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Caribbean Travel RoundupNewsletter - Paul Graveline, Editor |
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Trip 8/97 Our visit to Mustique by sailboat in August, l997 was recounted in the January, l998 CTR. We continued south to Grenada where we laid over a few days and then sailed back to Martinique our point of origin. Throughout our travels I was reminded of the vagabond ways of liveaboard sailors whom we would often see in the anchorages. These folks meander the Caribbean at their own sweet pace venturing where they want when they want. Most of these sailor-travelers are retirees or drop outs with a sprinkling of stock market wunderkinds and perhaps one to two of America’s Most Wanted. For now, though certainly not forever, I am confined to a snapshot of their enviable lifestyle through these 30 day summer charters. Traveling Under Sail In The Caribbean Traveling under sail is a wonderful way to see the Caribbean, the best way in my opinion. The hassle factor is often seen as a deterrent. It is pointed out that to get from point A to B in a sailboat without sinking requires an investment of time, effort and resources to develop the necessary skills. This is true but the difficulty in learning those skills is often overstated and is less of an obstacle than widely believed. Of course, it goes without saying that one must also enjoy the sea and be tolerant of its caprices but both can be acquired tastes. The rewards for a would-be traveler are great. For openers, the mere words ‘traveling under sail’ conjure up an adventuresome whole which manifestly exceeds the sum of its parts. It is more than traveling, sailing or for that matter adventure. To travel under sail is to pursue all these things but to do so in the company of grace, style and romance. The term brims, as does the activity itself, with the excitement and challenge that comes from reaching out to new horizons and achieving them on one’s own terms. Traveling under sail, by the way, is to be distinguished from sailing. The latter is undeniably a wholesome activity. But sailing for its own sake attracts a zealot fringe who become wed to technique, mechanics and ultimately to their boats. Travelers, on the other hand, properly view the boat as the platform which gets them there, a platform to be properly preserved and never depreciated but a platform nonetheless. In a sense the boat is a means to an end. Fisherman are said typically to view their boats this way. I confide this in low tones, however. Such talk is heretical among sailors. But ephemeral things are not the only reasons to see the Caribbean by sailboat. It’s also pretty cheap, particularly when you usually end up with the best waterfront views. As an added incentive, bareboating costs drop significantly in low season even more dramatically than counterpart hotel costs. The boat I rented for 30 days this past summer would have cost close to $12,000 in the high season but off season it was $5,000 with discounting then available for repeat, extended chartering. That’s for three berths which sleep six adults - - more accurately, six contortionists. Two couples and maybe a small kid or two are more realistic. Still, staying on a rented boat keeps lodging and transportation costs remarkably low for island hoping in the southern Caribbean. Of course, it’s not altruism that leads charter companies to the deep summer discounting. July-September is slow for boat rentals due to heat, rainy season and hurricane risk. I’m personally not bothered by the heat and for five seasons have been lucky with the weather. But the risk is always there during the summer. This year the odds were with us- - there’s not been a destructive hurricane to hit St. Lucia or points south for decades. Crew - - indispensable both for sailing and for having fun - - requires getting a helping hand from friends and family. I generally have about 10 or so crew who come for a week or two at a time. The crew varies from experienced hands to those who haven’t yet professed final vows of nautical fidelity. By that I mean not all crew want to sleep aboard the boat every night - - like, didn’t you just say those berths are for contortionists? Even their recruiter must admit traveling under sail does involve cramped quarters, the lack of a comfortable bed and stingy hot showers. This has led to the adoption of an anti-mutiny strategy - - we take land lodgings from time to time. Plus, there’s a silver lining. With a little negotiating we sometimes get to sample the Caribbean’s finer hotels under “walk-in” rates - - rates for unreserved space then available - - that beat even the package rates. GRENADA We stayed at the Secret Harbor Resort located on Mt. Hartman Bay on the deeply embayed, scenic southern coast of Grenada. The charter company maintains a marina there and Secret Harbor is the house hotel. We stayed four nights while