A Tale of Two Chemists: The Delights of Deshaies

The Delights of Deshaies

Tuesday 9th - Wednesday 10th Jan 2024

Tuesday dawned bright and distinctly breezy. The weather forecast predicted increasing winds and swells and we are happy we made the passage down here on Monday, rather than leaving it a day or two. The harbor in Deshaies is known to funnel winds and we have been seeing 20 - 30 knots. We awoke on Tuesday to the sound of a sail flapping. The Genoa on a boat anchored nearby had become unfurled and was torn to shreds. It seemed like no-one was aboard and a little later we saw the harbor master and his team working on the vessel. Unfortunately the boat was also dragging and ended up with it’s propellor caught in the mooring lines of a catamaran. I later spoke to the harbor master and he said it took them 3 hours to resolve the situation, commenting that some people own boats but have no idea how to sail or look after them!

We really liked Guadeloupe when we visited in 2018 and have often commented on how easy the customs and immigration system works. In Deshaies you simply go the the Pelican Store, fill in the form on the government computer and pay 1 Euro … et voila, c’est finis. However, when the computer is broken it apparently all goes to shit! We, along with many other boaters, hiked up to the customs office many times only to find it locked up. Eventually, a fellow sailor managed to contact the office in Basse Terre, about twenty miles away, and informed them what was going on. By Tuesday afternoon they finally had staff available on the Deshaies site. It was our 7th trip up the hill by the time we got sorted. In fairness, once we got to talk to the officials it went really easily, and they were super friendly and helpful, but it was a bit of a struggle getting to that point.

The town is quite small, centered around the waterfront with many cafes and restaurants. There is a good grocery store and bakery and it’s a really nice place to be. This morning we set out for the Botanical Gardens, about a mile south of Deshaies and uphill all the way. We were a little nervous that it might not live up to our memories from when we visited previously, but we need not have been concerned. The gardens are absolutely beautiful and we spent several hours wandering around, looking at plants and birds, and taking lots of photos.

We have decided to stay on the mooring for the next three days, mostly for the extra peace of mind when leaving the boat. We plan to rent a car in town and take off to explore parts of the country that we can’t easily access from the boat.

Mike

A dragonfly (or damselfly ?) photographed down by the Deshaies river.

Gloria and I walked a short way along the river during the hottest part of the day. I returned later in the afternoon, when it was shady, to take some photos. It's tricky getting upstream, with lots of boulder hopping, but also some nice looking pools where you might take a dip.

I had already taken a couple of shots of this banana plant flower when the hummingbird showed up. It is a Purple Throated Carib, the first we have seen on this trip. It made three trips to this flower during the ~20 minutes I stood waiting. I got one shot on each of two of his visits, but was too slow on the third. This was taken using a 105mm micro lens at F20, 1/50s manual setting, with a small flash gun.

There is a flourishing colony of captive Lorikeets in the Deshaies Botanical gardens. They are amazingly beautiful birds. You can see these two are quite attracted to each other ... and you know what happens next ...

This photo would be banned from text books in Florida, for poisoning young minds. Better that children are taught that babies are delivered by fairies than have them face the wonders of nature ... or so the politicians in Florida would have you believe!