The people in our neighborhood

Sorry no update yesterday - travel days are never incredibly entertaining, even when a minimal amount of transit is involved. We checked out as late as possible from our guesthouse overlooking Dominica, then gases up the rental. We stopped at the amazing bokit place for delicious codfish sandwiches, and drove out to Plage de la Feuillère to enjoy lunch with our toes in the sand. A few hours later, we drove back to the port, returned the car, and embarked on the ferry for mainland Guadeloupe, leaving beautiful, sunny, sleepy Marie-Galante behind until next time our travels lead us here.

Another rental pick-up, another drive through rush-hour in Pointe-à Pitre, and we arrived in Trois Rivières and at our rental house here without even a glance at a map. This is the third time we stay at this exact spot, so we are starting to know the place a little too well. We basically dropped our bags inside and back out again we went, first to the fruit and vegetable shop, then to Kaza Manjé, the grilled chicken joint that all the locals go to. Dinners in Trois Rivières are often the same delicious combination of chicken in spicy creole "chien" sauce, served with a homemade chopped salad of local in-season vegetables, usually tomatoes and cucumbers. Add in a glass of Ti'Punch made with the agricole run we brought with us from Marie-Galante, and you have our go-to meal in TR. 

So, with no need to settle in, or explore our surroundings, we took today to take care of some business. First order of business - we made friends with the baker that set up shop next door to the house. We stopped by last night for a baguette, and mentioned we would be here for a week, and not just passing through, so he gifted us a couple of pains au beurre(end of day loses, but a nice gesture nonetheless). So this morning, before groceries, we stopped by for pastries and coffee, to show our gratitude. I think it could easily become a habit. 

We walked down the hill to the ferry port, as Trois Rivières is the gateway to the islands of Les Saintes. We have an overnight stay booked there later on this week, so took the time to pick up our return tickets, a getting a discount for doing so in person. Sadly, the madame who makes sorbet coco at the ferry arrival was not around, since there was no imminent ferry arrival - hopefully we get to see her when we depart here next Monday. 

As we climbed slowly up the steep hill, in the stifling heat and heavy humidity, a kind old man stopped his car and asked if we wanted a ride back into town! This is common practice among locals, but rarely does it translate to sad, sweaty tourists like ourselves, so we were incredibly grateful for the lift. 

Since we are staying a little longer than anticipated, we needed to pick a few important staples that we were running out of. Sunscreen, for one, is running low, with all the beach visits we've been cramming in. I don't even think we would've made it through next week with the bottle I am carrying now. Unfortunately, sunscreen is incredibly expensive here, being 1 - imported, and 2 - fancy French brands. I don't care if my sunscreen is branded Vichy, Chanel, Lacoste or whatever, I just want it to block the sun, thank you. Give me my Hawaiian Tropics, please!

Also, you can only last so long washing your clothes in the sink before it is no longer an effective method for cleaning them. At this rental house, we have a washer, so detergent was the next important item to tick off the list, as well as some staple groceries for the next week's meals. And this one is not easy, either, as the brands are unfamiliar and not well labeled, so it took a little studying to determine which bottle contained washing liquid and not fabric softener, or clothing disinfectant, or perfume...and obviously there are no small bottles. People on holiday don't do laundry. 

Mario and I were also keeping our eyes peeled for snorkels and masks, as the beaches on Marie-Galante always had some great opportunities to swim over corals, or fields of seaweed, and if we ran into the same here, we wanted to be prepared. The grocery store up the road from the house also offered these, but not at the most economical  price. Ah well, we didn't want to miss another opportunity to snorkel, so we caved and bought 2 sets. More stuff to bring home.

Lunch was a nice surprise find. When we checked in with our contact here in TR, Marie Odile, as well as reminiscing about our previous stays, we asked what was new in town that deserved our attention. Se suggested a small cafeteria-style eatery located 2 doors down, open only for lunch and when the sign was put out on the sidewalk, where the meals were home cooked and very much in the traditional Guadeloupe "Nonna" style. As we return from groceries, the sign was indeed out, so I sent Mario on ahead, and detoured inside to see what was good. So many delicious, long-cooked dishes lay before me, and the woman in charge gave me plenty of advice on what sides and vegetables went well with each, describing dishes and ingredients for me. I left with a container of red beans and rice topped with slices of sea bream stewed in a tomatoey sauce, and a side of creamy scalloped potatoes. The portion was more than generous, and certainly enough to feed both Mario and I for lunch.

Fat and happy, we rolled to the car and headed to the beach for the afternoon. Here, the local beach is Grande Anse, a rare volcanic black sand beach. It is windy, and the waves are rough, but a lot of fun to play in and get tossed around in the salt water. We spent a lot of time jumping through the waves, and then lying on the beach to soak in the sun. A brief shower passed over us, leaving an incredible rainbow in its wake. And we realized that we had become so used to afternoon swims on Marie-Galante, that we both really missed not having that break yesterday. We made a pact to continue the routine to the best of our ability for the rest of the trip.

Dinner tonight was much of the same: a big salad with accras de morue(codfish hush-puppies) from Kaza Manjé, a glass of Ti'Punch, and a scoop of sorbet coco for dessert, which I found at the grocery store and had to buy, since we also have a freezer! Now, in between loads of laundry(the machine is tiny), we are packing our day packs for hiking. The forecast tomorrow is clear, and there is a volcano that is calling our name.