After an overnight sail we arrived in Saint Francois. It was very tight getting in, with boats everywhere and very shallow conditions. We picked this anchorage to top off on fresh provisions. It was not my favorite anchorage, as there is sargassum seaweed everywhere. They are collecting it on the beach, and it clogs the marina. It smells pretty bad, so after just a day we left for Marie Galante.

Marie Galante is small island and was perfect for a week. The anchorage at Marie Galante is so clear I could see a conch on the sea floor right from the boat.

We decided to stay here for a few days before heading to Isle de la Petite Terre. I  had heard about this marine reserve., and been looking forward to this place for a few months. You have to make reservations and the soonest I could get reservations for a buoy was on Sunday. 

We had a few days to explore MG. We rented a car and toured around the entire island in about 3 hours. We took a couple of short walks, to see the dramatic cliffs. 

It's a beautiful island, and I really liked the slow pace. It was great to see the creativity of Islanders. I saw this wonderful solution to the need for racks on a truck. Apparently he used an old metal bed for the racks for his truck.

Since we had the car for 24 hours, the next day I decided to go on a hike. Back in my youth I was a back country ranger at Haleakala National Park, so I'm used to hiking solo. It was great to just have some alone time while in nature. 

On Sunday we left for Petite Terre. I was happy to finally be on my way to this Marine Reserve that I've thought about for so long. However cruising is not always about sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes it's about making the right decisions. As we left the protection of the island, the seas started getting pretty big and the winds were up. After about 2 hours of sailing, I told Blair that even though I really wanted to go, we should turn back.  The islands are very small, so the anchorage was going to be miserable and choppy, plus it was overcast, so the I wouldn't be able to see much snorkling because of the cloud cover. 

This was another lesson learned. As much as you want to go to a place, you need to know when to make the right call, and bail on the decision to move on to plan B or C or....

Why make ourselves miserable forcing a trip that just isn't panning out? I'm OK with a change of plans.There will be many more wonderful places to see.

ON to our next adventure!