Snorkeling and boating from Saint Rose, Guadaloupe

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Wednesday August 1 - Murielle fed me another lovely breakfast today, though I admit I'm more in the mood for something warm and savory than cold and sweet, but it was still good, and very filling. I spent the morning organizing a bit, watching a tv show and skyping with Jeroen and my mom. It's weird to be back in the world of my own room, air conditioning, being a tourist, and eating chips and chocolate. I had turned off the snacks in Dominica cold turkey, but as soon as I got here I bought - and am eating - all the snacks.

I drew a simple map from google and left a bit early to get to Saint Rose to find the tour company. I did it with only one misturn, which I realized right away. Gwadaventure was located in a booth near the water along with many other booths. There was plenty of parking in the dirt lot, and though the woman working there did not speak English, I had no trouble paying and getting my mask, snorkel and fins for the trip. I was 30 minutes early, and I had planned to walk around town, but I was a little further outside than I'd thought, so I just walked around the jetty area for a while.

I was the only non-French speaker on the boat, which was ok. What didn't feel ok was all the water that kept hitting me and getting in my eyes and soaking my bag as we got where we were going. I spent five weeks in rainforest keeping my bag drier than I did on this boat ride today. At the first stop, I found out that the captain spoke English, which was helpful. We stopped first at Ilet Caret, a tiny sandy island in the middle of nowhere. We snorkeled there, and I snorkeled around the island looking at fish. There were thousands of tiny little fish near the boat, needlefish and others around. Next we stopped at a wreck and snorkeled there, then on to a spot with large starfish and then finally to one more snorkel stop. On the way back we also stopped at a mangrove forest, and a girl on the trip asked me if I understood the natural history the captain was explaining, so she translated for me, which was really nice. She lives here, but she is from Mulhouse in France, which is right next to Basel and shares the same airport. We also stopped at a nearby island where frigate birds and pelicans were roosting. She explained to me that the frigate bird had a red patch that indicated he wanted to screw. She apologized for not knowing the right word. I thought it was hilarious that screw was the word she knew.

When we got back to Saint Rose, I said goodbye and changed my clothes in my car before driving back. I stopped first at Super U to buy some raviolis for dinner tomorrow night. I also ended up with some more chips and a small ice cream, somehow. Next I stopped at Anse Perle to get a sandwich that Murielle recommended, but could not find the place. I also stopped at a lookout point, but could not park, so I kept going. The sun was in my eyes on the way back, which was not ideal. I got back around 6:30pm, rinsed the salt out of my bathing suit, showered and then "cooked" my raviolis. I have a kettle, so I boiled some water and put my raviolis in two bowls. I covered them with the hot water for a few minutes, drained them, and voila! So glad that works.

Now to figure out my day tomorrow before I fall asleep.

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[D MJ Binkley]

Serenity
The joys of the sea.