we prepped the boat for the return trip, switched crews and did some sightseeing. Several of the crew declared Grenada their favorite of the Windward Islands due to its lush appearance, friendly locals and overall tourist orientation although my own favorite was Martinique. Secret Harbor specializes in vacation package deals centered on water sports and a few days of sailing on a professionally crewed boat. But it has plenty of features to keep landlubbers content as well. It’s of Spanish-Moorish style with 10-12 upscale cottages, 2 suites per cottage, nestled on a superbly landscaped hillside overlooking the bay. The architecture and landscaping provide privacy for each unit including the porch which affords great views of the bay and marina. We found the accommodations and service to be fine. The restaurant was ok, nice for a special meal but a little pretentious considering the main clientele is just off the boat. One day the hotel closed the pool for repairs so the guests got to swim over at the Calabash Hotel a few minutes away. That’s another upscale spot with fine public areas and nice looking accommodations. We were rained out after only a short swim so we consoled ourselves by happy houring at their stylish terrace bar. Our party took a taxi-van for a day’s tour of the island, a recommended approach for one day’s touring as the roads are in generally good condition but not well enough marked for rental car exploration. The entire island is remarkably lush with profuse flowers and fruit bearing trees everywhere. Grenada is known as the “spice island” and in places exotic fragrances spice the air. There’s fine swimming at the base of Concord Falls. We had come prepared with bathing suits knowing there were changing facilities onsite. We stopped for lunch in the town of Morne Fendue up in the northeast corner of the island at Mascoll’s Plantation House a Victorian mansion now a B&B and one of the few restaurants in that region. The house is in contrast to the West Indian homes in this rural part of Grenada. It looks as if it has been transplanted from the English countryside as I suppose its architecture was two centuries ago. Delightfully funky sort of spot where we lunched in the living/dining room of the home surrounded by family knickknacks. Also visited Grand Etang Lake and National Park, a spot high in the mountains with a misted freshwater lake in the dormant volcano crater. For dinner one night we went to the main tourist area, Grand Anse Beach on the Caribbean side of the island. Enjoyed local seafood cuisine at the Coconut Beach Restaurant located on the beach with tables only a few feet from the moonlit sea. Super spot with great food, very informal and relaxed. Regretted later that we had elected to hole up for dinner several nights at our own hotel. It’s more fun to explore a bit and we would have probably found additional spots offering local color in the Grand Anse Beach region. THE GRENADINES While “Grenada” and the “Grenadines” may sound and be spelled somewhat alike the latter are not diminutive islands belonging to the former. They are distinct countries. The country of Grenada includes two smaller islands to its north, Carriacou and Petit Martinique, but those islands are not technically part of the Grenadines. The archipelago beginning several miles north of Carriacou is known as the Grenadines. The Grenadines are constituencies of St. Vincent and together they comprise the country known as St. Vincent and the Grenadines or SVG. We called at all of these islands but I refer only to those having lodgings of interest. Petit St. Vincent is a small, privately owned island wholly occupied by a resort of same name, or PSV. .And what a super resort it is. We anchored off its superb beaches and dinghied in for exploration. We inquired about seeing a cottage and were treated to a 45 minute tour of the island via mini-moke and visited two of the 22 or so cottages on the premises. The cottages are secluded mini- homes situated on scattered sites varying from beachfront to hilltop. The island is a full service resort with all watersports and related activities on site. Judging from the abundance of reefs nearby the snorkeling looks fantastic especially near the little sand cays of Mopion and Pinese which offer Robinson Crusoe picnicking opportunities for resort guests. One of PSV’s trademarks is the semaphore system guests may employ to summon staff for drinks, food, transportation and the like. Nifty place and as one might expect pretty pricey. We did not take a room here but it certainly wasn’t due to lack of inviting surroundings. I believe if I were to do so I would spend some time with an island map getting just the right location [hills/beachfront/south or north exposure, etc.] I would also inquire about the last time the cottage of my choice had been renovated. One of the cottages we saw -- while a great spot near the beach - - looked just