Adventuring in the Grand Cul-de-Sac Marin

The pastry mission was a success this morning - Mario came back to bed early this morning, proud to report he had acquired 2 delicious pains au chocolat from the bakery on the corner. They were delicious, so we'll be repeating the mission again tomorrow, just to make sure. 

In related news, we had several success errands in the town of the Sainte-Rose: first, to the post office to buy stamps, which will be needed to send postcards to a special someone back home. Next, to the tourism office for postcards, who sent us to the photo shop next door where Mario bought much-needed sunglasses, who sent us to the librarie next to the them where we eventually found said postcards. And I bought a cooking magazine, because why not? Regardless, we got all the things we had been looking for, so hourray for us! Time for some adventure!

We originally chose to stay in Sainte-Rose because of its proximity to the Grand Cul-de-Sac Marin, a marine nature reserve classified as a National Park in Guadeloupe, as well as designated and protected as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO. It houses immense islands comprised purely of mangroves, coral reefs which house a whole rainbow of tropical fish, as well habitats for tons of sea birds. Of course, there are plenty of tours to visit this wonder, of all shapes and sizes, and Mario and I had browsed the options a bit, but had not really committed to anything pre-travel. Once we arrived in Sainte-Rose, however, our Airbnb hosts casually mentioned one outfit in particular that offered individual and private boat tours with swimming, snorkeling and island-hopping, and the more we looked into it, the more we were sold on the idea. So we booked. (Coincidentally, the company is run by our hosts' son!)

After this morning's errands about town, we headed down to the port to meet up with our guide, Richard, and the rest of the group. Richard hooked us up with all the gear we needed for the day - rain gear, mask, snorkel and fins, pool noodles, and a waterproof barrel in which to stash all our delicate equipment (would have been a good thing to have in yesterday's rain!). Then we all headed down to the dock, where we were given a briefing on how to drive our motorboats. Yes, you read right, we toured in individual boats that we piloted ourselves. No boating license needed, and Richard was quick but concise with his instructions, making it really easy to pick up. He also took control during some of the more delicate navigation points, such as leaving the harbour, or winding through some of the narrower mangrove passages, by having the 4 boats hook up to his own, and towing us through in neutral. Very safe and easy.

We first toured through great mangrove islands, where once upon a time, slaves would hide to escape their captors. They would cover themselves in mud and crawl along the raised roots of the mangroves to evade capture, looking like ghosts, giving the mangroves a bad name. As a result, people saw the mangroves as a bad thing, and began cutting them, destroying the ecosystem, and removing one of the major protect elements in the harbour against things like tsunami destroying the towns. The reserve's UNESCO status protects the trees from cutting, as well as too much traffic due to tourism.

Trailing behind Richard's lead boat, we wound our way between "islands" of the trees with they roots in the water, learning about their growth, how they are nourished in salt waters, how the trees reproduce, and how the seed pods can float on the ocean for up to 1 year, still alive, hopping for somewhere to root. Popping out of the other side, we moved into high gear, bouncing along the waves to a white sand "island", l'ilet la Biche, where we saw new mangroves taking root in the sand, while small rays floated quietly by. 

Next, we headed out to an area know for coral reefs and seaweed "fields", and suited up in our snorkeling gear, we launched out of the boats to get a closer look. Richard pointed out different species of coral, indicated where to look for the schools of brightly-coloured tropical fish. He spotted a giant langouste in the rocks for us, and advised us not kick too vigorously over the spiny black urchins, lest we get our knees poked. I took way too many underwater pictures with Mario's camera, though they are likely all blurry, as the waves kept pushing me around. Our "school" of snorkelers floated back to the boats for one last stop. 

We finished the tour on l'îlet Blanc, a sand island created by Hurricane Hugo, and a perfect place for an afternoon drink. Richard floated a cooler to shore with him, and pulled out a bottle of Planter's Punch, a commonly-served drink here in Guadeloupe, and as refreshing as it is potent. Glasses in hand, our group of 12 discussed the obvious matters of the world, as it pertained to each of our respective home countries (France, Belgium, Canada), and then proceeded to hold hermit crab races with the tiny Bernard l'Hermite crabs running all over the beach. It was loads of fun, though probably more so because of the rum punch!  

After a final sprint through the water, we were towed back into the harbour, and sadly ended out fantastic tour. Richard was a great guide, entertaining, informative, but just accessible enough that we felt comfortable discussing with him about recent road blocks and manifestations against the government, to get a feeling of what was going on, that the news agencies weren't reporting. Also, we found it mildly entertaining that we had crossed paths with him several times prior to this excursion, since he came to the house every night for dinner! Mario had even befriended his dog! Too funny.

Well, that sadly brings an end to our stay here in Sainte-Rose. It is a really great base, not too touristy, and Mario and I could definitely spend more time here exploring, or just relaxing on all the beautiful beaches. We'll leave that for next time - tomorrow, we are catching the ferry to Marie-Galante for some hardcore relaxing. If Guadeloupe is super-chill in attitude, Marie-Galante is downright asleep. And we are looking forward to it.