The journey for this part of the trip started with me going to Ferry terminal in Dominica to get the ferry to Guadeloupe. As appose to the last ferry that I took this one was a lot more chaotic, and I was glad I got there early. There was already a huge line when I got to the terminal to check in and I found out that this was actually for the ferry going the other way to Martinique which was running late and that I was actually right near the front of the line for my ferry. Because the previous ferry was running late ours was also late to check in as they had to get the whole other boat through the terminal and loaded before they could let us in.
It was hot and people in both lines were getting very agitated and angry with each other. It also didn’t help that a lot of people were not following simple instructions. Again, I was very glad to be there early and get through before everyone behind really lost it. By the time we boarded the boat, which was completely full I was just happy to have a seat. Now it seems that no matter how far around the world I travel I always run into other Australians and was sat next to this girl who was very happy to have someone to speak English to (and I took this opportunity as I knew it was going to be the last English I really speak for a week).
After a long and bumpy boat ride (the seas were pretty rough this time as well), we made it into Point-a-Pitre nearly 2 hours later than expected. This also meant that I would no longer be able to collect the car I had booked and instead I just took a taxi to the Airbnb I had booked.
It was about the same time that I got a text message from the language school that the teacher for the next day was unwell and so instead of tarting on Monday I would be starting on Tuesday and I also at this time got the news that because I was the only one on my course for that week my course would only be 2 hours a day instead of the 5 that I was expecting. This made me a bit mad and I went back to check the contract I from the booking agent in Switzerland, and sure enough, it was there in the really small print. But that was enough small print for one day, time for bed and to look forward to the next day.
A new day and a new attitude. I was up early and wandered over to see if I could find where the language school was so I could get there easily the next day and see what was in my area. I wandered through the park opposite my accommodation, down to the beach and then after searching for the school I went to the local tourist info centre. Got some maps, some ideas of things to do and had them get me a taxi to take me to the airport to go and get my car.
After I got my car, I headed straight off to explore a bit as I now found myself with a down day. I went first over to the very easterly point on the island, the Pointe des Chateaux. There was a lighthouse up on the cliffs, some good waves to look at and I stopped here to have lunch as the little shack serving great local dishes. I had a plate of accras which are fried dough balls and a very tasty local dip for it.
After my meal I got back in the car and started heading up the east coast. I stopped at the Espace Wizosky, which is some ruins from a rather important merchant family from a long time ago. The info board was a bit defaced so I couldn’t read too much of it but there were some cool crabs running about. I then walked around the corner to the old battery that overlooks the entry to the port and river here. There was not much left to look at, but it was a good spot to sit in the sun a little.
Back in the car I headed north again in search of something I saw on the map. It was an old sugar mill that had a shrine in it. But it was as all closed when I got there and there was info board there to say anything about it. So, I quickly moved on and went down to a village called Petit-Canal. This village has a history of slaving and there was an old prison that is completely grown over that I quite enjoyed looking into and then I went over to the slaver’s steps and the road from the port that the slaves had to walk after arriving on the island. There was a memorial there and I walked out onto the dock to see the sun setting out on the ocean.
I drove back to my little beach house and had an early night ready for my French the next day.
This was the main reason for the whole trip, so I was up early and went to the school on time to get a good start. When I arrived, I had to fill in all the paperwork and documents and also got right to organising some extra lessons to make sure I still got my 5 hours a day in to make the trip worth while.
I won’t bore you any further with details about the French class but there was one other student at the school who was also from Switzerland and her and I would go out to explore a few other parts of the island in the coming days and I did my best in the class to get the most out of the tip. http://imlc.net/
The classes went from 8 – 1:30 each day so I had time to go and do stuff and on this second full day on the island after my class I took my car and although I didn’t go far, I still saw a few things. I had to go into the main town to get a charging cable for my watch (I had forgotten it and needed it charged so I could get through the rest of the week and also so I could later go for a run). Garmin is global and I found a shop online who confirmed over the phone (all in french ????) that they had one. I took the opportunity to look around a little in the town before I headed back.
