Guadeloupe - Culture

Guadeloupe is the center of the Caribbean's Creole culture, boasting a spirited blend of French and African influences. As well known for its sugar and rum as for its beaches and resorts, this provincial island archipelago offers travellers an interesting mix of modern cities, rural hamlets, rainforests and secluded beaches.

Guadeloupe has many fine beaches, some of which are clothing-optional. There are white-sand beaches in the resort towns of Gosier, Sainte-Anne and Saint-François. On the northern side of the peninsula leading to Pointe des Châteaux there are a couple of picturesque remote beaches: Anse a la Gourde, a gorgeous sweep of white coral sands, and Anse Tarare, an adjacent nudist beach. While most of Grande-Terre's eastern coast has rough surf, there is a swimmable beach at Le Moule and a little protected cove at Porte d'Enfer. On the western side of Grande-Terre, Port-Louis is the most popular swimming spot, with a broad sandy beach that attracts weekend crowds. On Basse-Terre, the best beaches are along the northern side of the island just north of Deshaies: Grande Anse beach, with its expansive golden sands, and Plage de Tillet, a secluded clothing-optional cove.

The country has many first-rate snorkelling and diving sites. Guadeloupe's most popular snorkelling spot is Pigeon Island, off the western coast of Basse-Terre. Another is Ilet du Gosier, which can be reached by boat from Gosier. Guadeloupe's top diving site is the Reserve Cousteau at Pigeon Island. Spear fishing has long been banned and consequently the waters are teeming with fish.

Guadeloupe has good surfing from October to May at Le Moule, Port-Louis and Anse Bertrand, and from June to August at Sainte-Anne, Saint-Francois and Petit-Havre. Windsurfing is centered near the resorts on the southern side of Grande-Terre and on the island of Terre-de-Haut.

You can hike many short trails on Guadeloupe that take in waterfalls, primordial rainforest and botanical gardens. Serious hikers will find many longer, more rigorous trails in the Parc National de la Guadeloupe, including one to the volcanic summit of La Soufriere and another to the base of Chutes du Carbet, the Eastern Caribbean's highest waterfalls.

Guadeloupean culture draws on French, African, East Indian and West Indian influences. The mix is visible in the architecture, which ranges from French colonial to Hindu temples; in the food, which merges influences from all the cultures into a unique Creole cuisine; and in the local Creole patois that predominates in the home.

At festivals and cultural events on Guadeloupe you're apt to see women wearing traditional Creole dress, which is typically a full, brightly coloured skirt, commonly a madras-type plaid of oranges and yellows, with a matching headdress, a white lace-trimmed blouse and petticoat and a scarf draped over the shoulder.

The islands have a thriving music scene, including zouk, calypso, reggae and beguine, which Guadeloupeans claim they, not Martinicans, invented.

Guadeloupe is a butterfly resting on the surface of the Caribbean. This French West Indies island is made up of two wings that aren't quite connected. The eastern wing is called Grande Terre and is a filled in coral reef; quite flat and with good beaches. The western wing is Basse Terre and is a mountainous island thrust up from the ocean floor by a volcano that is still active - La Soufriere. These wings are as different as night and day.

Five other islands belong to the archipelago of Guadeloupe:
Les Saintes, la Desirade and Petite Terre, Marie Galante, and finally in the north Saint Martin (split into a French and Netherland section) and Saint Bartholomew.

Guadeloupe is located 7.000km from Europe and 2.900km from North America and bathed by the Atlantic Ocean as well as by the Caribbean Sea. The climate here is temperate owing to the trade winds and temperatures vary between 20° to 30°C.

LES SAINTES

Among the most beautiful Caribbean islands - the scenery like an operetta setting. Terre de Haut lies at a splendid bay with a "sugar loaf" almost like Rio.

There are few cars, the best way to visit is to rent a bike or a scooter or to walk, for those who feel up to it. Try the beaches or visit Fort Napoleon, its exhibition and its iguanas. Climb on the "Chameau" (309m), the magnificent circular view will pay for the effort!

THE ISLANDS OF PETITE TERRE

Magnificent desert islands south of Pointe des Chateaux inhabited just by a few iguanas. Make a day trip by motor- or sailboat, you'll find a snorkelling paradise and beautiful beaches. This small archipelago is a nature reserve since 1994, hunting and fishing is forbidden.

LA DESIRADE

At a one hour's trip by boat from Saint-François you will find an island appearing as a ship ran aground in the middle of the ocean.

She is in the major part mountainous and rocky and therefore vegetation is rather poor. Of all the islands of the archipelago Guadeloupe, she is the one the less influenced by organized tourism. Maybe this is the reason for the cordial welcome by the inhabitants.

You can discover the little fisher's villages and some beautiful and - what is more - almost empty beaches by means of walking or on rented bikes or scooters as on Les Saintes.

The genuineness of this island's nature and its inhabitants will satisfy those who look for peace and quiet instead of the noisy activity of organized travelling.

MARIE GALANTE

Taking her name from Columbus' caravel, she is the biggest island depending on Guadeloupe (1h by boat).

Although the climate is rather dry, you'll find a luxuriant vegetation that made her the home of sugar cane and subsequently of rum distilling. Taste one of the best rums, but beware of your liver, rum may be up to 59° ! proof.

Take a stroll on one of the well marked paths to discover the beauty of a landscape scattered with windmills and ruins of former sugar refineries. The beaches are the most beautiful of Guadeloupe.

Saint-Martin is located about 250km north from Continental-Guadeloupe and belongs to the so-called Northern Archipelago. The island was discovered by Christopher Columbus on November 11^th, 1493, on Saint Martin's day. In 1648, after a historical foot-race, she was split in a Dutch and a French (3/5 of the territory) section. This partition is signalled by an almost imperceptible border.

Since then, the peaceful cohabitation of the two communities has allowed this island of only thirty-seven square miles, to become the unique holiday and shopping paradise of the Caribbean.

Geographically, the island is partitioned in two: Grande-Terre and Terres-Basses (Lowlands), joined by two narrow land strips encircling the salt-water pond, "etang", of Simsonbaai. All along the coasts, where 37 beaches with glittering white sand are awaiting you, you'll find other land strips, separating salt-water ponds from the open sea. Most of the villages have settled there : Marigot, Grand Case, Philipsburg, Simsonbaai. Except for the picturesque village of Colombier, the inland is almost uninhabited. Thus, hikers are undisturbed strolling through sumptuous green valleys and rolling hills. The island's highest point is the Pic du Paradis (1,400 feet), revealing a spectacular panorama of the scenery and the tropical rain forest below.

SAINT BARTHOLOMEW

Saint Bartholomew is situated at a distance of 200kms from continental Guadeloupe and 25kms from Saint-Martin. It is a mountainous island of 25km² (0.62 acres), whose only even area is occupied by the airport's runway.

Discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1493, he named it after his brother.

The native inhabitants, called "St-Barths" are descendants of colonists from Normandy and Brittany who settled here.

As the climate is rather dry, agriculture has never been developed, thus no slaves had been employed and there are only few half casts among the population.

After Swedish domination of about one century, when Saint Barth was granted its statute of free port, the island was retroceded to France and is now part of the overseas department Guadeloupe.

Despite of the tight relationship with France, the American influence is considerable because of tourism and privileged relations with the American Virgin Islands.

Thanks to stringent building regulations and price control, Saint-Barth never became a destination for mass tourism and today is the paradise for millionaires in the Caribbean. The Saint-Barths, residents from France and other countries live in one city, Gustavia, and a dozen of villages .