Stopping to Smell the Flowers

We would have loved to stay longer and continue exploring Iles de Sainte with Lady Hawk and Windlass but we needed to continue sailing further up island toward Deshaies and our eventual goal of Antigua.  The winds were a steady 20+ knots as we left at 7:30 am that morning. Fortunately, the wind direction was more off the beam so we had a comfortable sail.  Once we were in the lee of Guadeloupe, we continued reaching along at a good speed catching the wind from squalls and breezes off the hills.  We flew by another boat that had hoped to stay out of the lee by heading further out from the coastline. We called it right and had a great continuous sail into Deshaies harbor.

Last time we visited Deshaies we didn’t have a chance to visit the Botanical Gardens so that was number one on our list.  Deshaies is a beautiful anchorage with a huge rock wall along one side of the harbor that reflects the sun's glowing colors during sunset.  We relaxed, sipping our sundowners as we watched the spectacle unfold.  One certainty is that we"ll never tire of beautiful sunsets!

Other cruisers are always such a great resource; we learned the Botanical Gardens will pick you up if you give them a call. So that saved us a long hike up the hill or taxi fare.  We spent the next three hours trying to learn all the names of the tropical plants and flowers of the area and took hundreds of photos trying to capture natures beauty.

Koi swimming in a pond as you enter the gardens.

Heliconia from Guatemala.

Red Ginger flower.

Colorful parakeets.

Aristolochia from Antilles, Central America.

Acalypha from India.

Pink Flamingos.

Ravenala from Madagascar.

Nicolaia from Malaysia.

Walter from North Bend.

View of Deshaies Harbor below the gardens. Somewhere in the distance is the volcanic island of Montserrat.