Day 6: The Quaint French Village In The Middle Of The Caribbean--Sailing To Iles des Saintes, Terre de Haute
The Quaint French Village In The Middle Of The Caribbean. Day 6: Exploring Iles des Saintes, Terre de Haute
Day 6: Exploring The Quaint French Village In The Middle Of The Caribbean--Sailing To Iles des Saintes, Terre de Haute
We didn’t want to leave Dominica, but we woke up early and sailed by Pan de Sucre (Sugarloaf) into Terre de Haute. Iles des Saintes feels like a quaint French village, right in the middle of the Caribbean. We checked into customs in a cyber café (which was much easier than our other experience checking into customs on Dominica. Bourg des Saintes is an adorable town, sparkling clean and picturesque, with red roofs, beautiful flowers growing, and no one is in a hurry.
To quote Chris Doyle,
“This is an irresistible group of islands with idyllic Gallic charm. They are small, dry, and steep, with red and brown cliffs. Mountains climb to over 1,000 feet, and white beaches abound. After a hard day’s sail, it is bound to be love at first sight.”
It was love at first sight. We went to the only small town, Bourg des Saints, which is located on the largest island, Terre d’en Haut.
The harbor is beautiful, peaceful, sheltered, and lovely. Part of it reminds me of the North Sound of Virgin Gorda, by Prickly Pear. Any harbor or sound where I can see smaller islands across the bay makes me feel comfortable from my time working in the BVI.
Here’s some more history for you.
“The Saintes have been French since shortly after they were colonized, and have long supported a small community that used to rely almost entirely on fishing. There is a strong link to the north of France, especially Brittany, and some years ago you could see beautiful Breton-style fishing boats all along the waterfront.
Since the islands were never agricultural, no slaves were imported, and the inhabitants that are of African descent have arrived relatively recently and, like you, by choice.”
So you’re telling me this is a gorgeous patch of French heaven in the middle of the Caribbean, without a history of enslaving other people, so culturally there’s no chip on their shoulder?! Where do I sign up?!
Smoked Fish And Octopus Bolognese—Where To Eat Lunch In The Town Bourg des Saintes, Iles Des Saintes: La Fringale
We ate at restaurant La Fringale, Terre de Haute is known for their smoked fish so we ordered three kinds of smoked fish for an appetizer, along with escargot (that was my criteria for the restaurant, it must have snails!) We also ordered Octopus Bolognese, smoked fish pasta, and duck confit, and a sausage bean dish. It was all lovely. The smoked fish appetizer and pasta, in my opinion, stole the show! So. Freaking. Good. Our server had a Japanese calligraphy tattoo, we asked her about it, and someday she wants to go to Japan.
We finished at La Fringale with espresso.
After lunch, we walked the town, and we found the craziest thing I can only refer to as a Cactus Tree- this thing was the like an ancient Redwood of the cactus world.
Towering 12-14 feet tall in front of someone’s home, this thing is incredible. It was one of the few things I insisted Laura take a photo of me, in focus, to capture this magnificent find. I may or may not have snatched up two baby buds from this magnificent creature, and they may or may not be healthily growing in my atrium right now over a year later.
Stracciatella, Please.
We also found ice cream – I ordered vanilla and stracciatella “chocolate striped,“ Laura ordered coffee and vanilla.
Where To Shop On Iles Des Saintes: Maogany — Hand-dyed Linen TREASURE
Bellies full, we wandered around the shops and eventually made our way into a store called Maogany – our next great treasure. They sell beautiful linen and ultra-marine hand-painted clothing.
We practicing our French and English with Annie, the store owner, and her sweet associate. Annie’s husband, Chakib, is Moroccan and hand paints the garments every morning. Perfectly said by Chris Doyal,
“The shop is open and light, displaying the work of Chakib, who silkscreens garments in the colors you observe when lying on a beach looking at the water: turquoise, pale luminescent green, blue, white and all the shades between.”
We all bought shirts, Danny bought a pair of white linen pants, to which, Laura and I perpetually asked him, “Pardon Monsieur, where is your yacht?” This place is an absolute treasure, the top I purchased from Maogany became my go-to top for any hikes or heavy exploration. It was breathable, had plenty of airflow, and sure as heck beat the snot out of a typical Under Armour “sun shirt” - you can read my rant on how much I hate sunshirts here. The blouse, along with the hand-dyed scarf, are my two favorite keepsakes from this trip.
Bourg des Saintes Dogs Don’t Give AF.
After Maogany we walked the streets back and forth about 8 million more times, exploring the picturesque streets, and learning the dogs on the island are short and small and give no f$%s about tourists, or humans, in general.
I’ll Take One Of Those Potato Pastries
Before returning to the boat for the evening, we purchased pastries, three croissants and one what I thought was a potato bread pastry, Pomme…something... But really it was an apple turnover type of pastry. A subtle difference between pomme frites (Belgian style french fries) and pomme...meaning apple.
We finished our Terre de Haute day dining on the boat, for dinner we made sauteed chicken with frisee and a vinaigrette and fresh baguette, followed by two hours wasting away watching Black Panther.