No more hiking. Please.

If Mario ever says that I didn't let him hike to his heart's content this vacation, please correct him. It almost did me in today. Ouf.

Today, we began our exploration of this end of Grand-Terre, very similar in layout and topography as Marie-Galante was, though with a significantly faster pace about it. There are windmills to hunt down, but we occupied our time differently today. Today, we explored the wicked cliffs and erosion of the west coast.

We began by navigating our way through the town of Anse-Bertrand, which was easy to find, but difficult to exit. Towns here have one-way streets through their centres, to facilitate traffic flow in the busiest areas, but you can easily get stuck in a loop if you're not careful. And oddly enough, though every road is very well-marked on this island, the roads leading out of Anse-Bertrand are not. We drive around the town centre 3 or 4 times before choosing a path, only to find out it was not the one we wanted in the first place. Regardless, we ended up making it out of town, and finding our way!

We made a first stop at Pointe de la Grande Vigie, northern-most point of the island, and a great viewing area of the neighboring islands of Monserrat and Antigua. A little hiking trail provides some great vistas, leading all the way to the furthest end of the point, but is very rocky, and NOT to be followed in flip-flops, like I did. In my defense, the visible first part of the trail, like most places here, is wide and paved and flat, so instills a false sense of security. I now know - always wear shoes.

As we continued along the coast, we passed a number of wonderful viewpoints, looking out at the dramatic coast and turquoise waters below. We continued on until we reached our destination, la Porte de l'Enfer, Hell's gate, which is actually a very nice secluded inlet. Super deep, it breaks the violent waves coming into shore, providing a very safe and calm swimming environment. And, of course, it is a very popular place. On top of that, there are some great hiking trails leaving from the Porte d'Enfer and running all along the coast, so of course, that's where we were heading!



Just a little ways down the trail, where most of the beach-goer walk to, is the Trou du Man Coco, an eroded cave in the seacliffs. It's not easy to see, you almost have to walk past it to get a good look inside, and the waves are always crashing up inside. Legend has it, this place was once a gathering spot for sorcerers. I think they would all get washed away now!


As everyone was turning back around and heading back to the beach with its calm waters, we headed onwards, up and over the sea cliffs, through the blazing sun and arid environment devoid of shade or shelter, making our way to the Point du Souffleur. Here, the waves crash up through perforated rocks, creating geysers that, when the waves are strong enough, can rise 10-15 metres in the air. It can be quite dramatic. However, with the combine heat and exertion, I had to stop short of the goal, and seek shelter under a tree, feeling way too overwhelmed
by the sun to continue. While I rested, Mario walked on to the geyser, capturing the show on film.

We high-tailed it back to the beach and jumped in the water to re-hydrate through osmosis. With the calm waves and salt water to soothe away the fatigue, we floated in the bay and explore small outcropping of rocks for tropical fish. Mario's camera is fantastic for underwater photography, you just have to be fast enough to capture the fish! We spent a good several hours relaxing before taking off again. At this point, I turned to Mario, very seriously, and told him I wanted no more hiking this vacation, having had my fill somewhere on the slopes of La Soufrière. He conceded.

With the sun beginning to set, we headed back to Pointe de la Grande Vigie to catch the show. Being the northern-most point, we should have had a fantastic unobstructed view. For some reason, there is a weird geographical phenomenom happening that the point is not actually pointing north, but east-ish, and so the sun sets behind the trees leading up to it...Basically, it was not good. We sped off to
find a better spot, wanting at least ONE magical sunset from this island.

We got held up in Anse-Bertrand again, but this time not by the roads, but by Carnaval Monkeys, out looking for donations for their festivities happening this weekend. They were good sports, and even posed for a picture or two, and we helped to fill their coffers. Finally, we headed back to Port-Louis, and the super-popular Plage du Souffleur. The sorbet coco vendors were packing up for the evening, and the beach-goers slowly folding up their towels and chairs. Behind them, the most spectacular, unobstructed view of the sun setting over Basse-Terre, reflecting on the water like a painting, offering a rainbow of colours and reflections. And, if it couldn't possibly get any better, a lone kayaker paddled his way through the scene, casting a gorgeous silhouette on every shot I took. Magic.

The evening played out to be rowdy and exciting - we were again called on for 'ti-punch with the family, this time joined by several other couples staying in the complex. I was even asked to help with the preparations, frying bananas and bread fruit into snacks in the kitchen! We enjoyed glasses of Planter's punch and Shrubb(a homemade orange-flavoured rum) and lively conversation with a couple from Germany, a couple from Switzerland, and the family at the residence, talking of weather and food and Guadeloupe and politics. It was a fun time.