On my way back I stopped at the Fort Fleur d'Épée. This is a really nicely maintained fort that overlooks the main bay. They were setting up for some cultural music expo, however, nothing was ready when I was there.
After looking around the fort I made my way down to the beach under the fort. It was a nice beach to sit at and read my book for a bit before I went to go and get an early dinner. I was too early for dinner, so I sat at the table and had a couple of rums while the sun when down. When dinner was served, it was a nice local meal of seafood, but I had gone to this particular restaurant because of the recommended octopus, which was no longer on the menu, I consoled myself with more rum. La Route du Rhum https://goo.gl/maps/9X659AJ3qJwQgPJfA
The next day on my way to the school I went into the same bakery I had been going to each morning since arriving and go myself a nice treat which normally was the only think I ate till about dinner time. School was more of the same and then in the afternoon the other student and I headed out together to the east part of Guadeloupe to go to Maison du Cacao http://www.maisonducacao.fr/ . We got there too late for the first session though and so had an hour till the next session.
There was a really nice little waterfall nearby (Acomat Falls) so we went over to that to have a look and as there was a plunge pool at the base of the falls we went for a swim. The water was refreshing (if not a little cold at first) and really clear. There were fish in the pool as well. The problem with the fish was that they were obviously really hungry because they kept coming up to me and eating the flaking skin off my back from my sunburn. This could have been therapeutic is some of the fish trying to eat me were not as big as my arm. Anyway, it was still nice to cool off in the waterfall and then we headed back to the Cocau museum.
They had plenty of Cacau trees there, good information about the whole process of tree to chocolate and really good presentation where they gave us a lot of information and plenty of tasters. I would recommend this place to people wanting to go. But it was all in French, which was good for me and my practicing.
After this we made out back to Le Gosier and as there was still a bit of sun we went down to the beach to grab a couple of rums.
The next morning, I got up nice and early and went for a run into town because I had read that there was a market that opened at 6am and so I headed into see it open and maybe buy some stuff and still get back in time to shower and get to my French classes. It was so hot on the run even though I was only just after 5am. I arrived at the market and it looked like I had actually been for a swim in my clothes. Also, I was disappointed to find that the market didn’t actually open until much later and I would have to head back before it opened. The run back was even harder as it was now warmer, and the sun was out in full force. Back to my accommodation for a shower and off to French.
After French I headed out with the other student again and this time we headed north to go up to a distillery and to visit some mangroves by the beach.
First stop was the distillery, I had previously been given some rum from this Distillery by some friends who we made in the Azores and I was looking forward to another distillery tour (https://rhum-damoiseau.com/) . It wasn’t so much a tour as an open distillery that you could walk around while it was working. It was quite interesting to see the open vats, some smelt a lot better than others, and there was enough information along the way. At the end, we went into the gift shop, I bought some rum and a couple of other gifts and then we sampled some of the different rums at the tasting bar.
Next, we headed over to the mangroves, but first we stopped at this little cemetery. I took a few photos and walked around here. It was interesting that the style was very different to the other islands I had been to and that they seemed to build whole buildings for people in the cemetery.
And finally, we made it to the mangroves. The sun was very hot at this point and the walk through the mangroves was not as interesting as I thought it would be. It was a little dry, but there were loads of different crabs running around that were quite cool and I even learned something from the other student. She explained why there is one yellow leaf on the trees. Apparently (I might just be gullible), the tree will store all the salt from the salty mangrove water in a single leaf, making it go yellow and then when that leaf drops off the tree selects another for the salt. So that was interesting.
On our walk back along the path I spied a little hermit crab scurrying along the trail and so we picked it up and got a few little photos of it before we went down to the beach to cool off for a bit. The ocean was very clear and a pleasant temperature to relax in for a while.
After this, we went our separate ways in our cars and headed down to Sainte-Anne where there was suppose to be a night market and I was going to grab some dinner and an ice-cream there. Well, I got there and there was nothing. So Back to Le Gossier where I grabbed some dinner at a local food truck.
Inspired by my run the day before I headed out on an ambition run the next morning as well, it should have taken me along some cliff parks and by some beaches, however, I could not find the path, it seems that someone has built a house and put a fence where the path use to be and I could not find another way in. So, I made it a much shorter run than intended.
