Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadaloupe
Today, we arrived in Pointe-a-Pitre on the mostly-French island of Guadaloupe.
We’d been granted a much-appreciated day off from tour escorting, so were able to have a bit of a lie-in and a leisurely breakfast before heading ashore to see what Guadaloupe is all about.
As we departed from the terminal, we were greeted by some rather impressive graffiti. Those Guadaloupians certainly know how to brighten up a crumbling wall…
Navigating around Pointe-a-Pitre was easy enough, since the old town was quite a small area and within easy walking distance of the terminal. A colonial-style main street led us to the centre of town, where a brightly-coloured spice market grabbed our attention. Many of the side streets were populated by craft and fruit stalls, and we wandered idly, enjoying the relaxed atmosphere and slowly burning in the sun (or so we discovered later).
We came to a busy, bustling harbourside where fish merchants were busy de-scaling their catch before haggling with buyers. Three pelicans were hanging around hopeful of some tidbits; this one looks particularly respendent…
There wasn’t a great deal else to see in Pointe-a-Pitre. We wandered through the park and took a glance inside the cathedral, known as the ‘Iron Catherdal’ on account of the iron framework that makes it look a little like a railway station inside. There appeared to be something going on so we didn’t stop long; one lady in particular snapped quite ferociously, and loudly, at another gentleman wielding a video camera. Fortunately, I managed to grab this photo surruptitiously…
From the cathedral, we slowly drifted back towards the ship, stopping off for an ice cream and a look at the slightly underwhelming marina. Across from the handful of small boats, where we stood, we could see a large modern building which is a museum dedicated to the abolition of slavery. Unfortunately, by this time, we couldn’t quite muster up the energy to make the considerable walk around to it, so we headed back to the ship for lunch and a quite afternoon’s contemplative reading and staying as cool as possible.
