Offline for a Few Weeks... Désolé

Sorry for the not posting in the last few weeks; we have had less than ideal Internet access for quite some time.  When we rented our Guadeloupe house in September, there was one caveat: the house had already been rented for the Christmas holidays.  We took advantage of our homelessness and took a boat down to Saint Lucia (three islands south of Guadeloupe).  We also spent a week on the western side of Guadeloupe - about a 90 minute drive from our home base near the easternmost point.

We're now back at our usual house and you can expect more regular updates :-) 

PS: I fixed some of the videos and added some photos to the last few blog posts.

Busy in Basse Terre

School's out for the week so we loaded up the six seater Fiat. I've never seen this type of vehicle before, with six full size bucket seats - Peter suggested that Homer Simpson designed it.

Our daily excursions took us exploring in Basse Terre.  The Botanical Garden is located just outside Deshaies in the northern tip of the island.  The gardens were suggested to us by our first landlady Francine, and they were as delightful as she described.  A winding path took us through a goldfish pond, fountains, and beautiful landscapes. Each of the trees and plants were identified by species and country of origin. The kids loved reading the country names. This place is specifically designed for kids with a playground featuring swinging vines and climbing equipment plus a petting zoo. I was a little unnerved by the free range chickens wandering around the picnic area - I have a thing about birds.

Mammelles Parc - Zoo is a jewel of a find carved into the side of the mountain. Small in scope but well designed and thoroughly enjoyable. Best of all were the rope bridges winding through the tree canopy overlooking zoo exhibits. This was a little slippery as it was raining when we were trekking through the zoo, but so exciting wandering through the leafy green trees.

The Cascade aux Ecrevisses hike was not a challenging walk, but the dip in the clear fresh waterfall was so worth the stop. We do look forward to more hikes throughout the National Park however, I think we may wait until after the rainy season.

The Glass Bottom boat in the Jacques Cousteau Water Reserve was located at the Maldure beach, which is a dark sand beach and very touristy.  Second only to St. Anne in regards to buildings, and tourist shops and services. The boat was super and all the kids loved being down below watching the fish swim around us. At Pigeon island we stopped for a snorkel and swim.  Xavier went with Peter to snorkel around the rocks. Odin couldn't wait to jump off the boat and swim around.  He even went off the slide at the back of the boat - no lifejacket or adult needed - an adventurous 3 year old indeed.

Into The Woods We Go

 Guadeloupe is home to an expansive protected parkland on Basse Terre. This National Park of Guadeloupe is a rich rainforest with volcanic mountains, waterfalls and excellent hiking trails throughout. We read through the guidebooks looking for an appropriate path for our family to take - 2 adults, one carrying infant in Baby Bjorn, 3 boys aged 9, 5, 3, and our dog Stanley.  We chose one labeled Easy that begins at the base of the volcanic mountain La Soufrier.
We headed through the town of St Claude and followed the steep road up to the starting point. There did not seem to be any signs, however, we were able to follow a clear cobblestone road.  Four barking dogs came out to welcome us as we passed a farm house. The rooster and chickens ran around us as we continued along the path.  It took us past fields and up and up until the path seemed to disappear.  We stopped at the top of the hill for a drink break and a snack and took pictures of the stunning view. We were all pretty excited by our successful first hike and headed back to the car.
On the windy drive back down the mountain we noticed a curious sign directing us down another road. It seemed to be indicating an official hike. This entry point had a map and a sign. This was indeed the trail we had been originally looking for.  We felt a little sheepish as we realized we had just spent an hour hiking and picnicking in some farmer's field.

Anyway, this hike was delightful. We followed a clear pathway through the leafy green forest until we arrived at the riverside. We continued along the rocks to the lovely Matouba waterfall. Water spurts out of the gully and spills into a deep basin. I stayed on the lower rocks at the river's edge with baby Milo, Odin and our dog Stanley as Peter took the older boys up and over the cliff. They loved climbing the rope ladder to the next level.
After a successful day traipsing through the woods we headed to the beach for a quick cool down before dark.  We are looking forward to going on more hikes together, however, this time I think we will remember to bring the map!

Home for now

We are living in a two bedroom apartment in a villa in the town of Gosier, just outside of Pointe-a-Pitre. This is located at a dead-end street (good for ball playing) on top of the cliffs of Gosier with an epic view overlooking the ocean, the seaside communities across the bay and the mountains of Basse-Terre. On a clear day (which is almost every day) our vista includes the outer islands of Les Saintes and even Dominica in the background. Every morning as we dig into our cereal and fresh mangoes on the outside terrace we can watch the colourful sailboats bobbing in the water, and hear the waves crashing into the rocks. I look forward to drinking my coffee out here as I guide the kids through their morning school work.

Apartment living comes with it's expected challenges; walking our dog Stanley for washroom breaks instead of the in/out privileges he is accustomed to at our home, being vigilant with the kids behaviour and treatment of property (ie no scooters indoors and please stop yelling) and living on top of each other in a small space. The most onerous of all has to be washing the baby. No bathtub here, so I'm standing naked in the shower stall, holding a 25 lb slippery, wet Milo under the water spout with one hand, and using the other hand to stretch out his rolls to clear all of his nooks and crannies of accumulated salt, sand, dirt and dog hair. Did I mention we are usually joined by Odin - the very persistent 3 year old, demanding his turn under the water? Needless to say, I am hoping our next home has a bathtub.

We take daily excursions in our 9 seater Scudo around the islands of Basse-Terre and Grande-Terre. The purpose is to explore the seaside communities as we continue our househunting, however, the highlight of each trip is always the beach - long stretches of unspoiled landscape with the promise of a refreshing dip in the sea. We've been swimming at over ten different locations already, each a unique combination of sand, water, and idyllic nature.

My first comment on our Guadeloupe experience would not be complete without a mention of the most challenging aspect of all, and that is the heat. Intellectually I knew to expect hot, and people warned me of the sun's unrelenting shine, however I really did not understand how uncomfortable it is to feel that hot, wet, and sticky day in and day out. Even as I sit at the computer now rivulets of sweat are running down my back, and my eyebrows cannot keep the perspiration from dripping off my nose onto the keyboard. We were so relieved to experience overcast skies and even some rain with the threat of Tropical Storm Maria. Storms and sunshine aside, I'm going to continue sitting here on the terrace, with fresh passion fruit, bananas and limes within arms reach, and finish my rich coffee sweetened with some island sugar cane. Let the dog bark and the kids bicker, I'm going to savour this moment at our home for now, with a view!