Wednesday 24th March (Lini’s Journal)
Brindabella's Web Diary
Simon Williams
Mon 29 Mar 2010 17:24
into a very French Peugeot and set off to explore Guadeloupe. The
country is divided into two, shaped rather like a squiffy butterfly
and in its centre has a short stretch of river that cuts along its
‘body’. Just to confuse an already dizzy girl, the smaller half is
called Grande Terre and the larger Basse Terre. We crossed over from
Pointe- à- Pitre and were soon on the scenic route through firstly
countryside which if maize was swapped for the sugar cane resembled
many a French scene nearer to home. It appeared one could tether one’s
cow just about anywhere and many could be seen ‘pegged out’ alongside
the roads and on scraps of land. Between crops animals grazed
everywhere. We stopped at the Cascade au Ecrevisses for the obligatory
‘photo on a rock before the waterfall’ then drove on a short distance
to Maison de le Forêt where we took a quick hike through wonderful
rainforest with sounds you wished you could bottle: Trickling water,
tree frogs and the song of a thousand birds. It felt strange to be
trekking through wet ground. Back in the Peugeot the road climbed high
into the lush green hills rising over 700metres. Our imminent arrival
at the west coast was obvious due to roadside board after board
advertising gites, bars, restaurants and dive centres: The area where
we met the coast and around Pigeon Island is all part of the Cousteau
Underwater National Park and obviously very popular. We took one look
at the touristy souvenir stalls and bars and decided on a coffee stop
elsewhere.
Driving northwards up the west coast, beautiful beaches lined the
coast but before a dip we stopped at Deshaies to see the botanical
gardens. At €14.50 each we are glad to report it lived up to its
reputation, so much so that Si was so absorbed in the profusion of
colour and wonders of nature that surrounded us, he forgot about his
coffee break. We didn’t know where to click our cameras first with
vibrant exotic flowers in all directions, delicate orchids peeping out
from branches and amazing geometric shapes formed by overlapping fans
of palm leaves on some never seen before varieties. The heady scent of
a million blooms perfumed the air and attracted hummingbirds, while
the dark native woodpecker tapped away above and brightly coloured
macaws and rainbow lorikeets posed on posts :What a delight! The aroma
changed from scented flowers to spicy food and we followed our noses
to the restaurant for lunch.
High in the trees we sat around yellow, orange and red checked
tablecloths as I thumbed my French dictionary to translate unknown
words in the menu. Few of my searches were successful and adventurous
as ever Si ordered something of cod to start with a fricassee of
something for a main course. The stones and I started with a something
of skate followed by a something of chicken. I prayed the unknown
words didn’t translate as ‘doused with fat’! My intentions of an
alcohol free day vanished rapidly when Si suggested a Mojito while we
waited: How could I refuse the chef’s speciality cocktail?! I am
pleased to say that lunch was delicious and a perfect choice
(obviously luck rather than judgement) as mine was also either low fat
or easily avoided fat. Great! Si was happy too as his main course was
octopus which he hadn’t had since that memorable lunch on the island
off Spain!
Well fed and watered we hit the Anse de la Perle to recover and
sprawled under a shady tree watching more blue waves rolling onto
golden sand until lunch was digested enough to swim. The thick
intermittent cloud which has continued since our arrival now became
more threatening and lowered into a black blanket, The light rain
wasn’t quite heavy enough however to rinse the salt from refreshed
bodies before we dressed in the car to continue our tour.
As the road left the northern coast the scenery changed from
beautiful beaches to rolling countryside, then, as we approached the
‘butterfly’s body’ of the island the views turned to a sight you see
in towns and countries around the world: The out of town industrial
and shopping units complete with MacDonalds and Esso garage, the
shopping malls and family friendly restaurants. All of sudden
Guadeloupe had lost its identity. Pointe- à- Pitre was a very grown up
city with high rise buildings, a university and dual carriageway
taking us round the outskirts then diminishing into the standard coast
road of Grande Terre. The drive to Sainte Anne at rush hour was pretty
uninspiring as was the town and beach itself which was totally geared
up for tourists. We didn’t stop long before poodling back to the
marina and contemplating our lovely day with a G&T on Brindabella.