Croissants, Baguettes and more things French

We sailed away from Guadeloupe on a beam reach and comfortable seas 18 miles to Les Saintes.  We entered the harbor and picked up a mooring ball, which was our only choice.  When the boat came around to collect our payment, they also took our order for fresh croissants and baguettes that would be delivered to the boat the next morning!

The french do know how to make a delicious baguette, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.  Spread a little butter, cheese or Nutella on a baguette still warm from the bakery and that's what I call heaven.  One of the benefits of touring the french islands was the wonderful bread and cheese available everywhere.  The bakeries made fresh bread daily and they were dirt cheap.  Oh, I mean inexpensive.  We saw people walking through town during the morning hours carrying 2-5 baguettes each!  And I mean nearly everyone had a baguette in hand.  The supermarkets were supplied with great cheese like gruyere, gouda and brie.  How could we go wrong?  We had a fresh baguette handy at almost every meal!  It reminded us of sitting on the steps of Basilique du Sacre Coeur in Paris.  The produce was equally as good too, especially the tomatoes.  We enjoyed a hunk-o-baguette spread with butter, a slice of cheese and tomato, sprinkled with a little sea salt and an over easy egg for breakfast.  Mmmmm, good stuff!

Iles des Saintes, also known as Les Saintes are a little archipelago of eight volcanic islands south of Guadeloupe and north of Dominica.  They are not even on some maps of the Caribbean and if they are, they are mere specs.  Les Saintes have the natural beauty of the Caribbean and none of the bells and whistles of a tourist attraction.  Which is a good thing, in our opinion.  In fact, only one of the islands has a ferry from Guadeloupe.  The rest are only accessible by boat.  The people that lived and worked in Les Saintes were very friendly, helpful and willing to practice their english with us, as well as be patient with our limited french.  We loved the quaint feel and the picturesque, coziness of this little french village.

Fisherman heading out to hook his daily catch.  The birds are no fools, following close behind 

These fisherman are getting ready to drop the lobster pot - the biggest one I have ever seen.  It looks a little topsy turvy to me.

I'll take this one please

Local fishing boats

Mr. Iguana watching us closely as we passed by

The main street through town, lined with homes, restaurants, bakeries and shops.

The local scooter beach bar

Looking at Fort Napoleon up on the hill and the anchorage below

We hiked 1000 vertical feet to the top of Le Chameau

Pretty steep incline - but it was paved most of the way

And the view was spectacular!

Reese and Liv found natural chalk and wrote their names on a bean pod

View from the fort hight atop Le Chameau - looking at the harbor of Terre-de-Haut, where we were anchored

Animal jail.  Really, it's true!  They put stray animals, goats in this case, here until their owners come to claim them and post bail.  What a nice view for an animal jail, don't ya think?

Kate and Reese in the fort

Looking out the canon windows

Soldiers happy to have made it to the top.  They had fun running around the fort playing war.

One of the 8 islands of Les Saintes

More islands

Guadeloupe to the north

Lava rock makes a great playground

Cute little church that was overflowing with people on Sunday morning

The ornate gingerbread trim work on the houses was very cute

The church steeple

Looking the other way into town

Almost life like

Yummy, but tart, star fruit.  A first for the kids to taste.

Freshly sliced baguette ready to be devoured