Guadeloupe Islands Travel Planner - (Page 11)

Near Guadeloupe’s little capital city on the southwest coast, Basse-Terre, is Fort Louis Delgrès. Named after an important abolitionist who made a stand here in 1802, the fort was started in the mid-1600s to keep the British from taking over the island. It succeeded, too, although not without a lot of effort and bloodshed. But obviously, both sides had concluded that Basse-Terre was worth it. MARIE-GALANTE Resembling a big, round pancake in the sea just south of Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante is, like its larger neighbor, mostly farmland, but without a population center as large as Pointe-à-Pitre. It does have lovely beaches, historic monuments, yacht charters, watersports, an airport and good ferry connections, and enough authenticity to seduce any cultural tourist. Oh yes, and rum—world-class rum. Most visitors come for the day and take a 4-hour minibus tour or rent a moped; others check into a hotel or cottage for a 3-day stay. All are charmed by the miles of cane tended by farmers driving oxcarts. If that doesn’t remind you to slow down in life, what will? And there are not many other places on earth where you can bet a couple of euros on a tug-of-war between oxen or visit a traditional garden like Jardin de Buckingham, with its organic plants and Table d’hotes/restaurant. Where there’s cane, there’s rum—at least in Guadeloupe—and the colonial-era buildings and exhibits at Château Murat, a plantation-turnedmuseum, show how, in an earlier time, cane was king and rum was, well, emperor. Murat also offers a rare glimpse into slave culture, because some of the old slave quarters are open to visitors. Today, cane and rum still take center stage on Marie-Galante, so visitors can stop in at the award-winning Rhum Bologne, Domaine de Severin, Distillerie Poisson (Père Labat), or Bielle distilleries to see how the best estate-bottled rhum is made. And sure, tours end with tastings. ➨ 7 Reasons Why Guadeloupe is an Ecotourism Paradise 1. Each of the Guadeloupe archipelago’s islands has a totally unique ecosystem, from volcanic Basse-Terre to ﬂat and arid PetiteTerre, so visitors can explore a world of tropical environments and possibilities. 2. Basse-Terre’s interior, with its live volcanoes, the tallest peak in the Lesser Antilles— La Soufrière, just short of one mile high— primeval rainforests, spectacular waterfalls, prime canyoning cascades, birds, and hiking trails, is protected forever under the auspices of Guadeloupe National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. 3. Named by Jacques Cousteau as one of the world’s top 10 dive sites, the Pigeon Islands and their coral reefs, wrecks, sea turtles, and tropical ﬁsh, are also forever protected as the Cousteau Reserve, so it now serves as a wonderland for divers, snorkelers and kayakers. 4. The Guadeloupe Aquarium, on GrandeTerre, is not only the best aquarium in the Caribbean, but as part of its education mandate it offers small-craft tours led by exceptional guides. 5. Because preservation of heritage is one of the pillars of ecotourism, Guadeloupe has preserved and restored historic monuments such as fortresses, colonial-era buildings in Pointe-à-Pitre, the remains of the leper colony on La Désirade, and stone sugar mills and windmills. 6. Preservation of culture, too, is as integral to ecotourism as ﬂora and fauna, and Guadeloupe is one part of the Caribbean where the old agricultural way of life, from the oxcarts to the cuisine, markets, music, dance, crafts, and countless customs, have held its own against the homogenizing forces of modernity. 7. In much of the archipelago, from Basse-Terre to Marie-Galante to the smaller islands, the beaches and other environments on the coasts remain unspoiled. Indeed, the government has protected the entire Petite-Terre island group— including its waters—as a nature reserve. The birds and iguanas are grateful, and thanks to the ferries whose guides lead tours of this rarity, a group of authentic desert islands, so are the visitors. 11

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Guadeloupe Islands Travel Planner

10 Essential Things to See and Do
Different Strokes for Different Isles
How to Sell Guadeloupe
Step Back in Time
Events, Festivals and Fun
Fast Facts

Guadeloupe Islands Travel Planner