a bit tired and in need of some interior revitalizing. We mingled with the guests for a round of happy hour drinks and then followed our custom of returning to the boat to get tanked up with our cheap on-board rum. We returned for dinner. Actually it was fortunate we were able to get a dinner reservation since resort guests are of course preferred and it turned out almost all tables were occupied even at this off season time. They always have a least a few tables set aside for visitors. We were well served a wonderful haute cuisine meal at a very satisfactory table and remained for after dinner drinks with musical entertainment at the bar. Spent the night on the boat. Great spot. We stopped also at Palm Island, a few miles to the north. This is likewise a privately owned island of about the same size (115 acres or so) occupied by a single resort with beachfront cottages and houses/apartments inland. We found PSV more visually inviting though Palm has an extraordinary beach. Our stay at Palm was brief, just for lunch and a walk around, too short for a fair appraisal of the place. But from what we saw, PSV was our hands down favorite. Another place where we anchored overnight for dinner and a looksee was Salt Whistle Bay on the island of Mayreau, a few miles north of Palm. Salt Whistle Bay Club occupies much of the beach area of the Bay, a beach that regularly appears on lists of the world’s most beautiful beaches as indeed it is. Its crescent shape makes a perfect cove which can only be described in superlatives. One of the sailing guides for the area describes the beachside restaurant as “whimsical” where the “appearance of the Mad Hatter at tea would not be out of place”. The author refers to the unique beachfront dining area. Each oversized stone table is surrounded by a chest high booth with built-in circular bench seats likewise of local stone. The whole affair is covered by its own umbrella shaped thatch roof. The effect is to make each table a sort of open cabana right there on the beach. It was a fun spot where the views were magnificent, the local seafood well prepared and the evening memorable. From the restaurant we could see the resort cottages from a distance, 25 or so bungalows hidden among the palm trees on the windward side of the narrow island. The overall appearance of the place was A-l. Next island north was Canouan. We had called there earlier on the southbound leg. Two crew had jumped ship for the night to take a room at the Tamarind Beach Hotel located on the beach at Charlestown Bay where we were had anchored. The hotel is part of a complex consisting of two restaurants, bar, dive shop and other facilities that make up the first stage of what is known as the Canouan Resort Development an ambitious project to develop a large portion of Canouan with hotel, villas, golf course and marina. As of August, l997 only the hotel and related buildings had been finished. They have not yet started the marina project. We were told that the golf course is nearly complete and construction is expected to start on the villas very soon. Of course, “nearly complete” and “very soon” have special meanings in the Caribbean. The overnighting crew reported that the hotel rooms were in fine order, confirmed by the rest of us when we freeloaded showers in their room. Dinner and buffet breakfast in the main dining room, set outdoors on a sheltered pavilion overlooking the bay, were top drawer in every way. There were a few Americans in the restaurant but most guests appeared to be European, principally French and German. On the return trip, northbound, we again anchored in Charlestown Bay but everyone overnighted on the boat. This time we had dinner at the only other resort on the island, the Canouan Beach Hotel, located on the beach at South Glossy Bay to which we were delivered by courtesy cab. This is an upscale French resort where I believe we were the only English speaking dinner patrons. We were treated very well but were disappointed with the meal, perhaps our expectations were set too high for the French cuisine. That night we returned to the Tamarind’s bar and ended up talking with some locals about the development plans. Attitudes seemed mixed with some seeing great opportunity and others seeing themselves cut out of the real progress and their way of life destroyed. One fellow dwelled on the probable social implications of the development’s proposed location and the island’s topography. There’s a single road to the northern portion of the island. He predicts the development will end up as a gated villa/resort with the entire northern end of the island devoted exclusively to the development with access by invitation only. The development is going to divide the island in half - - in more ways than one. Northeast of Canouan is Mustique. Our travels there were covered in the earlier article. Bequia is the northernmost of the Grenadines [and its largest island]. We