Guadeloupe in Two Days by Car

Guadeloupe in Two Days by Car

Thursday 11th and Friday 12th January, 2024

Thursday, Jan 11th

Picking up the rental car at 8:30 am meant an early start on Thursday.  We realized that our mooring lines were wrapped around the mooring ball.  That had to be sorted out after the rest of the morning routine was executed.  The car pick up was a bit alarming.  We rented the car from the ubiquitous Pelican store, and the owner went over the car with a fine-toothed comb and many photos on his phone. Talk about intimidating!  Will we see any of our cash deposit returned?

 

Mike had looked into top attractions of Guadeloupe, thus we headed south to check out Soufriere—the active volcano inland from the city of Basse-Terre.  Our route broadly followed the coast until we got to the city.  Then we headed east and uphill and uphill.  We were somewhat surprised to discover that the road ended (not in agreement with Google Maps) at the Bains Jaune.  The fifty cars parked along the side of the road might have been a give away...

We set off on foot after parking our Kia down hill from all the other cars.  Already we could sense that we were in rain forest.  The vegetation was thick and lush.  Each tree was bedecked with vines and bromeliads.  There seemed to be a competition among the plants to produce the largest leaves—many of astonishing size.  Once we got onto the path, the assent really began.  Much of the path was a sort of cobbled way interspersed with steps and boulder-strewn sections. As we climbed higher the wind picked up and the sky became largely cloudy.  Eventually the forest gave way to lower, scrubby vegetation.  In some places the sulfurous smell was really bad! It was in this area that we saw the sign suggesting that the summit was still 1 hour and 40 minutes away.  We certainly were not moving as rapidly as most parties and I doubted my ability to make it to the top.  

A path labelled “facile” led off to the right and was mostly flat.  We took this route and walked along until it started to descend too much for our liking.  Just as we turned around, it started to rain.  We had already noticed that it was quite cool up at this elevation.  Once wet, it seemed positively chilly.  Fortunately, the rain did ease off as we descended.  On our way back to the car we spotted the endemic Guadeloupe woodpecker and the plumbeous warbler, both life birds.  We added these to the forest thrush that we had spotted on the drive up.  Any day with three life birds is a great day!

Our route back to Deshaies took us along the “route de la traversee”.  We were able to stop off at the water-fall and take a short break enjoying some people watching (and photographic opportunities.)

Friday Jan 12^th

Today’s objective was to visit the other island that makes up Guadeloupe.  Strangely enough the mountainous island is called “Basse Terre” while the flatter eastern island is known as “Grande Terre”.  Go figure.  Our route took us north along the coast and then southeast to Pointe-a-Pitre, the largest city.  Strikingly, the eastern island is much more developed (the traffic is heavy).  Beyond Pointe-a-Pitre, we wanted to check out Sainte  Anne and Sainte Francois, two potential anchorages.  Sainte Anne turned out to be a busy sea-side town with pretty beaches and many visitors.  The anchorage is protected by reef and waves could be seen breaking on both sides of the narrow entrance channel.  It had the potential to be a tad nerve-wracking. We ate our lunch sitting on a boat trailer in the shade—a suitable location for boaters.

At Sainte Francois, we made the mistake of parking too early—near the fishing port.  A little walk gave us a view of the harbor to the east.  There were many boats anchored in what seemed a modest area.  Once again the entrance was a gap in reefs with many breaking waves.  We decided to drive on to take a look at the “Pointe des Chateaux”.  The peninsula sticks out to the east of the island.  After parking, we were captivated by the rocky coastline with incredible surf.  A few photos might have been taken, along with a walk up to a steep promontory.

Unfortunately, for the drive back we decided to take a different route.  It turned out to be a set of twisty narrow roads that were prone to inundation (if  I read the sign correctly!).  Of course, it started to rain quite heavily.  Once we joined a more major road, we got stuck in a traffic jam.  Our stop at the grocery store revealed our frayed tempers! We arrived back in Deshaies to find the dinghy replete with fresh water.  Much bailing and sponging dried up most of the water.  We were happy to get back to Cotinga without wet feet! 

Gloria

The cobble stone path up from Les Bain Jaune through the rainforest towards the active volcano Soufriere 

Gloria on the slopes of Soufriere before it really started raining

Incredible lush vegetation ... I love these plants (whatever they are called!)

Back-lit leaf 

Waterfall and swimming hole within the National Park

A brave couple under the water fall

Hobie Cat sailing off the beach at Sainte Anne

Incredible views eastwards from Pointe des Chateaux, the most easterly point on mainland Guadeloupe. La Desirade is the island visible in the distance (not a destination for us as there are no anchorages)

Looking westwards from Ponite des Chateaux (more or less the same spot as the previous photo). The weather was very unsettled and you can see squalls in the distance. 

A view from down on the beach, with the cross at Pointe des Chateaux visible in the far right of the picture. The previous two shots were taken up be the cross, where the cliffs are 200-300 feet high

The surf looked scary - reflecting the size of the swells rolling in from the east. (Too rocky to be a good surfing location)