Guadeloupe tour- main island Bouillante 5/5

 


This is our last stop in this tour, and the only place where we will be able to swim with turtles, at Plage Malendure. We booked a house up on the hill near the beach so that we can walk down to the beach, a smart move as this is a popular place with lots of cars parked along the road.

And yes, the beach is calm, in no time we are snorkeling with turtles. I like very much the feeling of swimming along them, they move gracefully and never in a hurry, make you feel peaceful.

The other famous tourist site is Pigeon islands where the water is the clearest in all of Guadeloupe and with coral near the rocky shores. One way to get there is by kayak, 15 minutes with the wind.

There are 3 areas to snorkel, with a lot of coral fish and very calm water. My favourite spot is near the edge of the small island where there is a sheer drop deep down to white sandy base . So many big and small fishes swimming around calmly, equally spaced out, feel like in an aquarium.

The return kayak trip is hard, against the strong wind with waves splashing us all the time, one visit is enough!

Driving north to see the area and to find beaches suitable for snorkeling. The north side is drier and the trees looks different than the rich greens in the south.

Very strong wind and no chance of renting a paddle boat to see the mangrove area. At the end, settle on a pebble beach, Anse Caraibes, very calm and next to rocky cliff.

Indeed a great choice, snorkeling along the rocky area at the right side of the beach, we saw millions of small fish, huge shoals, no end in sight. The scene is so beautiful with millions silvery fish  swimming around,  I seem to be among them, but they are like floating past in a different dimension, a mesmerising and unforgettable experience!

 

Guadeloupe tour- main island Vieux Fort area 4/5

Catch a fast ferry back to the left side of the main island, staying at the south tip near Vieux Fort. The Airbnb is up a very steep path, quite common in this area, to an open plan house with huge terrace, and fabulous seaview.

This is mainly a hiking area, having a few high mountains in the middle of the island.

We tried a few trails, all in the rain forest, thick with trees around and no gaps at all sides and even can’t see the sky. It is cool for hiking but the paths are natural, lots of boulders and crisscrossing tree roots, making it hard to walk along, and with the regular downpours mean there are puddles of mud.

 

In one of the path, we were so fed up with walk in muddy patches and give up after before finishing the trail.
-Sentier de basin Bleu
Sentier Maison de foret
Sentier Huelmont

For a change from hiking drove north east to Gardens Valombreuse, one of the best place to see local and foreign flowers and trees. All started by a lady 30 years ago, finding that there is not much for tourists to do other than hiking and swimming. It is nice to see a variety of beautiful plants in a well organised area.

There is not much promotion for Fort Delgres at the south coast of Vieux Fort. It turned out to be a big fortification started in 17C and remodeled and enlarged twice in later years. The design, stone work and building style is typical french, unlike the rest of Guadeloupe.

The original aim was to protect from English invasion, and in later years also see fierce fighting between French army and locals who wanted independence.

Guadeloupe tour- Les Saintes, Terre de Haute area 3/5

We notice that Guadeloupe is windy, very pleasant as you stay dry under the hot sun. Until the ferry that brought us back to the mainland (then another ferry to the next island Les Saintes) is cancelled because of being too windy.

We were told by Airbnb owner that it has been exceptionally windy this winter, not just Guadeloupe, but the whole Caribbean region. The suggestion is to get a short flight over directly to the island where we are going next, more expensive, but much faster and the view will be great.

The pilot is their friend and flying is his hobby, we are charged only for petrol. It was indeed a worthwhile experience, Les Saintes is a group of a few small lumpy islands, the aerial view of the landscape and water colours are memorable.

We stayed in Terre de Haute area, it is a small island with few flat land and some steep rounded hills. Our Airbnb is within walking distance to the best snorkelling beach Pain de Sucre.

Our routine here is hike in the morning and snorkelling in the afternoon.

The most famous hike is to Fort Napoleon, a 18C well built fort with commanding views, with a very enthusiastic guide who explains history of the fort and the town.

We also hiked to Mare Morel and La Batterie, to enjoy the views of the island from different locations.

We have also visited all the beaches, some are wide like Plage Pompiere, some are narrow and very isolated like Plage Rodriquez, both fine but a bit wavy for me.

We snorkelled in Plage Crawen but unfortunately failed to see turtles. So at the end, we just go to our nearest and most calm beach, Plage Pain de Sucre, also with the best underwater scenery, corals, big fish like Permit and Blue travali, colourful fish, cuttlefish etc.

The beach has just a narrow stretch of sand and can be crowded, the path down is rocky and muddy. Eventually we found that if we walk to the beach of nearby hotel Bois Joli, we can snorkel from the right hand side of the beach, along the cliff edge all the way to Pain the Sucre beach. This coast has the clearest and calmest water with lots to see underwater.

It is not comparable to the quality at places like Maldives, but being so easy to get to, so close to the shore, and with hiking possibility and a lively small town atmosphere, it is pretty good.

Guadeloupe tour- Marie Galante 2/5

An hour’s ferry on quite rough sea brought us to Marie Galante, an island shaped like a pancake. Famous for being windy and once having 78 windmills.

We stayed in a very well designed small house, with a lovely deep pool and an outdoor kitchen, among flowers and fruit trees.

East coast is where the calm white sandy beaches are, the most beautiful and unfortunately most popular bay is Anse Canot. We prefer a bit less crowded and stayed at the beaches near St Louis, also less windy and better clarity.

We walked a few hiking trails on the Wild West coast, with rugged terrain and cliffs. I like very much the strong mix of colours, deep blue sky and sea, rich green vegetation, vibrant pale blue agitated waves splashing on to dark brown rocks.
Sentier aux galleries
Sentier a Pointe Plate
Care au coq

Being so famous for windmills, and we can see a lot of ruins around, finally managed to find the only renovated one, Moulin de Bezard, to visit.
Normally windmills were built to grind grains, this is the first time I see windmills installed with metal drums to press sugar cane, to get the juice to make sugar and rum.

Built in the height of cane sugar and rum era in the early 19C, and lasted just 50+ years as the production of sugar from sugar beet is cheaper and easier. Now, there is one sugar factory and three brands of rum left in the island.

 

We went to rum tasting at the factories, it is also the first time I tasted rum neat. Normally it is used in cocktails or I used it to macerate fruit and spices as rum is one of the cheapest alcohol to buy. I am pleasantly surprised to find nice flavour in straightforward white rum, it is possible to sip and enjoy it as such.