likewise stopped there both north and southbound. Southbound we picked up two crew who had flown in from Barbados and stayed overnight at the Frangipani, a restored inn dating back to the pretourist days. The crew found it satisfactory as we likewise found the restaurant, but not worth seeking out on our second visit. The top hotel on the island is said to be the Plantation House on Admiralty Bay where we had dinner one night with the European clientele, mainly Italian here, and were pleased with the surroundings, service and food. We took a half-day tour of the island and enjoyed awesome views from the hills. The historical and cultural background of the island is tied in with its early European settlers, mainly Scotch and Welsh, who were boatbuilders and whalers. On our tour we visited Spring on Bequia, a country inn consisting of l0 or so rooms set up in the hills overlooking the water. Our guide said it was closed just for the off-season but from the looks of the place a lot of work would be needed to bring it up to snuff. The Old Fort Country Inn is another place we stopped to look at, a restored fort used as an inn. Young romantics who watch both sunsets and their budgets might find this place satisfactory but old grumps who demand lots of amenities should look elsewhere. Overall, other islands in the Grenadines seem to offer more than Bequia at least for those in pursuit of the lap of luxury in their lodgings. Save perhaps the Plantation House, Bequia is pitched towards the traveler who enjoys accommodations characteristic of B&B’s and guesthouses. On the other hand, the main town of Port Elizabeth on Admiralty Bay is a sailor’s delight consistent with its history as a seafaring place. It’s got a multitude of fine restaurant-bars with plenty of stores and marine facilities. ST. VINCENT Why St. Vincent, one of the largest and spectacularly beautiful of the Windward Islands, is so undertouristed is best explained by those qualified to comment on the history, culture and economic development aims of this island. I will confine my comments to my own experiences there. We did not take the boat to St. Vincent. We left the boat anchored in Bequia and took the ferry across the Bequia Channel to Kingstown. Most boaters who visit St. Vincent do it this way. Many, like us, are acting on the recommendations of their charter companies. St. Vincent is not considered to be a place free of worries about boat and personal security in harbor anchorages. Boating publications carried allegations of official frame-ups to promote an appearance of domestic tranquillity for tourism or maybe must to obtain bribes in two recent boating related murder cases, the Heath and Fletcher incidents. Publicity about those cases chilled many boaters not only about security but also about the Vincentian justice system. These things deterred us from taking the boat there but not from visiting the island. We spent a full day touring Kingstown and the southern portion of the island by cab. I can say without reservation that it was one of the more enjoyable days of our entire trip. We found the island beautiful, the people friendly and proud perhaps even a little hurt by the adverse publicity. The atmosphere was very Caribbean, vibrant and inviting. To the extent the Heath/Fletcher incidents suggest any general public disorder the impression is wholly erroneous. Based on what we saw I would feel fully comfortable vacationing there with the caveat of course that we were there for a day on what amounted to a guided tour. We stayed pretty much on the tourist beat, visiting the sites of Kingstown including Fort Charlotte, the Botanical Gardens (where a breadfruit tree descended from one brought to the island by Captain Bligh still thrives) and several architecturally interesting churches in the city. We also toured the Mesopotamia Valley, the agricultural region and the Ottley Marina, a new marina/shipyard north of Kingstown which is complete but is not in full operation. Atypical of a tourist’s beat was my own visit to the Kingstown Courthouse to watch a session of the Fletcher murder trial which was then in progress. That celebrated case concerned the murder of a local in Bequia allegedly by an American married couple on their sailboat. They claimed they had been framed but their acquittal was based on insufficiency of evidence. I thought there was persuasive circumstantial evidence of at least the wife’s guilt. In my opinion what really helped their case was less their innocence than the desire of Vincentian officials to put closure to this tourism nightmare. In any event, there was nothing about the Fletcher case that demonstrates any kind of crime wave in SVG except perhaps on a certain visitors’ sailboat. We also toured the southern end of the island. Guesthouses and inns, mostly very inexpensive, predominate on the island, most of which are clustered on the south shore. Young Island