Uñt’ayata: 15.04.2018
A day in Europe right in the middle of the Caribbean. How is that possible? Guadeloupe is a part of France and therefore part of the European Union. This gave us the opportunity to call our loved ones back home using our flat rate. Guadeloupe is also known as the French pearl of the Caribbean. It consists of two main islands, Basse Terre and Grande Terre. From above, Guadeloupe looks like a butterfly. Guadeloupe was discovered in 1493, of course, by Columbus. The native inhabitants also call the island "Beautiful Water". Our first excursion took us to Basse Terre. This part of the island is characterized by rainforest with hibiscus, waterfalls, and lush vegetation. We decided to take a tour in the Mamelles Park. The park is a combination of a zoo, botanical garden, and treetop walkway. After a stop at a waterfall, we arrived at the park located in the middle of the rainforest at around 10:00 a.m. We had 2 hours to explore the park on our own. We were able to walk through the zoo and observe the native animals and plants on suspension bridges and wooden walkways. It was very nicely done and explained. The 30-minute walk from treetop to treetop over the suspension bridges was especially fun. The suspension bridges were quite long and wobbled a lot. We felt like we were in the jungle camp. In the park, we could also see the damage caused by Hurricane Maria. Although everything had been repaired, many trees and plants were still missing, which Maria had simply torn out. Our tour guide told us that Maria had ravaged the island for 12 hours. The way back took a little longer, and we struggled to find something to eat before our afternoon excursion. So this time we went to have kebab and fries at the Bosporus. The afternoon excursion was called Saint-Anne on our own. Saint-Anne is a former sugar capital located in the southeast of the island, in Grand Terre. Saint-Anne prides itself on having the most beautiful beach on the island. It is a natural beach and we wanted to see it. The bus ride took a little longer, but the beach was truly worth it. Because there is a sandbank about 100m from the shore, the waves were already breaking there, and we could wade far into the shallow water. The schools of Saint-Anne also used this fact for swimming and sailing courses, so we could observe many school classes. We found a shady spot on the beach and enjoyed watching the colorful hustle and bustle on the beach. Time passed way too quickly, and we had to go back to the ship, which we reached around 6:00 p.m.
Continued: https://vakantio.de/tourdesilke/mit-der-mein-schiff-6-von-new-york-nach-jamaika-la-romana