We are now at Friday and it was the final day of my course. After I finished for the day, I went with the teacher for a walking tour around the city and to take some photos, as it turned out we were both keen photographers with almost the same camera (we take very different photos though, as he mostly takes portraits). It was a nice walking tour seeing different parts of the city, all the graffiti and the dilapidated buildings and a spice market where I grabbed a few items for vanessa. At the end of the tour we sat and again I had a few rums (I am liking that habit).
That evening there was a night market in the park opposite where I was staying. So, I went over to the market. There was live music, loads of local food and some merchandise. I bought a few gifts and had some good local food.
On the Saturday Vanessa had booked for me to diving. It was a long drive so I got up early and headed over to far west coast to go diving. I got there early and so I was sitting on the beach reading my book and someone came up and started chatting with me. He made it sounds like there was something nearby that I really needed to see. I thought this was like a waterfall or something that only the locals knew about, but actually, when we got to a more secluded place, he told me he could do anything I wanted and that he gives a great blowjob. I was shocked and not at all interested so I quickly headed back to the beach where there were plenty of eyes to make sure nothing happened to me.
Once it was time to go diving I got all my stuff and met all the other people from the dive shop (http://www.tropicalsubdiving.com/) . There were a bunch of people here who were training for their divemaster certificates so I was paired up with one of them, they gave me a quick refresher of the important information for diving and then we headed out to dive. It was very laid back and I really enjoyed it. The first dive I was down for just under 1 hour and saw plenty of turtles, lobster, a couple of seahorses and a large eel. I also took my gopro down to get some video, however, it got a crack in it at my adventure race the week before and it so happened that this crack made the whole screen shatter when I got to about 7m on my dive. Camera dead I just had to enjoy it and remember as much as I could.
The second dive was kind of the same, this time I was down for just over 1 hour and saw a huge barracuda. It must have been about as big as me and he had a very evil look on his face. We went very wide of him and he watched us the whole time. I really enjoyed the dive and the atmosphere with this dive centre. If you get the chance, you should go. There was also a family with a young kid diving and a younger kid that was just snorkelling.
After the diving I headed a little south to go to the volcano and try and climb it. I got there fairly late in the day and made my way up in what started as heat, but as I got closer to the top of the volcano tuned into drizzle with wind and a lot of fog. I was not able to see much from up there and took a few photos and logged it with my watch.
That evening when I got back, I was knackered, but I could not sleep as there was a huge fireworks display that night and it was close by. I made the most of this and enjoyed the display before finally getting to sleep.
The next day was my final day on the island, I was flying out that evening. I headed back to Sainte Anne to the weekend market. Unlike the night market, this one was working and was had a lot of local products. While I was there, I had some very good local coconut sorbet they the other student had recommended, and I was not disappointed. It was while I was eating my sorbet, that I checked my phone and saw an email form the airline saying that they had accepted my bit for an upgrade to business class for that flight this evening. This was good news as it meant I also got an extra 15kg of luggage allowance. So, being at the market, I went back in and bought some more things for the family and more rum for me. Oh, and some sauces and food products as well. It was a nice market, I ate there too and then I went back to relax a little at my accommodation before checking out, returning the car and heading to the airport.
It was at the airport before I checked my bag in that I found the one item I was most excited to bring home. It was a 2 litre goon bag of rum (if you know you know). Into the bag and then checked in. I went to the lounge where there was a good selection of local snacks and rums that I made the most of before I left the island. The flight was delayed so I enjoyed a few of these rums.
The overnight flight was comfortable, and I enjoyed my first experience in business, landing in Paris mid morning. I then took a very nice taxi (more like an executive car) across town to the train station where I would be getting the train later that day back to Geneva. And in the afternoon, I boarded my high speed train in first class and had a very comfortable journey back home where Vanessa and the kids were waiting for me at the station.
It was at this point that I walked through customs where they were selecting people around me to open their bags, but I walked through with my 7ltre of rum and the other goodies I bought.
It was a great trip in all and I would gladly recommend the language school as well a all the islands I went to.