From Trinidad to Guadeloupe

Okay...there was a brief stop on the way in Grenada to say goodbye to our pals Diana and Lane from Dreams Float.  The best thing about cruising has been the people, but then the worst thing about cruising has been saying goodbye.   We had been following Dreams Float for a long time down the islands before we were officially introduced.  We even spent a week anchored right next to them while we were in Antigua and I was hunkered down with a cold.  They just seemed to show up at every island we went to.  Gary briefly met them in Dominica, but it wasn’t until we got to Grenada that we really got to know them.  Along with John and Linda from Kool Kat, Diana and Lane have been our best buds this trip.  We had dinner at each others boats, movie nights, and went to festivals together.  Lane taught me how to cook and managed to convince me that limes were really small lemons (I am that gullible!).  Diana cultivated my spiritual side, opening my mind to new thoughts and ideas.  I wouldn’t have been able to make it through hurricane season, anchored in one spot for months on end, without such awesome friends.

So after one long days sail to Grenada, we up-ed anchor early the next morning and continued on to Guadeloupe.  This consisted of two days and two nights sailing non-stop.  We were far enough offshore to only be able to see the glow of the islands lights at night as we passed them. We were also far enough offshore to get swells, waves, the odd crazy rainsquall and the opportunity to puke into a bucket...ah the pleasures of sailing life.  But honestly it was pretty awesome most of the time.  The nights were moonless and so the starts shone bright.  There were no gaps between the stars, only bright stars with less bright ones around them.  Shooting stars blazed across the sky.  By day we watched flying fish and listened to loud music.  By night we listened to the thud of the flying fish as they hit the hull/backstay/bimini.

In the very early hours of the second night we arrived at Guadeloupe.  We followed the coast up to Deshaies, mesmerised by the lights of the towns alone the coastline.  We reached the harbour about 3am, anchored then slept for a very long time. 

When we eventually awoke to the sound of the church bells, we went into town and bought our first baguette.