The day following our hike up the volcano we had booked a snorkeling trip. We met on the northern part of Basse-Terre, in Sainte-Rose. We wanted to alternate the difficulty of our days so that we would not be too worn down, and the snorkeling tour was to be our ‘easy’ day. The day was amazing, the weather was unbelievably perfect, and we got engaged. It was a good day.
The day started off with us meeting at the harbor in Sainte-Rose, “in front of Clara’s restaurant”. Because we had issues with traffic before, we knew to leave early, and we were at the harbor almost 45 minutes early to be sure we did not miss out on the day. We took most of that time applying sunscreen to our New England skin (our New England in March skin). On the beach there were vendors selling fish, which attracted a lot of pelicans.
The snorkeling tour we went on was with a group of 9 other people, not including the captain. The largest group of people were 6 college kids from France, also on spring break. There was also a family from Romania with us, who did not speak French either. They did speak English, and it was nice to have other people that needed to be talked to in English.
Stop #1
Our first stop on the trip was Ilet Blanc, a small island just off the coast. The island is a popular destination for tours, and there were quite a few people there. Our guide walked us around the small island and pointed out different species of fish. After a little while we noticed that there was no one in the small grove of trees, and that is where I headed to explore.
This may be a good time to mention the mentality that we have that motivated us to start writing this blog. We live a short life, and many times it is one that is uneventful. We do not go and try new things or explore new areas, generally. The only reason that I wandered into the grove of small trees (with a ton of shells on the ground that did not treat my feet very nicely), was that I knew that I would never in my life do that again. I will go to other places, sure, but I will never do THAT again. I think that it is important to cultivate that feeling of adventure and exploration, and I have not regretted it yet (except maybe that time I ate ghost pepper chicken wings).
After a short time we loaded up and headed to our next stop.
Stop #2
Our next stop was a mangrove forest, which was one of my favorite stops (I am a tree guy). We stopped at this large mass of mangrove trees in the middle of the ocean. The guide told us about how they got there, as well as how well adapted they are at filtering the salt out of the water for them to then use. I would be happy to write about mangroves if anyone would like to read it! In short, they pull up salt water and store the extra salt in the leaves, which eventually fall off.
Stop #3
Our next stop was a snorkeling one. The captain stopped in Grand Cul-de-Sac Marin, a natural reserve in Guadeloupe. The reserve was named a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, and is characterized by crystal blue water, mangroves and uninhabited islands. There was some coral on the sea bed, as well as a wide variety of tropical fish. Everybody spent a long time in the water, it was our first snorkeling spot of the day!
Spot #4
This stop was a fun one! The captain stopped the boat nearby an old structure on an island, I believe it was some sort of refinery… Anyway, he whipped out some music and busted out bottles of rum and made cocktails for everyone! We hung out on the boat for a while drinking and socializing, which ended up being a lot of fun!
Spot #5
The next stop was also where we had lunch. The captain had prepared Tuna tar-tar, which was amazing, and appetizer like food. He also provided alcohol, to make the trip more fun! After eating we explore the small uninhabited island. The captain caught and showed us a large sea urchin, which squirmed and moved like some sort of alien.
This is also where we got engaged, where the magic happened. I got the captain to take photos of us in front of a mangrove, of which he took many. When he went to hand the phone back to us, I asked if he could take just one more (I think he was a little insulted that we did not trust his photography skills). It was in then that I had asked Meaghan to marry me. The captain got incredibly excited and happily took more pictures. Meaghan’s response to me was, “umm… what are you doing?”, something that I will not let her live down. She said yes afterwards!
The entire time I was on my knee that sea urchin that the captain picked up seemed to be crawling towards me. From the corner of my eye it looked like it was inching closer… and closer…
Spot #6
On our way to our next stop, the captain had set up a table on the boat. We ate a more formal lunch, with fish, chicken and rice. Our next stop was a larger island, and there were dozens of boats anchored off shore. There were shanty shacks built up, people para-sailing off shore and dozens of people sun bathing. We played in the sand.
Spot #7
Our final stop was at a shipwreck. We had the chance to snorkel around this wreck and see how the ocean began claiming it. Fish were using it as habitat, and we were able to see many different species, as well as a barracuda, swimming around the shipwreck.
Overall, the trip was amazing! We would highly recommend that if anyone goes to visit Guadeloupe, they take the time to go on this adventure. The company that we went with was La Route du Lagon. The captain was fantastic, and took the time to provide us with the same experience that a French speaking person would have. You can find more information at this website.