The last two days

Sometimes not much happens in a day of significance, and yet, when we look back on the hours, a lot has happened. The last two days have been like that, a lot of things happened, there are stories to tell, and yet, not much happened at all.

Friday was finally departure day from Trois Rivières, our second home here in Guadeloupe. We packed up our gear rather messily, knowing that we still had two weeks of travel, and two weeks with the same rental car, so really, we didn't need to be to careful packing everything in our bags. Something felt weird about the day, until I realized that, normally, we would be packing up to head to the airport for our super-long flight home today. That was until I got the okay to extend the trip, and tack on another 15 days in Guadeloupe. And then a wave of relief and contentment flooded over me. Two. More. Weeks. 

Before leaving Trois Rivières, we had one more meal from La Ruche, the catering company down the road, that also does home-cooked lunches, like the dishes you would find at the center of a big family meal in someone's home. I chose the Chatroux fricassee, which is baby octopus simmered in a tomatoey sauce, served on red beans with rice. And the portion being HUGE, there is plenty for both Mario and I for lunch. After lunch, we say goodbye to Marie Odile, the caretaker of our Airbnb for the French couple who own it but haven't been able to make it down from France this year. We reminisce on past visits, exchange wishes that future ones will come soon, and even help her install a microwave. And away we go, up and down the hilly roads of Basse-Terre.

We've been keeping up with the local news in order to track the ever present anti-health measure protests, and thankfully any road blocks that had been erected over the past few days have been all been cleared, with only traces of burn marks left on the roads for us to drive over - the ride is pretty smooth. Regardless, we drive north along the east coast, because the roads are better, wider, less twisty-turny than the west coast route, much to Mario's chagrin. We head through old haunts, driving right through Saint-Rose and past the Comté de Lohéac, where we stayed not three weeks ago. We head to the Plage de la Perle to waste a couple of hours before check-in at our next abode, tanning and swimming and just enjoying the vibe at probably our favorite beach NOT on Marie-Galante.

Four o'clock rolled around so we drove the rest of the way to Ferry, a small town on the far side of Deshaies, where we have stayed before. For anyone NOT in the loop, Deshaies is where the BBC shoots the detective TV show "Death in Paradise", with the town playing the roll of the fictitious town of Honoré on the tropical island of Ste-Marie. Oh, and that beach we love to luxuriate so much at, Plage de la Perle? Site of that derelict shack that a whole slew of detectives at this point have called home. Cool, huh? Anyway, we are staying in Ferry, NOT Deshaies, but we head there to get some groceries, and notice a rather significant grinding in the front left tire of our awesome rental Peugeot, which Mario REALLY doesn't like. Once we are fully checked in and unpacked, I send a quick message to the rental company, who agrees to exchange the car as soon as we can get it back to the offices in Pointe-à-Pitre. Looks like we are having another driving day tomorrow!

A final drive in the evening takes us out into the small oceanfront town of Ferry, in search of food. We find a bakery that also makes gratin dishes to order, a grocery store that sells everything but the kitchen sink, a soup place, a sit-down seafood restaurant, and a man down an alley having a party for one with his very loud, very bright karaoke machine. We opt for the bakery, though are slightly disappointed with the food, which is tasty, but so dry, it is likely they have been under a heat lamp since lunch. Oh well, you win some, you lose some. Tonight's gamble didn't pay off. We'll do better tomorrow.

Saturday morning was nice and relaxed. We had a lazy breakfast surrounded by our menagerie of animals at this strange and wonderful Airbnb. We have a black butterfly who has taken up residence on our bedroom ceiling, a lizard who is in love with our broken hummingbird feeder, and an adopted cat who is hanging around the kitchen and sleeping on top of the cabinets...We listen to the sound of water rushing in the river that is running just past our outdoor deck and watch he hummingbirds flit about in the tropical flowers. A loud buzz of a cicada phases in and out interspersed with the meowling of cats and cackling of chickens on their morning walk. It is quite the place!

Our big task for today is to get the rental car back to Pointe-à-Pitre to exchange it for a less noisy, less problematic one. This time, we head along the west coast of Basse-Terre to the Route de la Traversée, a winding road that climbs up the spine of mountains in the center of the island, then back down again into the agricultural flats on the other side. A good road to be taking with an iffy car! But WOW! What a drive! The driving directions even took us along a smaller back road that Mario claims was just like driving a rally car, with me having to warn him on the difficulty of the next turn, and so many blind corners, I was holding onto my seat for safety. And he had the biggest smile on his face when we exited it to rejoin the highway.

Thankfully, exchanging the car was a very smooth process, and no sooner did we roll into the parking lot, and we were out again with a newer model of the Peugeot we had been driving. Mario was a happy camper, and I can not speak highly enough of the great customer service we have received thus far from Magaloc. I have had to alter contracts several times due to the change in length of my rental, and they have been happy and obliging on every call and in every email we've exchanged. It certainly helps when you find good companies to deal with on vacation that don't waste your precious relaxing time!

Heading back through Sainte-Rose AGAIN, this time we stop at the Foggéa bakery for some delicious breaksticks that we only discovered AFTER having stayed here, and Mario browsed through the lending library at the end of the road from our old Airbnb for some more reading material. He has breezed through several books already, which he always gifts to the last location we are staying - it's a common practice in rentals to leave books, and often where Mario picks up his next novel!

We then head to one of our favorite beaches in the neighborhood for the afternoon, Plage des Amandiers. We first walk up to Pointe Madame and eat our lunch overlooking the bay and views out to Grande-Terre. Several people drive their cars out onto the point, open their doors and have impromptu picnics in their cars. Since we are still not allowed to picnic on the beach, people do what they can to follow the rules, but still enjoy the outdoors in their own ways. We nod knowingly to them as we pass. Then we chill on the beach for a few hours, alternating sand and surf until we are well-baked. 

Saturday seems to be a sort of market day in Guadeloupe, or at least in the north of Bass-Terre, and every street corner we pass has one(or several) stalls set up, selling freshly-picked fruits, vegetables, home-cooked meals in a line of freshly-polished chaffing dishes...it is really impressive, and oh-so-tempting for two rather hungry people. We stop for freshly-crushed sugar cane juice, and a big bottle of coconut water, then return to Angelo's for our dinner. Everyone's favorite Guadeloupean Nonna prepares us a dish of smokey grilled chicken that tastes like is was smoked over sugar cane, and a bowl of accras fresh from her deep-fryer, which she of course has us try, smoking hot too. It was definitely a better meal than last night's dried-out fare, and might have us driving out to Sainte-Rose for dinner every night!

And that's how the last two days went. Now I sit here, finishing a bowl of coconut ice cream, a rumbling cat curled up on my lap, researching where our next adventure should take us. So far, I'm looking at a zoo that has red pandas(!), and kayaking in the Cousteau Reserve. Because even though a lot of things happened in the last two days, really not much happened, and it's time for Mario and I to get back out and have another adventure. I'm looking forward to it.