Final thoughts

Classic Guadeloupe breakfast

Stories from a seasoned traveller : Just about every day, we began our morning the same way. Fresh fruit, yogurt, granola. juice and coffee : easy, healthy, filling, local. One of the many things that made this trip to Guadeloupe so relaxing was the fact that so many of our daily decisions were based on past trips, and what works for us. Not having to think about what to have for breakfast every day, just going into autopilot, both in the purchasing of the ingredients, and the making of it every day.  

Three weeks later, on our last day here on the island, Mario and I discuss how the vacation is never long enough, but at the same time, this time felt much longer. I think it comes down to our utter lack of planning anything in advance. In not doing so, we removed the anticipation of those events, and subsequent loss of time leading up to them.
 

View of Les Saintes on our drive out of
Trois Rivières

Maybe I can explain it this way : When you travel, and you plan things, like a kayak outing, a visit to a zoo, a special dinner at a fancy restaurant, you get excited at the prospect of doing those things. You count down the hours until that special outing, be it in a few hours or a few days, but you fail to truly appreciate the time until that outing because in your mind, you are too excited to get there already. So, in waiting for that kayak trip, you might appreciate less the small hike to the beach. You might forget how deliciously spicy and crispy the simple portion of accras from the street vendor were, because you are already thinking about how great the meal will be at the fancy restaurant in a few days' time.

Driving the RN1 next to the Allée Dumanoir palms

Since there was no need to plan anything more than car rentals, ferry crossing and Airbnb stays, I did nothing else in the way of making plans of reservations before we left. Sure, I did plenty of research, making sure to track down municipal websites, Instagram accounts for local influencers or tourism boards. I wanted to have as much info in pocket as possible, so we could plan, if we wanted to. And given the ease of researching, especially on site, with everything being online, making a plan the night before became the norm for our trip. 

Descending out of the mountains to the
flat side of the island

This is not something that everyone can do. Heck, it's not something we usually do, since most of our travels are to locations we've never visited before. I know that feeling of FOMO - fear of missing out - and often the list of things to see and do is longer than we have time for. Just look at our trip to Ireland in September : it was an AWESOME trip, but did we ever pack as much into our days as possible! Looking back, maybe it was a bit too much, but I would not change a thing. It's only on those rare occasions, those times where you are so lucky that you get a repeat visit of a location, that you can allow yourself to truly relax. You can take your time, have that second coffee while you browse the local news, yell at the birds trying to sneak in the kitchen, and begin think about what you want to do with your day. 

Back in the big city again - driving the main
highway through Pointe-à-Pitre

And so, every day moved slower. We truly lived in each little moment, not thinking on what grand adventures were coming next, because we didn't know. We began recalling things that happened earlier in the trip, questioning whether it had only been a week, or had it been a month since we had arrived. Time stretched out, both behind and in front of us, and it. was. GLORIOUS. I wish everyone can experience that sort of relaxed feeling on vacation at least once. We all deserve that.

Big little airport in PTP

Of course, it doesn't last forever, even though it might feel like it. You still have to get back to the airport in time for the flight home, and as much as you'd like to forget that planned event, it's still always in the back of your mind. It reminds you, a little bit louder every day, that yes, you do have to go home at some point. And today is now that day.

We've got a stowaway!

Here's where we flip the story : when you want things to move fast, like during those final hours when all you want to do is be home already, that's when you don't want time to drag on. Unfortunately, because of reasons beyond my understanding, there was NO online check-in. And yes, you might be seeing the line-up of self-check-in kiosks in that last photo, but NO, apparently those count as online check-in too, and so we found ourselves at the airport, 4 hours early, waiting to check-in for our flight. We were second in line, but let me tell you, it was not long before a whole plane full of Quebecers was lined up, through and out the door, to ensure they were also checked in. And all were complaining about the fact that they had to show up early, and that the agent mentioned a 12:30 check-in time, and it was now 45 minutes later, and I just laughed. If you've spent ANY amount of time in Guadeloupe, you know that times are merely a suggestion. If a Carnaval parade starts at 15h, for example, arrive 1h30 late and you will still be early.

