Guadeloupe

Now that the sun was up, we had an opportunity to really check out our villa.  Located a block (and change) off the beach, the main house was a three-bedroom villa built in traditional Guadeloupean style with high ceilings and lots of open windows and doors to allow the ocean breezes to move through the house.  There was a porch that completely circled the house that was ideal for dining, lounging next to the pool, or playing ping pong or foosball.  A beautiful garden area with tropical flowers led to the studio apartment that Marie-Laure stayed in, creating a very private little Garden of Eden, who’s peace and serenity was only disturbed by our friend, Ralph.
Text Box: Easter morning! We enjoyed a remarkably slow wake-up. Besides being tired (for Kathie, this was the third night in a row with less-than-desired sleep!), the shutters on our room had effectively blocked out all of the sunlight. The only reason we had any idea it was morning was thanks to our new friend, Ralph the Rooster (see right) who took it upon himself to make sure that each morning we were up shortly after the crack of dawn!

Our dining area on the porch

Victoria hitting the pool - you can get an idea of our tropical garden

Being VERY grateful we weren’t at work!

The view from our bedroom

The girls playing on the porch

TRYING to convince Chloe the water wasn’t that cold!

FAILING to convince Chloe it wasn’t that cold!

After spending the morning in the pool and enjoying the villa, we decided to take a stroll down to the beach to see what was there.  It was an easy five minute walk that took us to one of the nicest beaches we’ve experienced, Grand Anse.  What made it nice was that it had a great combination of beautiful waters (I could still see the bottom in water that was deeper than I was tall), beautiful beaches that stretch about two miles with soft sand that was a bit darker than normal because of the volcano, lots of palm trees to give us some shelter if we wanted, and quite a few lunch shacks just off the beach to give us some great food choices.  And meanwhile we were surrounded by tropical rainforests that climbed the mountains around us.

Our beach, Grand Anse

Try to look around the water drop to see how beautiful this beach was!

It wouldn’t be a trip to the beach without sand castles!

Enjoying lunch at one of the beach’s lunch shacks

Acting a wee bit wacky while waiting for our lunch

After playing in the surf for a while, we decided to grab a bite to eat.  As I mentioned, one of the things we liked about this beach was the lunch shacks.  These were very casual dining establishments that were the kind of place that Jimmy Buffet would hang out in if he were on Guadeloupe - good food, good beer, and fun, laid-back people taking care of us!  One of the things that we enjoyed watching were the tropical birds that hung out near us, getting their own lunch.

 

Our dining partners →

After lunch, we headed back to the villa for a quiet afternoon that was only disturbed by an Easter egg hunt for the girls that took them all over the garden and pool area.  This relaxation continued on into the evening as we enjoyed the mild temperatures and light ocean breeze coming in off the Caribbean.  This DEFINITELY beat being back at home dealing with the headaches of the real world like work, paying bills, and household issues!

Hunting for Easter eggs!

FINDING an Easter egg!

Enjoying the fruits of their labors!

Pascal’s intrepid battle with the barbecue grill!

Victoria and Estelle enjoying a late evening swim

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Tomorrow: A little exploring and a BEAUTIFUL waterfall

March 23, 2008

A Relaxing Start