Guadeloupe Travel Blog

I find myself lost on a dark mountain road; on the night of the day I arrive in Guadeloupe.

Where am I ?  An adventure begins.

Another French West Indies island – Guadeloupe.  Department 971.

A strange geological shape for an island.. It’s really two islands.. connected by an isthmus… looking like a Butterfly on a map.   The geology of the two couldn’t be more different!!  The West island, is mountainous with volcanos, Lush rainforests, and a small population..  The Eastern island is rolling low hills, packed with a cityscape, and farms and hotels and people.

I start in the West. 

This section of Guadelupe is dominated by La Grande Soufriere.  A huge volcano, with a long history of eruptions.. 8 since 1660 … and counting.  The last in 1977.  The 1843 eruption killing 5000,, the 1977 one causing mass evacuations.  This volcano is always shrouded in clouds for my visit.. at 5000ft.. it’s a giant on a small island!!

Arriving from Martinique on a 50 minute flight ,,, I’m greeted with easy immigration, a nice airport…  I find my rental car shuttle,  sign the papers,, and head out..  This is just like Martinique..  only a bigger copy.

I’m immediately confronted with expressways and traffic.. Intense.. Fortunately - Amazing high quality roads and expressways,, again like Martinique ...  Wow,, the French road engineers are excellent !!  Bravo.

N1 to N2 to D23.. I might be in Europe ??  Not surprisingly, I miss an exit .. get turned around,, and end up back at the airport in bumper to bumper rush hour traffic .. Ugg..  Off to a challenging start ☹

Somehow I escape the city.. Pointe-a-Pitre.  Now - I’m lost on this dark country road .. well,  at least I’m out of the traffic.  But I’m stressed about getting to my hotel late ... so focus Bruce … get back on track,, head straight to Bouillante – a small village on the West coast.

... phewww..  Finally I find my home for the next week,,, take a deep breathe Bruce.. you’re here.   A beat-up bungalow on the side of mountain.  It’s Rough.  A room with a bed and a wet shower/bathroom, and an outdoor patio kitchenette.  But the morning view is glorious.

Le Nida Tropical.  This part of Guadeloupe reminds me of Martinique.  Remote, with a few villages hugging the coast..  tucked in against huge volcanic mountains, with very few proper hotels or restaurants..  When booking a room here, I target the Jacques Cousteau Reserve..  dive plans always come first!! 

And wow !! ,, making this plan is a challenge..  Everything is rough in Guadeloupe for non-French .. No choice.  Your here now. Dig in.  Man-up Bruce.. you can handle it..

..in case you didn’t notice.. I’ve been talking to myself a lot  ☹  Yes, it’s a little worrisome !!

The best thing about my bungalow  .. is a beautiful view of the Pigeon islands.. the center piece of the Cousteau Reserve.. I’m hopeful of tomorrow.

No food that first night ☹  But the next morning,  I find a Carrefour express.. stock up on breakfast food and water.. Same plan as Martinique..

Lucky me ... I also find a bakery with expresso and croissants.. ahh.. the best thing the French do..pastry.   I end up at this bakery several times during my visit to Bouillante.. For expresso, quiche,,, and take away Pollet (for a few dinners).

Next.. I track down my intended dive shop – Bleu Passion.. I see divers.. a good sign…   It’s Friday.. and the Plongee Shop explains (in French),  they are fully booked today and are closed Sat/Sun.. but will have dives Monday..  the only day they are open next week..  Ahh. Not cool.  But what can I do - I pre-pay for Monday diving ,, in cash.. I’m on the books.

I’ve been in contact with this dive shop for a week ... Me in English, them in French.. unfortunately with poor communications.. I arrive with no booking, fingers crossed.. but it’s not going well ☹

With a weekend to kill before diving.. I decide to drive and explore West Guadeloupe.  First driving south along the coast, to Fort Delgres..  Named after an amazing hero.. that fought the Napoleonic French for freedom from slavery.. but lost..  The history of this fort.. changing hands from French to British 3-4-5 times,, and the heroic fight of Delgres .. is an epic history lesson!!  Read up on it sometime.  It’s an inspiration and a tragedy. 

I circumnavigate the West ‘island’ .. a long day drive .. Stopping to enjoy a boardwalk to a beautiful Waterfall..  thru a lush rainforest … Cascade aux Ecrevisses..  a gorgeous as it sounds.

Another day,, I drive north and discover Deshaies,, and learn of Ernest Hemmingway’s history here. Deshaies, a beach town,, is also the backdrop of a current BBC hit TV show;  called ‘Death in Paradise’ .. being filmed as I visit … kinda cool.  I need to look that up and watch it one day.

