Subtle…

This I am not. I can’t help it. I always feel the need to share my opinion (but for my best opinion, let me think about whatever it is for a few days). I suppose that’s why it’s taken me so long to write about Guadeloupe.

The “Butterfly Island” is lovely. The people are nice, the beaches are great and I ate lots of bread. I ate lots of bread… butter too (I’m talking to all women right now). Oh well. If I’m being completely honest, it was one of my favourite parts of the mini-break. French people have baking down to an art form and I love them for it. Viva La France!

That’s another thing about Guadeloupe that I found interesting... These people are French. Well, not quite, and I asked one of them about that. He threw up his hands in a giant shrug and rolling his “Rs” in the way only a cheeky Frenchman can he said,

“Well, I guess we arrrrrreee both!”

I love stereotypes, however, these people are anything but that. They were certainly interesting, especially so for me. I’m going to quote Jeremy Taylor again (sorry JT, you say it better than I do), they’re “so close in some ways, unimaginably far in others”. Never truer words were spoken. I’m embracing my Trini nationality a lot these days (it’s who I am after all) and I have to say there’s a lot to be said for the peoples of the Caribbean region. We’re all similar and I can’t quite put my finger on what makes us so. I think it must be the sun. Sun people are the best! And, I really had a chance to soak it in this trip.

And, so do the French. If Guadeloupe is the playground of the French bourgeoisie, then Mari-Galante is their sun-bed. Mari-Galante, the “little mistress” off the shore of Guadeloupe, is everything (I think) men think a mistress should be – pretty and uncomplicated. It’s too bad for them that half the time that’s not the case… we are all women, after all. Mari-Galante reminds me of a mulatto woman that grew up in the Plantation house. Simple, but worked hard for the master that is France. The mills and marble are still there to prove it. She is beautiful and serene.

I completely relaxed on Mari- Galante’s beaches, as did a little old French lady in a bright yellow bikini next to me. And she had no issues about taking it off for her costume change half way through her excursion. The British bit in me was completely shocked and the Trini in me found it hilarious! I can tell that they’re certainly some characters to be seen in Guadeloupe, but not as much as in Trinidad, I think we win in that category. Another win for us would be food. I’m sorry Guadeloupe, but our local dishes, even though there were similarities, are really very good.

But the sand was white, the sea was turquoise and the trees were green and yellow. Pretty I tell you and definitely comparable with Barbados… and I love their beaches. But, I should really stop comparing. It’s not a good habit and I got in trouble for it in Mari-Galante. To date, I am the only person I know to get “boofed” from their tour guide. In all fairness, her sinuses were acting up and it was only I, without a stitch of French, on the tour. Surely not worth the money. We did laugh about it though and next time, to make things easier, I’ll walk with my translator. I really do have one. She’s great.

All in all, it was a short, uncomplicated trip. A true unwind. You can’t help but slow down, everyone else has after all. Even the airport staff was late for check-in, and almost as if they had set the trend for the journey back home, so was our luggage. However, I’m going to blame LIAT for that.