Guadeloupe Je sui desole (sorry)! For all these years, I’ve been pretty ignorant in Caribbean geography. If you’re like me, you know the Caribbean as turquoise waters SE of FL, right? Let me shed some light on these amazing islands. Let’s give Guadeloupe a “face”.

Firstly Guadeloupe is located in the West Indies and to be more precise the Lesser
Antilles, and to zoom in a bit more The Leeward island chain. This elementary map
spells it out fairly clearly. Guadeloupe is a French territory so ‘parlez la Francais’ is a good-to-have in your bag of tricks when traveling here but honestly  you can get by with limited French. I know enough to be polite and attempt a conversation but the conversation always backfires after they respond. I must say, attempting to speak basic verbs or grasp at whatever French you do know reflects very well and is much appreciated. Don’t worry ‘Merica, we’re making you look good (sort of). Like Bermuda, everyone says Good Day /Good Afternoon (Bonjour/Bonsoir). And I’ve noticed when placing a request or order, even with a long line of patrons behind you, you don’t start with: ‘Je voudrais….’ ( I would like…). You start with ‘Bonjour/Bonsoir, Cava bien’ (Hi how are you).  People seemed fairly ‘put-off’ whenever we just say “I want” then point.

Christopher Colombus was no stranger to these parts and named the land after a Spanish monastery around 1493. Inhabited by the Carib people, Guadeloupe was previously known as Karukera which means Island of Beautiful Waters. The Carib people fought off invading Europeans for quite a while until the 17th century when the French took over. In the 18th and 19th century there were several British occupations and even one brief Swedish takeover.

So that’s Guadeloupe in a nutshell.

Traveling in a small space with one person over an extended time can be taxing, which is why we touch base and regroup on what we want to get out of our travels and what’s the least hair-pulling teeth-grinding way to go about it. Mike has asked me what my expectations are and which island I’m most excited for. Call it zen or taoist, but I honestly have no expectations. Weeellll, complete disclosure, the extent of my expectations are to see a turtle, drink some tropical drinks, snorkel and (realistically) work on the boat. I’m reading my guidebook, safety warnings, and sailing tips so I’m not completely ignorant. But I’ve learned from talking to other sailors along the way, everyone has their OWN opinion, their OWN comfort levels, and have traveled to different places. I tried listening to others advice but in the end take it with a grain of salt. Arriving with no expectations…. it’s allowed me to explore to it’s fullest. I had no idea it would be this beautiful. Accepting the jaw dropping lush mountainous scenery, the humid weather,  the culture change, it’s all a shift and in a few weeks, I’ll move on to something different. So live in the moment.