Location: Les Saintes
4 am (or rather, 4:30 when the sleepyheads came rolling up on deck) came early as half the crew of Ocean Star headed up the mountain in hopes of catching the sunrise. After about an hour’s hike, we reached our destination- an old fort on top of the hill with an amazing view. We arrived just in time to catch the sun rising over the clouds on the horizon and were rewarded with a beautiful view of the sun’s rays. After a few moments of standing in appreciatory awe, we headed inside the old fort to explore. Near the entrance was a slight sketch ladder that-somewhat surprisingly- allowed us each up to the second story. There were small windows, probably used for snipers in the past, that provided a neat perspective of the rising sun and the waters below us. As we headed back down the mountain in a new direction, the crew eagerly looked forward to a breakfast of chocolate chip and banana pancakes. At multiple points on our trek, we stopped to appreciate the view, and at a few points, we could see Ocean Star! We arrived back just in time for a 7:30 breakfast- and yes, it was delicious. After breakfast and a quick clean up, it was time for some shipmate-shore-time in France land! Some shipmates scoped out WiFi and enjoyed a smoothie, while others wandered to bakeries or small shops. The Island was beautiful and bustling with life.
Everywhere you looked, there was someone on a moped or cycling down the street. Voices speaking in French finished off the movie-like scenario as we continued to explore. The final dinghy rides back were at 1:30, after which it was time to prepare Ocean Star for our passage to Antigua. After we pulled the anchor up, we headed to the salon to begin our OCE presentations while the staff began motoring us up the coast of Guadeloupe. We gave six presentations ranging in topic from sea turtles to hydrothermal vents to destructive fishing methods. Once the presentations were finished, we raised sails. We’ve had our squeeze and dinner, and now we’re a happy crew in our watch teams as we enjoy the view of our sails carrying Ocean Star into the evening.