Looking straight up
Looking straight up
Picture of Arnd

Arnd

2023-05-24 Island Tour

Work

I got started early so that I could finish early. After the day’s work came a grand island tour.

Lunch
Scenic overview on the island tour
Scenic overview

I picked Carol and Tom up at their boat and we zipped ashore to pick up the rental car at Le Pelican. It is a small manual transmission car, but in good condition and with A/C. The car performed well, although it did struggle going uphill with the air conditioning blasting and 3 of us aboard.

Hanging vines on the island tour
Hanging vines

The first stops were at the Maison de la forêt and La Cascade aux Ecrevisses for a nature walk in the forest and looking at the pretty little waterfall. We hadn’t brought towels, so skipped a cooling swim in the cold rainforest water.

Afterwards we continued on over the hill and drove into Pointe-a-Pitre. After the quaint villages on the west side, the major metropolitan area around PaP came as a surreal surprise.

Afternoon
Iles des Saintes in the distance

After passing the marina, we visited the Fort Fleur d’Épée. There were some impressive underground light displays, in addition to the Fort’s external features.

Marie Galante view from the fort
Marie Galante view from the fort

The drive back was broken up by a detour through the vast Jarry shopping area. I’ve been told this is the second largest such area in France,  the larger one is outside of Paris.

Beach at Grand Anse
Beach at Grand Anse

Our pit stop was at Plage de la Perle for a tasty cold beverage before the final stop at Plage de Grand Anse just before Deshaies. 

Dinner

The cap of the day’s island tour came with a great dinner at Le coin des pêcheurs before returning back to our respective boats.