Les Saintes, Bourg des Saintes
We spent about a week in these tiny islands south of Guadeloupe. Although the islands are part of Guadeloupe they are very touristy and there is a very different feel. The tourists are a mixture of French holidaymakers, and yachts of various nationalities. The shops sell tourist goods for a range of budgets, and rather expensive groceries. The atmosphere is relaxed and safe and the islands are very pretty.
We met other families here so Dan had friends to play with, most notably a Norwegian family who were spending a year away.
We stayed near the main town of Bourg des Saintes on the island of Terre de Haut at first, doing various shopping, walking and swimming, then moved to a quieter anchorage around the corner for a couple of days.
Finally after we said goodbye to our Norwegian friends who were going north, we headed south for Dominica. The passage out of Les Saintes was a little tight in between rocky islets in a swell, with fresh but fickle winds, but once clear of these the trip was quite fast with good wind, and an Atlantic swell. Near to Dominica the wind increased and changed direction around the coast, before virtually disappearing in the island lee. We motor sailed for our approach to Portsmouth.