Pointe A Pitre is a some what gritty, industrial town and the capitol of Guadeloupe. There are chandleries and a huge market but the town, on the whole, just lacks charm. A North/South transit of the waist of the "butterfly" that is Guadeloupe is effected through Pointe a Pitre and there are mooring balls on each side of the Riviere Salee at which you can await the (very) early bridge opening. You normally cross under the two bridges and get to mooring balls on the other side and wait for the sun to come up there. There are lights to show the one way traffic pattern between the two bridges and it is really fun gliding through the mangrove swamp in the dark. The north side has some nice anchorages and snorkeling for when the sun comes up, the south side is in Pointe a Pitre and somewhat industrial. Our favorite place there is across the bay behind the reef which marks the entrance to the bay called Ilet de Cochon . There is a marina here which we have med moored in once. The experience was so traumatic for us, we have since only dinghied in for water or fuel. We rented a car near the marina in Pointe a Pitre and had a fabulous time driving across Bas Terre through the national park, hiking up to see the volcano and the rainforest. We then made a loop around the southern tip of Basse Terre to visit the waterfalls and stopped for a fabulous lunch at

Market Pointe a Pitre

Ruins on the shore at Pointe a Pitre

Bridge over the Riviere Salee, Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe

Old navigation buoys, Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe

Building in Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe

Hiking to the volcano Soufriere in Guadeloupe

Approach to the Riviere Salee in Grande Cul-de-Sac Marin in Guadeloupe