Guadeloupe, Pointe a Pitre
We could have anchored further away among other yachts, or even gone to the marina but we wanted to be central and we certainly were. The town frontage surrounded the fishing quay on three sides, and tying up to the harbour wall in the dinghy we were right next to a clothes market, a cheap goods store, and the daily fresh produce market. Behind this market is the main shopping area, full of most shops you could imagine. Although we saw a cruise ship dock on the other side of this shopping area we did not feel the town was geared for tourists very much, more that it was a local place with a great choice of most things you could want, and almost everyone we met was pleasant and friendly. The square was backed by a park with a good playground and a fountain, Dan played in the park several times and I think he was the only white child there on every occasion. It didn’t seem to bother him or the other kids. The only drawback was that Dan couldn’t converse as they all spoke French.
We found the local out-of-town supermarket, Cora, a little walk along a very busy A-road (or a cheap and short bus ride from town as we later found). We did one big shop here and got a taxi ride back to town.
We also visited the nearby islets Islet de Cochons, and Ile Gosier, in the fairly enclosed area of sea near Point-a-Pitre, where we could swim.
Finally we finished our visit to Point-a-Pitre. Our impression was very good and we would recommend the town very much. We would have liked to explore other parts of the island given more time.
We sailed to Les Saintes, a group of small islands just south of Guadeloupe, in sheltered waters, firstly in the lee of Guadeloupe and then that of Marie-Galante.