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Deshaies ~ Our Favorite Little French Village.
Disclaimer: There are probably too many pictures in this post!
Somehow this small village on the western coast of Guadeloupe has captured our hearts. We have been here four times in the last year, as a destination, a resting point, a respite from seas and just because we like it.
Each time we stay in Deshaies, we find something new to like. This trip it was Au Jardin Botanique; the Botanical Gardens. The gardens are a steep uphill walk on the road to the right of the dinghy dock for about 1.5 kilometers. It is well worth the arduous walk as the presentation of the plants is fabulous.
Looking back toward the entrance after the ticket gate.
I wish I could tell you about all the plants we saw in the pictures I will post below but, my knowledge is sorely lacking and ALL of the printed information was in French. I SO WISHED my sister-in-law, Emily Stich, was with us. Emily is an accomplished florist and she is fluent in French. Tell me this isn’t the perfect place for Em to visit with us?!
So pretty it looks fake!
We readily admit, our high school French is insufficient, but we managed to read bits and pieces of the posted signs or perhaps we just made up what we thought the signs said. Regardless, we spent a solid 3.5 hours wandering the grounds and admiring the beauty and variety of plants represented.
Frank closely examined the plants!
Each of the signs told the indigenous country of the fauna and the number of countries represented was huge. We didn’t see many from the good old U.S., although our friends on Escape Claws and Sail Pending said they saw several in the desert section. By the time we got to the desert, we had absorbed all we could and we were ready to walk back to LIB.
This photo is for my MIL, Jackie, who loves Bougainvillea!
In addition to flowers, trees and water features, the gardens had a few birds. These flamingos were the only thing in the whole place that I thought needed something…. perhaps a bit of shrimp or algae to add some pink?
Most captive flamingos need a little pinking.
Somehow these birds made me think of Mission Impossible.
I have posted all these photos to demonstrate the variety of colors, the vibrancy of the blooms and some unique leaves in the gardens. I hope you enjoy the pictures even without documentation.
One of my favorite scents – Plumeria
BLUE flowers?!
Isn’t this cool?!
This plant is a little “twisted!”
Pictures of the individual species are beautiful, but they were even more stunning in the gardens because the plants were arranged to accentuate the colors, textures, similarities and differences of one another so well. If you stop in Deshaies, a visit the botanical gardens is worth the effort.
I hope you enjoyed this post. It is light on facts but long on beauty.
Deshaies, Guadeloupe ~ All This in ONE Day!
The main street of Deshaies.
WOW! What a fabulous day we have had here in Deshaies. This small fishing village has a strong French feel and very little English is spoken. Needless to say, our communication is poor since we don’t speak much French, but that hasn’t prevented us from having fun!
Church bells ring at the hour and half hour!
Today began with 8 am Mass. Fortunately all Catholic Masses have the same format and I had my on-line missal with todays readings and Gospel in hand. Without it we would have understood almost nothing. Once the Mass was complete, the priest and congregation immediately began an additional service of some sort. I am not sure why or what the significance was as the only thing I understood was the Litany of Saints. All told, we were in church for two hours. We enjoyed some delightful music and were able to receive Communion for the first time in weeks.
After Mass, we decided to take a walk we read about in the Chris Doyle Leeward Islands guide book. The book said “anyone ready for a cool, shady scramble should follow the Deshaies River as it winds its way into the mountains.”
Create your own path on this beautiful stream.
Well this “scramble” is actually a pretty intense hike as we had to traverse over, under and around boulders. The “path” is not marked and this hike is really an opportunity to get in touch with your inner child and explore a river without having your mom reminding you to be careful and not go too far!
Photo Op!
After a solid two hours of rock hopping, we found the road that would allow us to walk home. However, the guide book also said the very adventurous could carry on another few minutes to reach the furthest point along the river. Have you ever known us to stop before completing a challenge? Onward!
It was a shady climb.
End of the line….
About 20 minutes past the road, we found “the end” which was a crystal clear waterfall on the backside of a cave that opened into a small circular area before cascading down through the rocky river. Also a perfect place for a very chilly swim!
Looking out from the cave.
After a total of nearly 3 hours of hiking, we started our walk back to Deshaies via a road. One of the first things we encountered was a retreat or convent of some kind called St. Michael the Archangel. It was a beautiful, peaceful area that included an outdoor Stations of the Cross and a shrine to Mary!
The photo doesn’t capture the serenity of the setting.
There are 10 “beads” between each post; a giant rosary!
After this point, the road descended pretty quickly past houses, dogs, cows and chickens. We were quite happy to reach the dock and dinghy back to LIB!
Frank and Captain took naps while I enjoyed some quiet time reading and watching the sun set.
I thought this would be the end of the day.
One more trip to grass for Captain led us to discover that June 21st is the Festival of Music in France and in Deshaies. So off we went, back to town to enjoy a walk down main street to check out the celebration.
The largest ensemble we saw.
The group with the most unique sound.
There were five tents interspersed along main street and each held a unique musical offering. We enjoyed strolling along and stopping to hear the various groups.
I have to admit, sitting on a street curb, listening to a local orchestra with a quarter moon shining in the night sky was rather enchanting.
I feel very blessed to have this opportunity to experience such a variety of places and people!