Resort, the island’s only true hotel/resort, occupies a small island 200 yds off the south shore with 30 or so cottages amidst tropical gardens and full amenities. We took the launch there and had lunch in its picturesque outdoor restaurant. We walked the grounds after lunch and looked at a few of the cottages on the beach. The resort has been here for decades and the rooms we saw were a little long in the tooth but pleasant. I confess a bias in favor of air conditioning if I am paying 300+ bucks per night but these rooms had none - - nor, for that matter, did the cottages we visited at PSV where the rates are higher. An indicator of the small scale tourist industry is a place we saw advertised but did not visit with the imposing name of the Emerald Valley Resort and Casino. It bills itself as St. Vincent’s only casino-resort but it has a total of only 12 rooms. Before catching the ferry back we had great fun in going to the open market. Our cabby acted as our negotiator in buying fruits and vegetables at the market where haggling is an art form. There’s also a fish and meat market at the same location, very noisy, crowded and full of local color. Just as we were leaving an incident happened leaving me well disposed towards this island. I had worn dress clothes to the Fletcher trial and then changed at our next stop, the Botanical Gardens, but had forgetfully left my expensive attire in the changing room. A young fellow dispatched by the Gardens came huffing up after locating us by taxi-radio and running the 1/2 mile from the Gardens to return the clothes. I was impressed by the honesty and courtesy which was consistent with everything I had seen that day on St. Vincent. ST. LUCIA For islands so close together St. Vincent and St. . Lucia are radically different in their approach to tourism. St. Lucia has numerous full service resort hotels, several of the all inclusive variety which offer attractively priced packages. There’s many more restaurants and tourist oriented attractions than found on St. Vincent. In a nutshell, St. Vincent is West Indian in appearance and feel - with warts - while St. Lucia is more for the resort vacationer. Which is not to say St. Lucia is wartless - the armies of vendors on this island are a pain in the neck. We visited St. Lucia both north and southbound, stopping at Rodney Bay, Marigot Bay and Soufriere-Pitons. We took rooms at the Marigot Bay Inn several nights. That was our charter company’s house hotel at its Marigot Bay base so we stayed there largely for convenience. The grounds and rooms provided West Indies flavor while the upscale restaurant and pool area offered a resort feeling. Marigot Bay is justifiably called one of the most beautiful small bays in the world with a breathtakingly lovely appearance of white sandy beaches and palm trees. We enjoyed ourselves there several nights visiting the various bar-restaurants while changing crews and re-provisioning the boat. We had good times and fine meals at Doolittles and the Shack, both right on the water. We anchored in Rodney Bay and visited the Pigeon National Park and Fort. The grounds and restored buildings are well worth seeing and the view from the ruins of the fort itself is terrific. At night we passed up the restaurant/hotel district for dinner on board (a mistake, the restaurant/bars in this area are numerous and outstanding). We did go to the Friday night jump-up at Gros Islet, an excursion that might not appeal to everyone. The jump-up, or street carnival as it really is, takes place in a non-tourist local neighborhood where several streets are closed Friday night for dancing, carousing and general merriment. Beer, bar-b-que and other refreshments are sold by wall-to-wall vendors and numerous bars/restaurants. The center of the activity was the largest, loudest amplification system I have ever seen or heard which played the loudest most raucous rap/reggae music I’ve ever heard or care to hear. The streets were packed, mostly with locals who were out for a good time at the end of the week. Everybody was getting pretty tanked up by the time we split. The younger members of the crew declared it lots of fun. I wanted ear plugs. We passed up visiting the hotels of the island, most of which are north of Marigot Bay, and opted for a day’s cab tour south to the Soufriere-Pitons area where we had anchored on our southbound leg but had not taken a land tour. The centerpiece of the tour is the Pitons themselves, two stark and almost mystical rock protrusions that tower like sentinels over this part of the island. They are awesome to see from land but even more so from the sea. We stopped at the Diamond Botanic Gardens, the finest gardens I have visited in the Caribbean, where we used the “private mineral baths” for a refreshing mineral bath. Lunched poolside at the Hummingbird offering dramatic views of the Pitons. We also visited the Soufriere Plantation which is undergoing restoration. When completed it will offer lodgings in the 18th century greathouse which looks like it will be a superb location to stay while visiting the island. Completion looks to be several years away. Thereafter, we continued our trip north to Martinique......
