The day of three beaches

Time to relax and soak up some rays - it is "sun"day, after all! We have covered all of the easy hiking trails on the island, are leaving the harder ones(9 km one way)until next time, and have walked all the streets in town. Plus, Mario sat down with the road map over breakfast, and determined that he has driven all of the roads on the island! Well, that's it, time to go home! So we laze over our bowls of fromage blanc and guava jam, our coffee and fruit juice, reading the news online and glancing through the tour guide to make sure we haven't missed anything. Then, in an attempt to feel semi-productive with our day, we hop in the car and drive along the coast to Saint-Louis, stopping in at the Plage des Trois Îlet, one of the nicest, sandiest beaches we've seen this trip.

One thing we have noticed on our many tours about Marie-Galante, is the rather sad state of the beaches. I don't know if it has anything to do with recent weather events, last year's hurricanes or what, but there is some serious erosion happening in some places, and overgrowth of seaweed in other places. Some beaches have both - and that's only on the sandy ones, as most of the rest of the island's coast is rocky shores and cliff sides. Which leaves us hanging out on the soft sand and turquoise water of Plage des Trois Îlets.

Mario, having finally found a book to read(in French!), lounges on his towel while I float in the ocean. Nearby, several sailboats have weighed anchor in the calm waters. In the distance, we can clearly make out the silhouettes of Basse-Terre, Les Saintes and Dominica. The whole experience is idyllic. We roast in the sun for what seems like minutes and already our skin is on fire. Mario remarks how it IS "sun"day, but we might want to curb our exposure, as to not become lobsters in one sitting, and save ourselves for future days in the sun. I agree, and we pack up and head to the southeast coast of Marie-Galante, Anse Feuillère, and beach number two.

Now this beach we've been to before, a couple of days ago, and got seriously overcharged for iced coffees at the snazzy bar. It's a enjoy-your-drink-with-your-toes-in-the-sand kind of place, if that helps visualized why our two drinks cost $15. This time, no "starbucks" for us, thank you, we brought our own sandwiches and sit down at one of the nearby picnic tables to watch the waves while we eat. We don't stay long, as the masses of drying seaweed lining the shore smells rather fishy, and there isn't much in the way of shade for us to lounge in, so we decided to declare defeat, and head back to the bungalow for a Ti'Punch and siesta.

After a nice long break from the sweltering heat, we venture back to beach the first, the gorgeous Plage des Trois Îlets, for a magically sunset. Yes, I know, I said 3 beaches, but in reality, we visited the same one twice, under 2 different skies. It is that beautiful. As the last rays of light dip behind the horizon, we head back, where our hosts are waiting with an invitation to share an apéritif with them on their large patio. We sit and chat of all manner of things, travels and food and life on the island, while sipping our Ti'Punch and Planteur and a sort of ginger wine from Jamaica which is Catherine's favorite. Eventually, we have to part ways, since our bags won't pack themselves, and we are unfortunately leaving this little corner of paradise for the main island. Tomorrow, we are heading to Basse-Terre and new adventures.