Still exploring - I add a visit to the Guadeloupe Zoo..  Set in a Rainforest,, built into a steep mountainside,,, among soring trees and a dense jungle .. it’s more like a Garden Jungle Zoo... with a boardwalk and stairs and suspension canopy walkways..   the French do a good job on their zoo’s .. It’s worthy of a visit.

OK.. its Monday – finally time to dive Jacques Cousteau’s Reserve.  The Legend himself made a documentary about this location.. Cousteau is a hero of mine.. and helped inspire me to become an avid scuba diver.. I grew up watching his adventures.. dreaming they would one day become my adventures.  In a fashion..  that has come true.

But NO !!!  Bad news.

I get a long WhatsApp message, in French, from Blu Passion.. After a difficult translation.. I determine - The dive is canceled.  Not cool..  bogus!!  Just when the weather is turning good. .. It’s been raining every day..  Apparently this is the end of their tourism season,  and they are closing up shop this week!!  Now,, I must chase a refund of my pre-paid dives.

Uggg. A hassle.

OK regroup Bruce..  Adventures don’t always go off like clockwork..  I track down another dive shop.. Les Heures Saines .. This one looks 100x more professional.. I’m booked in for the following day .… Try again 😊

Like Martinique,  food is a battle every day.  Language is a battle, road signs..  Everyone is polite.. No bad vibes.. But I feel out of place.  In some ways - it’s easier to explore SEA,, or Africa…  Only French,, and a few Germans are here.  No American or English to be found.

My persistence finally pays off.  Les Heures Saines comes thru.  I get in two excellent days of diving with them..  With some outstanding photos,  and a great experience diving the Cousteau Reserve,, up close to the Pigeon islands!! Good stuff I’ll remember.

To my surprise,  the viz was perfect on the dives.  30m easy!!  I would have never guessed with all the rain.  I got lucky maybe ?  

Sadly,  the reef is badly badly damaged by Stony Coral disease.  Maybe as bad as I’ve seen anywhere in the Caribbean.  Not inspiring,, I know.  But in spite of the hard coral loss.. the diving here is still extremely good..  I come away with dozens of high-quality photos of the fish and marine life. 

The sponges dominate the color,, strangely .. not much Macro photography,,, but the fish sea-life is holding true!!  With no fish traps,,, and very limited fishing in the Reserve ... maybe it’s enough to salvage this reef  ??

Also,  There is very limited soft coral here,,, so - What keeps the fish ecosystem so vibrant is a-bit confusing?   Large,  friendly Yellowtail Snapper come right up to me.. Wow, that’s cool. And I see numerous giant Cero,  and a few large hawksbill turtles,  and plenty of all the other typical reef fish.  It seems a contradiction to the condition of the reef.

Not many Morey, or small wrasse/cleaner fish, or rays ...  kinda strange..  not sure why..   But,, with so much other activity,, my camera is busy.

Another very cool part of the Cousteau reserve,,, is that Pigeon island offers a variety of dive profiles.  On one dive .… I find myself at 43m.. doing a Deco dive with a dive master.. rare and unusual….  Sometimes French divers can be surprising!! Quality skills  - I’m impressed.

I leave enjoying the diving experience here.. and the required photo of the Jacques Cousteau underwater Statue.. He is an icon.. and loved by all.

Time to dry out, and pack.. Travel to the East side of Guadeloupe.  I’ve booked a few days of R&R at a resort.  In Le Gosier..  I discover that Guadeloupe has a number of all-inclusive resorts.. all concentrated on one section of the island,, just past Pointe-a-Pitre. .. a feature I didn’t find on Martinique.

Along the way east… I explore the big, busy,  uninviting city of Pointe-a-Pitre,, not finding anything to like.. It’s a messy place.. a little doggy.  But,, I do discover and visit another old fort ... never enough cannons I always say !!.

Time to rest up at my Le Gosier resort.. not my normal plan, out of my element … But,  there's

Jacques Cousteau Underwater Statue in Guadeloupe

time to edit my dive photos.  Write this blog..  work on onward travel..  I’m needing this down time  ... The pace of travel and island hoping is wearing on me ... Time to collect myself..  I’ll be on a plane again soon enough.  And diving again in just 5 days.. So it’s time to eat well and sleep in.  Spoil myself.

If I should ever return to Guadeloupe ... I will target the out islands.. Terre-Haut, and Marie-Galante.. Reachable via ferry..  I didn’t even know about them until late on this visit  ..  Anyway,  I wanted to dive the Cousteau Reserve ..  But,, the out islands are said to offer better diving,,, and might be my reason to return one day 😊

Guadeloupe Travel Blog

Onward.