Trip to Guadeloupe and Terre de Haute (June, 1994) The following is a belated summary of our trip to two delightful isles in the French Antilles (West Indies). Both Guadeloupe and its out-island neighbor Terre de Haute (pronounced "tear dough") are French-speaking islands and a command of a few key words en Francis are helpful-- not essential, but helpful, especially in Terre de Haute. We (me, my wife and our two non-naturist friends) flew to Point-a- Pitre airport from Philadelphia via San Juan. The flight down on AA's island hoppers was exciting since it flew near many of the more frequently visited islands in the Eastern Caribbean. After landing in Guadeloupe, we picked up a "micro" rental at Hertz and headed East from the crowded capital city of Point-a-Pitre, toward St. Anne, the nearest town to "Le Barriere de Corail" (coral reef) where we had reserved a pair of adjacent bungalows. We chose these accommodations because of the incredibly low price ($40/night) and its proximity to Caravelle Beach and its CO section. (Recommended in the "World Guide"). The bleached-white bungalows are located within 50 yards of the water although the walk to Caravelle is several hundred yards farther along the shore. The cabins are situated along a lane lined with gorgeous flowers; we found them to be very comfortable, clean but spartan (we had one with A/C, only needed it for a few hr/day). All the necessities are there, including bathroom, kitchen with stove and frig and bedroom area with bunks and twin beds. A steal for $40, although not the luxury that some might expect in the Caribbean. We only used the bungalows for sleeping so who cares? Pretty Emma-Lyn, the day manager, told us that the cabins are actually the vacation homes for folks who live in Point-a-Pitre. Next to Le Barriere is a slightly more upscale motel (w/pool), Le Rotabas, which was totally empty as far as we could see. This would be a good choice for those not used to cabins. Further West along the beach are several food stands and an open air restaurant that served great beer, French-style pizza and grilled bagettes (French bread). After the concessions, one walks into the beach area fringing Club Med Caravelle. The beaches are accessible to all- we spent most of our beach time lounging with the mostly European clientele on the beautiful clothing-optional strand adjacent to the Club's main beach. There typically were 1-2 dozen happy folks in this 50 yard-long section. Directly in front of the Club is the topless beach and this is where most people were lounging, including on the Club's long pier. The entire beach is fringed by palm trees so shade is plentiful. Some random observations about the CO beach area: Pluses: - excellent swimming, calm, warm water; - served by the few vendors selling food (sandwiches, fantastic cinnamon "bons-bons") and even bikinis, modeled by young ladies who had no compunction about changing in front of you! - continuous breezes, especially on the point, temp in mid-80's; - the pontoon boat snack bar--$2 beers/lounge chair rental/windsurfing center. Minuses: - the nude beach was frequented by some single men who appeared to be locals, spent most of their time lying nude in the shallow water staring at the beach dwellers; but it was easy to forget them amongst the gorgeous surroundings. - the nude area is fairly small, although it may be that the adjacent beach on the side away from Club Med's beach may see nude use in high season. Supposedly, the beach in the nearby town of St. Anne is CO but this I cannot confirm since we were only there in the evening for dinner. Our favorite restaurant there (I'm ashamed to admit, this being a French island) was L'Americain, a burger and pizza spot that served better pizza than I've ever found in the states. Good beer and a laid back, open-air atmosphere. There's lots to do and see on Guadeloupe and we tried to pack most of it in 4 days. We never hiked up Mt. Soufiere, figuring that it was socked in with clouds anyway, but we did drive through the forested heart of Basse-Terre (the "left wing" of the Guadeloupean butterfly) and did a short hike to one waterfall-- unfortunately, lots of people there so no skinny-dipping, but the water was wonderful after a hot day on the beach. Besides Caravelle, there are other CO beaches long the southern shoreline of Grande-Terre. We checked out remote Point Tartare on the eastern tip of the island, after stopping by nearby Point de Chateaux. Tartare beach was a little disappointing- very small but still enjoyable and pretty by US standards. We shared the 50 yard long beach with just one other couple and it was very relaxing/quiet there. Supposedly, there