Guadeloupe – The French Oasis of the Caribbean – Part 2
Our visit to the island of Guadeloupe was also our final stop of the TRANSATLANTIC CRUISE FROM EUROPE TO THE CARIBBEAN – see HERE.
READ THE FIRST PART OF THE TRAVELOGUE FOR GUADELOUPE AS WELL – SEE HERE
What is it like to welcome Christmas in flip-flops, splashing on an exotic Caribbean beach, and what it's like to experience a true MIRACLE, read in the second part of the travelogue below.
The next day was Christmas Eve, December 24. Early in the morning, we returned the car to Eurocar and walked through the city from there. We went shopping and went home to cook our “holiday dinner.” At sunset, around 5:00 or 6:00 p.m., we took a walk along the beach and took some really nice photos. From there, we went back to the apartment to eat our Christmas Eve “festive dinner,” which consisted of chicken with potatoes, a lettuce salad, and a festive banitsa. The banitsa looked like it had cheese, but it turned out to have something very strange—a mixture of spinach and local red potatoes. Earlier that same day, we bought a liter and a half of coconut juice and a small can of the white coconut pulp at the city market. The total came to 4 euros.
We quickly had a bite to eat and wondered what else to do. We decided to go to the Catholic church in the city center, where there was a service starting at 7 PM. It was very dark outside and we were a little scared, but we got there and back without any trouble. We arrived there at exactly 7 PM. The hall was already packed from the inside, and there were even people outside by the windows. We liked a spot near one of the windows and settled in there. I personally managed to see and understand almost nothing of what was happening… We stayed until 8:30 – 9 PM and left. On the way back, the wheel from the baby stroller fell off without us realizing when and where, and Simeon had to go back and find it, while I and the kids continued on foot through the dark to the apartment…
Like my page on FACEBOOK to be the first to hear about new travel stories and great deals!
The next day was Christmas and, as a rule, there should be gifts 🙂 And since we didn't have a Christmas tree, we placed them under a palm tree right in front of our terrace. The kids, however, spotted them immediately, jumped over the fence, and grabbed them. For 25 days, we had kept the gifts hidden in our luggage. Krisko took his – some crazy musical cart from Jammy that spins and opens its doors by itself, and Avi got a children's manicure and pedicure set 🙂 Before going on the trip, it was a big wonder what to take so that it would be small enough to fit in the suitcase, and not only did we manage to fit them, but we also kept them hidden all the way until Christmas.
After that, we went to the morning Christmas service at 9 AM. Unlike last night, when there were many whites, this morning we were among the few whites who woke up early and came to church. We managed to grab one of the last remaining seats in the hall. We were also given a printed sheet on which, like a script, the lyrics to the songs, prayers, and so on were written.
After church, we went to the beach. That afternoon, we watched a DVD of *The Hunchback of Notre Dame* about Quasimodo and Esmeralda.
The next day: waking up, breakfast, and heading to the nearest intercity transport stop. We were going to visit the most famous and beautiful beach on the island of Guadeloupe – the one in the town of Sainte-Anne. When we arrived there, we first went through a small market with perfect souvenir knick-knacks: postcards, magnets, and many other souvenirs made from the characteristic Guadeloupean fabric from which local traditional clothing is made – a mix of red, orange, yellow, and white.
After that, we also went to the beach itself. There, in the water, there was an interesting facility for children that could be seen from the main road. The beach had many palm trees, the sand was relatively white, and the water in the sea was very clean. And the best thing about it was that the beach turned out to be very shallow and you could walk about 150 meters out into the sea. Perfect for kids! We couldn't get ours out of the water. I had read beforehand that it was also good for snorkeling, but apart from a stray white fish here and there, we didn't see anything else. Later on the way back, we bought diapers from Carrefour, which turned out to be quite cheaper compared to the standard of living in Bulgaria and France.
December 27, the last day on the island of Guadeloupe, was mainly dedicated to packing our luggage and cleaning the apartment.
