Death in Paradise

Contrary to the rainy-looking weather reports, the view from our bungalow's balcony is promising sun and blue skies. Very inviting, so we take the opportunity presented,  pack our swimsuits in the car, with a list of possible beaches to visit during the day. But first, a stop in town at the church, so we can tour the Death in Paradise exhibit. Because we know you want us to.

We crest the ridge between Ferry and Deshaies, and it's as if the mountain was holding all the clouds and rain in. We drive right into the storm, which follows us into town, down the road, and forces us to take refuge under the portico of the church, feet soaking wet. We wait for the rain to slow before attempting to cross the parking lot into the manse. This is where the main part of "Death in Paradise", the Honore Police station scenes are shot. Upon entering, we are told that normally, everything from the show is taken down in between seasons, so life can return to normal in town, but the Mayor asked that this set be left intact, at the request of tourists(and to make a little money, of course). A photo exhibition is set up in the neighboring building, showing the inner workings of shooting a television series. We are also told that said photo exhibit is currently off-limits, as the building is occupied by a church meeting of all things, so the gentleman running the museum offers us entry at half-price, with a barrage of apologies for the inconvenience! Lucky!

Basically, the interior of the building is set up in several areas, where specific scenes are shot from specific angles. The way the building appears on TV is NOT the way it looks in real life. Also, it is noticeably darker inside, but we are told that large lights are used to create a consistent tropical sun look, since the real weather outside does not always cooperate with the filming schedule. A series(or season) usually takes 6 months to film, and there is a 6-month break between seasons, so we currently find ourselves 4 months too early to see series 9 being filmed.


We browse around the props, costumes(which are just ordinary clothes, but recognizable from the show), and the desks of the detectives. Obviously, Mario has to sit at the main desk and examine papers with a magnifying glass for the photo opportunity. We find a page of a newer script hidden among papers on a notepad, a way the actors might use to sneakily remember their lines during a scene. It was all very interesting, and gives us a renewed interest in and appreciation for the show.

Following the theme of appreciation for "Death in Paradise", we head north to the Plage de la Perle, a long stretch of golden brown sand and glimmering turquoise water. This is the location of the detectives' shack on the beach, but the set is taken down between series to prevent it from washing away with the tide. We come for the sun, the sand and the surf. We put down our towels, don our bathing suits, and head out for a dip in the cool ocean currents. Most of the afternoon is spent lounging, reading, scribbling, tanning. Rinse and repeat. We do take a walk all the way down the beach, looking for a possible location for a derelict shack, but on this beach, it could be anywhere.

A brief respite and shower back at the bungalow, to cool off from all that sun, and we head back to Deshaies for dinner in one of those cool beach-front restaurants. Sorry, not one that has been used in the TV show - we opt instead for a place known for their typical Antilles Francaise cuisine. In a completely empty dining hall, except for ourselves and the wait staff, we tuck into grilled red snapper served with a gratin of chayote, and a colombo de cabri, a stew of yellow curry and baby goat, served with rice. Everything is so simple and so delicious, we can't understand why not more people are in here. We come up with a number of possible reasons, ranging from the fact that it isn't fancy enough, to the fact that it isn't pizza. This is evident by the number of people we see eating pizza as we walk  back to the car. They don't know what they are missing.