On the trip over from Saint Martin Pete had tried to fish but the sailing was good and we were going too fast again. He did catch a barracuda but we through that back in.

Arrival

Arriving in Gustavia, the capital of Saint Barts, we were delighted to find the easy check-in procedure, typical of the French islands. The warm and friendly welcome made us feel instantly at ease, allowing us to start our exploration without any hassle. However, due to the windy and bumpy conditions just outside the entrance channel in the anchorage area, we decided to continue on to Colombier Bay for a calmer anchorage.

Colombier Bay

Anchoring in tranquil Colombier Bay we found ourselves surrounded by lush vegetation and pristine waters creating a very picturesque setting to relax in for the evening.

The following day, Di and I set off on a trek from Colombier Bay to a patisserie. We had only vaugue instructions about a track and could find no signs on the beach. We then asking the advice of another lady on the track and she told us there was only a subdivision if we went straight up the hill but we might find a shop if we followed the track to Plage de Flamands, along the Colombier Beach Trail. The trail led us through a variety of landscapes, from bare rock with breathtaking coastal views, to later some nice bush and a far better track at the end. We also came upon a man practicing yoga with his dog, and some morning walkers.

The hike was much more than we had expected and we could not find a shop so we continued along the beach to a hotel and then asked the way. They indicated 5-10 mins straight up the hill – literally. Off we again and some 20 minutes later found St Jean village and a charming patisserie. The aroma of freshly baked pastries greeted us, and with a coffee and water we sat down for a late but well deserved breakfast.

To complete the walk, we followed the Route de Colombier road back to the lookout point. From there, we were treated to a stunning panoramic view of the island, with its red roofed houses, green hillsides and sparkling blue waters.

As we descended along the trail, through much more vegetation than the other side, we encountered the cute red toed land tortoises, native doves and the giant rock formations, all part of the island’s natural scenery.

Our dingy was still there after our 3 hour trek it seemed to be dwarfed by the house at the top of the hill. – We couldn’t wait to get to the water and have a swim.

Gustavia

After spending 3 nights in Colombier Bay we decided we needed to visit the town before we left and so headed back to Gustavia. We also needed to check the rigging and do a minor repair behind the anchor locker where the anchor seemed to have hit the hull several times just behind the anchor locker. We checked into the quayside and with few boats there we could go alongside.This was much better than the rocking rolling anchorage outside the town but there was still a lot of water movement. A trip up the mast confirmed that all was well and then Hew and I spent an hour in the dingy doing a temporary plaster of several holes in the hull. I was trying to hold the dingy steady while Hew tried to do a smooth patch job – needless to say with the wind and water movement it was more like artistic plastering.

After the plastering we headed off to have a look around the shops. All top end, famous labels and very expensive prices. Di and I managed to resist the urge during the day but later that night Pete and Hew found some shorts they couldn not resist and Di bought a new swim suit. The shops and contents were certainly beautiful to look at.

Evening

We had drinks on the boat before dinner and watched the activities in the harbour such as a super yacht parking on the other side of the harbour to us and backing in all the way. He had to go stern to due to the number of other yachts on that side.As the sun was going down the moon was coming up.

We decided one day in town was enough for us and we departed the next day for St Kitts and Nevis. WE enjoyed Saint Barts and would probably go again because it is very different from the other islands and there was definitely more to see and more places to go.

After leaving Saint Barts we sailed past the following two islands that we did not have time to stop at.

Saba

Saba is a very small and tall volcanic island rising straight out of the sea. Saba has a land area of 13 square kilometres (5.0 sq mi) and a population of 1900. There is one anchorage in the shelter of the island then further around there is a landing and a few moorings. There is a very steep road or walking track up to the town which is sheltered in the centre of the island. We did not have time to stop but friends of ours did and loved the place so we will return at some stage for a look around.

Eustatia

Locally know as Statia it was formerly part of the Netherlands Antilles, Sint Eustatius became a public body of the Netherlands in 2010. It is part of the Dutch Caribbean, which consists of Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten. Bonaire, Eustatia and Saba,  form the BES Islands, and are also referred to as the Caribbean Netherlands. Most of the beaches are supposed to be black sand and the largest private employer on the island is the oil terminal owned by GTI Statia.

Next Blog : Saint Kitts and Nevis