In the afternoon, we went to the children's pool in the complex where our apartment was located. Both little ones plunged underwater a few times unintentionally and swallowed a good gulp of water.
This evening we went for our usual and last walk to town. We passed by the local market, where nothing interesting usually happens, but tonight the market was bustling. We couldn't tell if there was some kind of holiday, but besides the standard stalls for that place selling local sweets, tonight there was also takeaway food – spicy chicken drumsticks and various other things. We looked around to see what to get and finally liked some small banitsa pastries with four types of fillings. Although they looked safer compared to the red pepper-rubbed chicken drumsticks, these pastries also turned out to be unexpectedly spicy. Still, it was interesting to try something local. That was the only ready-made food we got in Guadeloupe. Everything else we cooked in the apartment. Firstly, from a budget perspective, and secondly, due to the modest choice of restaurants that the town of Saint-François offered us. Also, on this day from the supermarket we got a ripe brown coconut, which, for me personally, turned out to be much tastier than the green ones. Green coconuts have more juice, but the white fleshy part is significantly less, while the brown one has much more white flesh and a very small amount of juice.
–> Browse and book a future hotel in Guadeloupe at a discount. See HERE!
28 December 2016. In the morning, we finished off the remaining food, made ourselves mayonnaise sandwiches (as if with anything else 🙂), tidied up, cleaned the apartment, and finally headed to the bus stop to catch the intercity bus from Sainte-Anne to the capital, Pointe-à-Pitre. Our flight was at 16:30, and we left the apartment at 12 o'clock. It seemed like we had enough time to get to the airport without rushing… Yes, but here is what happened.
We go to the bus stop and start waiting for the bus to arrive, we wait and wait... We waited for this bus for a whole hour... and accordingly at 14 o'clock we were in the capital. Then, according to my prior research on the Internet, we had to catch another bus to the airport. A big problem was that the locals didn't speak any English at all, only Spanish, which I've been putting off starting to learn for a long time and alas – I didn't understand a thing... still, as much as we managed to communicate with them, they said that no such bus exists, or as another one said, "Maybe tomorrow" 🙂
I looked at the map and according to it, it was supposed to take us about an hour to walk to the airport, so we set off. With all the luggage and two small children in tow in the extreme heat! Meanwhile, we desperately looked around for taxis, but usually when we don't need a taxi they keep offering us their services, and when we needed one there were none to be found. It was already 3:00 PM (an hour and a half before departure), and we were still nowhere. On the map, it looked like we were halfway to the airport.
And right at that moment a TRUE MIRACLE happened...
At this exact moment of physical exhaustion, immense tension, and constant anxiety over whether we would catch or miss our flight, a young black man stopped by us on the road. He was the only person in all of Guadeloupe who spoke fluent English. He said he had seen us with all that luggage and the kids and decided to come back and help us. I asked him how much it would cost, and he told me it would be free – 0. He also added that just as if he came to our country, Bulgaria, and found himself in the same situation, he would be glad for someone to help him, so he decided to do it for us. It was a huge dilemma whether to get into the car of this completely stranger. He wasn't even a taxi. And since we had no time to waste and really had no other options, we decided to get in. The man was very kind and everything went smoothly. He helped us with boarding, loading, and unloading the luggage from and into the car. He worked with computers. It was a huge relief for us when we saw that we were entering the airport parking lot. After getting out, the man disappeared somewhere and after a little while came back with a luggage cart and we were like WOW… Until the very last moment, we expected him to ask for money or trick us in some way, but no. He was truly an exceptionally friendly person. For the first time in my life, I am experiencing such an attitude, and from a stranger at that. We exchanged emails, and he even wrote to me to ask if everything went okay with the return, and I wrote to him to call me when he comes to BG. J For me, the memory of this stranger will remain as if a guardian angel was sent to help us…
If you also want to get back a portion of what you spent on hotels, flights, or products, register at this link HERE and every new user receives up to a $10 bonus in their account.
