Les Saintes Islands - Skipped Prince Rupert Bay

Kent and I decided to sail beyond Prince Rupert Bay in northeast Dominica. We got an early start in the morning and if we sailed just a couple hours further, we could stay a couple of nights in the Isles Des Saintes. The Saintes are a group of tiny islands just south of Guadaloupe, after you've crossed the sea from Dominica. The only small town, Bourg des Saintes, is on the largest island, Terre d'en Haut. The Saintes are French with a strong link to Brittany in the north of France.

Les Saintes are different from many other Caribbean islands for several reasons. They are small, dry and steep with high cliffs and mountains reaching over 1,000 feet. There is no agriculture, no farming, no plantations. Slaves were never imported and inhabitants of African descent have only recently come to live there. The community used to rely almost solely on fishing for its livelihood and you can still see beautiful Breton-style fishing boats along the waterfront. Now, tourism is the main source of income.

The waterfront town is sparkling, colorful, and clean. From the water, you see red roofs, balconies, gingerbread-style details, and lots of flowers. Once you dinghy to shore, you find yourself on a narrow main road with lots of open-front boutiques and restaurants. There are sandy, white beaches. Ferries bring tourists to the dock from small cruise ships nearby, so there are times during the day when it gets crowded.

We had an interesting, very unpleasant, and exciting anchoring experience the first night we arrived there, but we'll save that story for the next post. But we really like Les Saintes and enjoyed our stay there.

Here are several pictures from our stay in Les Saintes...