From Dominica, we returned to Guadeloupe. During our last, short stay there upon arrival, we managed to drive around the two parts of the island. It almost looks like a butterfly. The main island consists of two parts; Basse-Terre and Grande-Terre. The territory also hosts three islands; Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the Îles des Saintes. This time we checked in to a French tourist hotel. We had a small flat with an outside kitchen and a terrace, a beautiful tropical garden, and access to two pools and two beaches.
During our first stay, we drove around the most beautiful area of the island, the Basse-Terre. Tropical forests, magical beaches, and the blue sea.
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| West Coast of Basse-Terre |
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| The first beach we visited |
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| And the first swim! |
We just visited part of Grande-Terre, since we intended to come back and stay here. After all the traveling around, we enjoyed days in the hotel, going for walks, swimming, reading and relaxing. However, we made a couple of nice excursions. We continued our drive around Grande-Terre with its windy coast and high cliffs. Quite amazing being so close to nature and its elements.
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| Grande-Terre |
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| Grande-Terre |
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| Beautiful beaches here as well |
Basse-Terre was far too beautiful not to visit again. We drove straight through the peninsula to the most fantastic botanical garden and zoo. All integrated into nature, it is a magical spot. You walk along wooden tracks and see the animals in their natural habitat. Lots of tropical plants so it was amazing to walk through. Many of the plants here, we have as domestic plants in Europe. However, they never become this big. There was also a track of hanging bridges, taking you up almost to the top of the palm trees. Quite an adventure.
After this rather warm exercise, we continued down to a special beach for a swim. Running into the sea is a sulfur river with very hot water. Mixing with the seawater it becomes a nice warm spa. Very relaxing.
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| A panther among the greens |
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| Hanging bridges |
One day we took a boat to visit Îles des Saintes. A beautiful island, with old houses and a totally different atmosphere than the main island. It is rather small so we walked around. Starting at the Fort Napoléon, with a rather steep walk up the hill. It is a magnificent fort, now hosting an interesting museum. Beautiful views over the sea and the surrounding islands. Going down we walked over to the other side of the island having lunch at a small beach. The small hamlet, where the boats arrive, is of a colonial style, with colourful houses. The only obstacle to this trip was the boat ride. It was a very windy day, waves were high and the boat seemed very small. I had to sit at the back, looking out over the horizon, and not move. Especially, on the way back, people were vomiting, being wet by the waves, trying to move when the boat was going up and down. It was terrible, and I honestly thought that my last day had come. Martin was quite relaxed about it, as was the crew. I took a little bit of comfort in that, but not too much.
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| View from Fort Napoléon |
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| View from Fort Napoléon |
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| A wall at the Fort Napoléon |
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| Iles des Saintes |
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| Iles des Saintes village view |
The rest of the stay was relaxing, hanging around in the hotel and the beaches. It was a nice ending to this fantastic trip. We saw four islands, and they all had their own features, making each island exciting.
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| Our hotel |
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| Our beach |
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| Our pool |
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