is a CO beach on an islet just off Gosier, the tourist-oriented town just East of Point-a-Pitre. We skipped it this trip (mainly to avoid alienating our still-textiled friends) but will check it out next time. On the 5th day of our trip we hopped a ferry in Pointe-a-Pitre harbor (the outdoor market there is fun) and headed to the quaint offshore island of Terre de Haute, the most populated of Les Isles des Saintes. The $30 R/T ferry ride is a bit rough but the modern boat is large enough to subdue most of the swells and is otherwise very comfortable with A/C'd cabin and a refreshment bar that serves drinks and snacks. Terre de Haute was wonderful, pure and simple. We loved just about every aspect of this 8 square mile hunk of paradise! The slow pace of the 1000 or so islanders is in stark contrast to the hustle bustle of Guadeloupe. We were met at the ferry dock in Bourg, Les Isles only town, by the van from the Hotel Bois Jolie, our home for 4 days. No cars are allowed on the island other than the 3 or 4 hotel shuttles; everyone gets around on the curvy and narrow but paved roads on motor scooters or they take the "navette" or water taxi, which connects Bourg, the Bois Jolie and the neighboring island of Terre de Base (fare is 10FF or about $2). The Bois Jolie (pretty woods) is a comfortable, quasi-luxurious hotel/bungalow complex located by itself at the western end of the island, a 10 minute ride from Bourg. Our rooms were in the older, original 3- story hotel building. We were given ground floor rooms that opened to a large patio with a spectacular view of the mini- sugar loaf, Pain de Sucre and adjacent beach. We enjoyed watching sailboats anchor in the calm water of the cove formed by le Pain, especially since some of the crews had similar naturist inclinations! The only problem with our rooms was that there were sinks but no toilets in same, European style! Apparently Liberty Travel dropped the ball on this one. But no matter since we had the whole first floor to ourselves and bathrooms were only a few feet down the hall. Bois Jolie discourages nudism on its grounds, including its small beach, although several folks ignored the sign there during our stay. Guests are requested to take the 8 minute walk over the small hill behind the hotel to the other side of the point, where the delightful strand Anse Crawen is located. The walk is easy for those in reasonable shape and it certainly is worth it! Protected by a rocky point, Crawen is 100 yard-long arc of happiness and relaxation with powdery sand, fairly calm 82F water, superb views of offshore islets and some shade (for the first 3 or 4 groups) under overhanging trees. We shared our paradise with at most 10 other happy sun-lovers on the weekend, more typically just 1 or 2 others during the week (Bois Jolie was nearly empty). Other redeeming features of the hotel include very good buffet breakfasts, delicious Creole-French dinners and a large pool. We especially enjoyed our "petite-dejeuners" in the morning, served in the open air dining room at pool-level with views of the flowers and the sea beyond. Ordering dinner was challenging despite the fact that we had done some boning up of our French and we always had our pocket dictionary. Watch out for the "Boudin Creole", the appetizer that we all chose at our first dinner; it turned out to be a glistening, foot- long, spicy, blood sausage!! Three of us blanched when we were served this island delicacy, but not my buddy, John, who wasn't phased a bit- - he inhaled 3 of them! The rest of the dishes served that and subsequent nights were superb. Especially those bananas flambes!! Bois Jolie is expanding by adding small villa's at the opposite end of the property from our building; they looked to be quite a bit more expensive ~$200/night, compared to our $125/night rooms (which included all meals for 2)! We hope to get back there as soon as we can! Terre de Haute is fun to explore, with a 5 or 6 other pretty beaches, none CO however. Any point on the island is reachable by scooter in 10-15 min (rental was $80 for 3 days). One can fly in from Guadeloupe, the airport is an easy walk from Bourg and one could then hop the navette to Bois Jolie. One day we climbed the hills above Plage de Pont Pierre; there are lots of hiking trails along the cliffs above the sea with some fantastic vistas. Our other activities included a 10 minute navette ride to Terre de Bas (good body surfing at Grande Case and good Creole home cooking nearby at Cafe Eugenette's), a early morning scooter ride up 1000-ft high Le Chameau for some incredible views and to Church in town with some lovely choir chansons. All part of our too short stay-- please let it be for at least 10 days next time!! We returned to Le Corraille in Guadeloupe for the last 2 days of our stay-- just couldn't pass up those cheap bungalows and nearby Caravelle!
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