We were already so freaked out by this whole situation that in our haste we unloaded the luggage and the stroller, and Simeon put Krisko in the stroller, but I didn't see him and we all rushed quickly toward the terminal, since it was a matter of minutes before check-in closed, and at one point I remembered and asked “Where’s Chris?” and this guy also asked “Where’s Chris?” and the two of us started looking around nervously, when Simeon came and said that Chris was in the stroller that I was pushing… J It was very funny.
At 15:20 we were already in the departure lounge. There were many people, even too many for such a small airport. Everything indicated that our flight would be delayed. We supposedly went through with priority because of the baby with us, but in the end we boarded the plane almost last.
Our flight was with XL Airways. Our tickets cost 240 €/adult, and the baby ticket was slightly cheaper. The plane took off at 16:30 local time and arrived in Paris at 05:00 the next morning. The flight lasted 8 hours, and since the kids slept for 5 of them, they didn't feel the long flight. Simeon slept in a spot on another row suggested by the flight attendants.
I first heard about this airline when I was looking for return tickets from Guadeloupe to Europe. It is not one of the most famous airlines, but it left us with very good impressions and we would choose them again. The cabin crew was top-notch – smiling and friendly. The planes were very clean and well-maintained. During the flight, we could pour ourselves as much water as we wanted from bottles left in the area next to the toilets. It included one main meal, which was very difficult to eat given our small and mischievous son Krisko and the easily pushable seat tray tables.
December 29, 2016. We landed in Paris, and despite the early hour, the airport was a madhouse. There were several incoming flights, and in the hall where passport control was located, there wasn’t even room to drop a pin… We waited nearly 30 minutes to get through, and it turned out that, once again, we were given priority because we had a baby with us. We picked up our luggage and headed to Gare du Nord. We had planned to leave our luggage there so we wouldn’t have to lug it around all over Paris. We had a big problem finding the luggage storage area because there were no signs anywhere. The biggest problem for all of us, though, was… the cold weather. Well, it wasn’t that cold, but when you come from a place where it’s over 30 degrees to a place where it’s between 1 and 5 degrees, it feels really awful. Freezing…
We left our luggage and took the metro to the Notre-Dame Cathedral. There was a huge queue there, which we quite “lightly” jumped ahead of and went in. Both of us had been to this cathedral before, so we just took a quick look around, but it was the first time for the kids. Because of the severe terrorist attacks in France in recent years, there were military personnel in front of the cathedral, and backpacks were being checked at the entrance. From there, we took the metro to the Eiffel Tower, but it had already gotten too cold for us and we decided to head towards the airport.
We headed back to Gare Du Nord, picked up our luggage and went to the spot to catch the airport bus in Beauvais. The price for the shuttle was almost double what I had read in advance. It turned out that if you buy your tickets online in advance, the prices are quite lower than on-site. Next to the bus parking lot, there was a huge mall with free wifi and it was full of people like us waiting for the time to board the bus. We departed at 17:30 and were told we had to wear our seatbelts during the trip. Something new – it had never happened to us anywhere else when traveling by bus.
We arrived at the airport at 19:00. It was already dark, even colder, and as a bonus, rainy and foggy. Everything at Beauvais Airport was calm until the moment we had to start boarding the plane. They had announced one gate, after which at the last minute they changed it to another one located in a completely different place in the airport. Our flight was delayed by one hour.
After that, throughout the entire medium-haul flight, when most passengers were trying to sleep, Krisko didn't stop crying. He had already built up a lot of traveling and emotions, and during this flight he cried his lungs out... We tried all sorts of ways to calm him down, but we just couldn't. We arrived in Sofia at 1:00 AM at night. There my father-in-law was waiting for us, who was going to drive us to Plovdiv. Even in the car Krisko continued for another half an hour to cry inconsolably and scream for no reason.
We slept so well last night that the next morning everyone woke up at 1 PM… After a month of wandering around the world, we were already ready to return to reality…