Relaxing on the "butterfly islands"

Another three weeks have past. This holiday has really gone much faster than I had imagined! The first thing I did when I arrived the Canella Beach Hotel was to lie down on the big soft bed and look at the sea from outside the wide open balcony doors. A place like this was exactly what I needed after being in Haiti nearly a month.
The “butterfly island” it is even prettier than I imagined. These are the two biggest of all the islands in Guadeloupe. They are called that because it looks like a butterfly. My hotel is in the middle of the butterfly on the Grande-Terre side. Grande-Terre is the east wing and the other wing is called Basse-Terre. The butterfly islands are separated by a river in the middle of the butterfly. Basse-Terre is also the name of the capital of Guadeloupe.


This picture shows the main islands in Guadeloupe, the capital, and where my hotel was.


This is form my hotel


This is also from the hotel

It’s about 26 degrees the whole year. The temperature doesn’t change much during the seasons. It was hot here too, but not that extreme as in Haiti. It was nearly weird to see whole buildings again, and it made me happy. I had come here to relax, and that is exactly what I have done these past weeks.
The nature is of course one of the biggest attractions on Guadeloupe. The beaches was so white, and the sea so clear and blue, that I could just stand and stare at it for hours. The water was refreshing warm, and I bathed several times even though I normally use to feel more comfortable on the land.


They really have the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen



I spent some days on the beach before I felt ready for some activities. I tried out some canoeing in the beautiful falls, and we went on boat trips on the sea. The canoeing was really funny. It went quickly down the river and I was nearly flying in the small falls. I really want to do that again soon.
I also wanted to dive while I was here, so we joined a diver trip to the reefs. We took a boat in about an hour before we could start diving. It was very windy on the boat, and it got cold when I wasn’t standing in the sun. Finally we got there, and we could start diving. We only used diving mask, because we couldn’t dive underwater. One reason was that we was amateurs without any knowledge about the equipment, but it also was to shallow. If I had put down my feet, I would have sand on the ground. But we wasn’t allowed to do that, because it could damage the corals an it could be fishes with poison in their shells, which could be very dangerous to be hit of.




This was a larger fall that we pased


I saw a turtle underwater. It wasn't this turtle, because I didn't have any underwater camera.



Guadeloupe is one of France’s 26 regions, and their language is French. They are therefore a part of EU and uses euro. Because of lack of raw material and the long distance to Europe, they rely on large transfers from France. Agriculture and tourism are their main sources of income.

I wanted to see the capital, so we drove to Basse-Terre to look around. We were only staying there a couple of days. I wanted to see the city, so we walked around, and found a nice restaurant. I ordered safe, and ended up with pizza. Pizza always tastes good.

We went on a historical museum of Guadeloupe, and It has mostly been under France. They also have been affected by hurricanes and earthquakes many times.
We found out that it was a volcano nearby, which we could visit if we wanted. I wanted of course, but I was a little doubtful when I heard that it was active. But they insured that it wouldn’t be any danger for outbreak. It was a long way to go, but when I finally got there, I didn’t regret. It was a big crater where the top should have been. The view was just amazing, and we stayed on the volcano for a while.


it wasn't any smoke while I was there, but it is the same volcano

The time has really run quickly, and I have to start packing. I’m going home tomorrow, something that I think is a shame, but it also is a little good. I’m really going to miss this place a lot. It’s like a paradise, I have to travel back here some other time too! I’m not done with the Caribbean, but I guess I never will be.



- Amanda