Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe

Here's to a very hot day in Pointe a Pitre, one of six inhabited islands and the largest city in Guadeloupe's tropical archipelago. This was our view when we pulled back our curtain this morning. The languages spoken here are French, Creole, Spanish and English. 

 

Good morning, Guadeloupe

After a large breakfast, we disembarked the ship at 8:45 a.m. for an excursion that I had signed up for. After reading this morning's Currents newsletter however, I knew we would have enjoyed visiting the Marche Central (Central Market) more with its displays of tropical fruits, spices and handcrafted goods far more than the excursion I had chosen, but I could only know that in hindsight.

The one I booked was titled "Discover Guadeloupe" and it included a visit to a waterfall, a rum distillery and a botanical garden. The best part was by far the botanical garden, though it was not like one in the States.

Our first stop was at the Ecrevisses Waterfall. There was quite a large group of us and everyone was taking photos. I suppose any waterfall is impressive but this one was not nearly as much as some. I took a couple of waterfall photos and the rest of the foliage.

 

 

visitors getting a closer view

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From there we were driven to the Montebello Distillery. It was a hands down winner for "Least Interesting, Most Boring" tour ever. We were there for 1 hour. The place was actually closed (they opened it for tours today) so nothing was running. The smell was very unpleasant, the humidity was awful, the bathrooms were sub par and the only "gift" shop was a shop to sell their product. Oh, and did I mention that the guide didn't show up? So we had a little girl (not sure how she was related to the operation) who translated for a French speaking lady that most could not hear or understand. I could have learned far more with a short google search than I learned in an hour at the rum distillery. Basically, rum is made from fermented cane sugar juice. Naturally cane sugar is a huge crop here, along with bananas, tropical fruits and vegetables. I took exactly 4 photos there.

Montebello Rum Factor

flattened piece of sugar cane

 

Our last stop was to Les Jardins de Valombreuse. The island gets lots of rain and sunshine year round. Absolutely everything grows here - no coaxing or large watering bills. It is exactly what one would expect in a tropical location - lush foliage and high humidity. Our visit started with a short train ride through the garden as an overview. Those who wanted to could walk the smaller trails with the additional 30 minutes or so we had to wander through the garden. I did that in order to take a few close ups. There was also a small aviary and a large gift shop. We were given a guava/passion fruit juice to drink that was very sweet and tasty. 

 

 

gazebo hidden away in the garden

 

 

birds in outdoor aviary

souvenir gift shop baskets

 

last minute souvenirs at the port

There were vendors set up on the dock for any last minute purchases tourists needed to make. I didn't see a thing I needed, and I still have ship credits that I need to spend on board before they go "poof!"