Guadalope - April 2006

From Antigua we sailed to Guadaloupe. We felt that the French culture is still surprisingly strong there. We cleared customs in a small bay called Deshaies. The customs officer didn’t speak or understand a word of English, however, he kept a smile on his face, took the papers and stamped the passports.



In these French countries we have feasted on French pastries, baguettes, cheeses, pate and salami. Because the climate is getting more tropical, produce has been more plentiful and lovely. Communicating with the locals has, at times, been a challenge, but in general they try hard to help. Hence with one meal we ordered we really didn’t know what was going to arrive on our plate.
It was also Laurel’s birthday so she chose to spend it having a lazy day in the sun. Daryl nipped in to town first thing and came back with fresh croissants and a baguette. Ali made a surprise cake and presents – what more would a girl want??



Unfortunately we will also remember Deshaies for having the worst pina colada so far in the Caribbean, sampled at the Pino pino bar (we thought the name would have meant a guarantee of better).
We caught a local bus to Pointe A Pitre and had a great day. The spice markets were amazing. Spices were one of the most traded items in the Caribbean in the days of the tall ships. We were quite surprised at how well developed the city was (highways, electricity, apartment blocks, etc) compared with how simply the people live in the smaller towns.
Some of the locals said we should visit The Saints, a small group of islands in the south of Guadaloupe. So off we set arriving at a quaint little town, although quite touristy. There we hired a motor scooter to tour the island. Laurel needed a medal by the end of that day!! It was way out of her comfort zone. The roads were so o o… steep. Lovely views, when Laurel wasn’t too scared to look.



We are finding that a good way to get information about the local history and culture is to visit the odd museum or do the touristy thing and visit an old fort or two. We also now know not to believe everything you read in the 'lonely planet' book. It said that the road to the fort was suitable for any fitness level. You should have seen it. I think we would have had heart attacks, in that heat, before reaching the top!!!