The primary industry on the Island today is tourism. Although their is a small airport the short runway will only accommodate small propellor planes. Most tourist arrive by passenger ferry, mostly from Guadeloupe. Others visit the Island from cruise ships. Appropriately the town "square" is an extension of the ferry dock. The town square runs into a street with restaurants and boutiques in one direction, and on an incline, shops and boutiques in the other. As the streets in Le Bourg are narrow and it's the entrance to the Town for tourist, this street is for pedestrians only, and is closed to other traffic.
At the top of the incline moving away from the square is a stone church sitting on the high side of the street built into the hill with steps rising from the street to door to the Nave. The Church sits at the highest elevation in commercial part of town. There are few cars on the Island. As Church sits across from the entrance to the pedestrian only street, the opposite side of the street was filled with parked scooters, the primary means of transportation on Terre de Haut.
Unlike many of the boutiques we had visited on other islands these did not have the customary hats and t-shirts. Even though Le Bourg was town of modest means the clothing in these boutiques was high fashion and eloquent. Even the few t-shirts I did find had hand painted or artistic silk screen abstract scenes on them.
As we reached the top of the hill behind the town we could look out over the red roofed town to the bay with moored boats beyond. As we descended the hill on the Atlantic side of the Island we were in a rural country side, clearly the source of most of the items on the menu the night before. Chickens were wandering everywhere as they had been on other Caribbean islands. Billy goats were almost as prevalent. Cows, lambs and ducks were grazing on the small hillside ranches as we walked down the road to the Island's main beach on the Atlantic side.
Pointpierre is a beautiful almost enclosed cove with a large beach shaded by palm trees and large trimmed mangroves. No anchoring is allowed or moorings provided to protect the coral for snorkeling. By this time Jackie had given up trying to chase chickens and billy goats, who were also on the beach and mostly stood their ground. As we walked Jackie meet a friendly French dog her size who walked with us.
On the way back to the dingy dock we saw children reading and playing in the Town's library.
As we were eating dinner on our aft deck that evening, while watching the sun set, the sailing cruise ship, Star Clipper sailed past. With the still night we heard romantic music playing aboard as the ship sailed into the sunset.
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