

We thoroughly enjoyed visiting the Botanical Gardens at Deshaies, a sleepy little hamlet in North Guadeloupe. The hummingbirds were plentiful!!!  Flowers and gardens were amazing.

This way to the waterfalls!

Hiking in the rain forest of Guadeloupe