Last ham, cheese and guava jam baguettes of the trip

You also know that you should ALWAYS pack a lunch. This is true especially for the airport, since one of the two terminals has zero food options beyond candies in the duty free shop, and so many people get caught out by this fact. And you should get out of the airport and soak up as much of that tropical sunshine and air as you can, because the airport is hot, and stuffy, and uncomfortable, and no place to spend your last hours in Guadeloupe. Yes, check-in is 3 hours before the flight, but it takes about 15 minutes to go through the entire process, so you can really drag this waiting part out as long as humanly possible before subjecting yourself to the greenhouse-like conditions of Terminal 1. Plus, there might be chickens.

Take-off! Goodbye, Aéroport PTP-Maryse Condé 

As we take to the skies, leaving the jungle and beaches and palm trees behind, flying over nothing but blue ocean, I take time to go over trip details in head. 

This is what happens when your plane has no in-flight entertainment.

First, the hiking : 

In the past, we've managed to clock over 100 km of hiking, but given the slightly more lazy nature of this trip, Mario and I only managed a measly 86.21 km. Mind you, we did travel 300 m each way every time we went to get chicken at Kaza Manjé, and the Fritz grocery store is another 600 m, so we can maybe push that number over 90 km, but it's not a record-breaking trip, sadly.  We did complete 14 hikes of varying lengths, and extremely varying difficulties, and I'm proud of every one of them.

Flying over north Basse-Terre, somewhere near
Ste-Rose and Plessis-Nogent

We visited less beaches, but more frequently, and narrowed in on some of our favorites and why. 

For snorkeling, we are now loving Plage Moustique, since Plage d'Antigues near Port-Louis is seeming more cloudy and buggy recently. Of course, Plage Malendure will always be the best for sheer concentration of fish, but the beach itself is less welcoming. 

For swimming, Plage des Trois Îlets has the calmest waters, so you can just float, and you don't need water shoes, but Plage du Souffleur, albeit more busy, is great for floating too. It also has the added bonus of a reliable sorbet coco vendor on site. Believe me, sorbet coco is always an added bonus! 

For quiet, again I have to chose Plage des Trois Îlets, as we are often the only people there, but the beach is sooo long, you would not see anyone else, as you tuck into the little alcoves in the forest along the sand. Plus, there are nowhere near as many bugs, so you can stay until sunset and enjoy some of the prettiest shows in all of Guadeloupe. Plage du Souffleur has the BEST sunsets, but the yen-yen bugs are brutal. 

Air France has the best snacks.

Things I learned : 

We are too capable, Mario and I. With the right tools, we can get out of just about any situation. This trip, we were tested with the added challenge of a flat tire on one rental car, and I think it delayed our day's activities by a total of 30 minutes. We still managed to get to the store in time to pick up our NYE hors d'oeuvres, and not have them melt before we made it back across the island.

We still need a break sometimes. I felt guilty one day about taking longer than usual in the morning to get going, but Mario reminded me that, at home, we often take one day in a weekend to "do nothing" - have a slow morning, or play video games all day, or binge-watch a new TV show. Yes, we are on vacation, but we are still doing activities every day, and we need a break even from those. Of our 21 days in Guadeloupe, 2 ended up being relax days, but still included time at the beach or a short walk. And they were most welcome in keeping our energy up.

Sunset - closure on another great trip

I am stronger than I think, and I surprise myself every time. Looking back, some of those hikes we completed were HARD. Very Hard. Particularly the upwards scramble out from the Chute de Galion, where we climbed up over 300 m in elevation over the course of 1000 m, which is the equivalent of a 30% grade. And I know it - I took every big step out of that valley. But I made it through every single one of them, and still smiling by the end. Ask Mario.

Flying in over the working port in Montréal

Every trip we take is full of new lessons, too many for me to remember, but that I take forward with me in life. I am constantly learning and experiencing new things, and as I've said before, it's the reason we travel, no? To learn, and experience, and better ourselves and our understanding of the world around us. At least, that`s the most important part.

Well, after all the cocktails and beautiful beaches, right?

Until next time...

 

Heading through the clouds