Along with Daniel and Carole (sv Folligou), we dinghied over to the PAYS dock and walked over to the Cabrits National Park. If no cruise ship is in, you can use their dinghy dock by the fort, but if there is a cruise ship at the terminal, the nearest dock is at PAYS. We paid our $5 USD Park entry fee, got a map, and started off. Unfortunately, the map was far from accurate, but it’s hard to get lost on a small hill of land. We walked up and down old river beds, finding the ruins of the old battery, officers’ quarters, troop barracks, guard house, Commandant’s quarters, powder magazine, and parade grounds. Some of the restoration of Fort Shirley has been completed, other areas are as they were back in the 18th century. There are lots of old cannons lying around (literally), and a small museum on the park grounds. There is an east and west Cabrits, and this is where the English looked over towards Guadeloupe where a famous naval battle took place. The wind was against the English ships in Portsmouth joining their fleet just a few miles away, so all they could do was watch from their fort and hope for victory (indeed, they won that battle and the French conceded). It was a lovely walk, not too strenuous, and we spotted the Antillian crested hummingbird, lots of bananaquits, several snakes, and your usual assortment of chameleons. Many of the trees have labels, making identification easy. At happy hour, we had David and Chiz (sv Platina), as well as Daniel and Carole to Infini, and we all enjoyed swapping stories and meeting up once again.
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