Left Boston on a dreary day headed to sunny Guadeloupe for our first travel adventure with pearl. Bumpy ride but surprisingly comfortable for a budget airline. Landed around 5:45 sailed through customs and picked up our rental van. The trip to ti colibri was a bit challenging because it was dark and our destination definitely not on the …

Mondays are great in Guadeloupe! Woke up to fantastic sunshine and enjoyed the fruit that Natalie gave us and Tom’s airport cheese and cracker package. In great need of supplies and some coffee, we took a drive into St. Francois and parked at the first Boulangerie we saw for a coffee. I indulged in a ham and cheese croissant just …

A remarkable day! Good luck topping this one Wednesday! Left around 10ish for short ride to Pointe de Chateaux. It is the primary must see spot on Grande Terre so plenty of tourists were there including a few other cyclists. We had a nice chat with a couple from Quebec that bring their bikes to Guadeloupe frequently, enjoyed the view …

We woke up early this morning! That’s a first for our time on Guadeloupe as the room we sleep in is super dark and quiet. Had a quick cup of coffee and bit of breakfast and set off for a morning ride to beat the heat. We rode to Pointe de Chateaux which was blissfully quiet except for cyclists buzzing …

Our shopping yesterday definitely put us in the category of old people that just don’t give a damn. Check out my new hat and Tom’s water shoes! That was us on the Marina at 7AM this morning for all day excursion to Marie Galante. Catamarran was fun and all of the men had a great time when they got to …

Did our now usual morning ride to Saint Francois around 8:30ish. Saw 58 cyclists in the ten miles we rode! We’re guessing about 40 of those were unique as many cyclists ride out to Pointe de Chateaux and back. Remarkable! Cleaned up and went to the municipal beach in Saint Francois, Les Raisins Clairs. Just gorgeous. Laid on the sand …

Last night Natalie came by with a watermelon from Papi’s garden. It was delicious! She then went and got us a banana jam that Tony made for us all wrapped in bubble wrap for travel. I’ve felt more like a friend and house guest than someone renting their bungalow; they are a very special family. The girls all kissed me …

We stopped in our next door small store this morning for some basic provisions including a couple of bottles of wine. Young woman working there spoke no English but saw Tom looking at the wine and came to point out a couple that were good. Then we went for a walk leaving around 9 and following the carnaval parade route …

First stop was Musee de Cacoa in Pointe Noire. We arrived right as they opened and were told to go through exhibits and then catch a tour at 10:30. Quite easy as the person at entrance spoke English and many of the signs had English summaries. The path through exhibits was both pretty and interesting. The 30 minutes flew by …

Pointe a Pitre, largest city on Guadeloupe and home to the brand new Memorial ACTe, the caribbean center of expressions and memory of the slave trade and slavery. It opened in May 0f 2015 built on the site of a former sugar factory. The sugar plantations drove much of the slavery in Guadeloupe. We spent about 2 and half hours …