Marché de Basse Terre

About every other Saturday, M. and I drive to the market in Basse-Terre. While the actual market is inside a semi-enclosed building, vendors pour out of the building and invade the esplanade facing the Caribbean Sea. We can easily buy our vegetables at Carrefour, but this is the only place where we can buy guavas (goyave), passion fruits (fruit de la passion, or maracudja), sugar apples (pomme cannelle), pineapples (ananas), etc. We've been buying from one stand since the beginning and now we're greeted warmly as regulars. We're asked how we're doing (and we do the same), and now its "What would I like, cherie." We always leave with an extra...an extra cucumber, an extra star fruit (carambole), a pair of bananas...

Otherwise, the market is the best place to buy home-made punch. Its impossible to miss Marcellia's stand. With tables draped in plastic madras (the way we like it), and more than 100 bottles of punch, groups of tourists seem to constantly surround the stand. Understandable, as Marcellia gives out free tastes of as many different bottles you like. Marcellia is the toast of photo-hungry vacationers, since she comes dressed in traditional creole clothing and happily poses for photos.


I don't know if she's mentioned in English guides, but she has an entry in the last Michelin guide:

An autumn missed

I love the changing of the seasons. I love the anticipation of autumn, the sober solitude of winter, the relief of spring, and the gratuitousness of summer.

When I worked at the Met, I took the bus only occasionally to save money. I didn't have a regular route; I walked whichever way felt good. Sometimes I walked across town at 98th Street, and then up 5th Avenue. Sometimes up Amsterdam then across town on 86th. If I had time to dawdle, I walked into the park made my way north or south. Working on Sunday morning gave me the park, seemingly in its entirety. I remember walking in the park one Sunday morning after a night snowfall, and before me lay a landscape of untouched snow, and behind me, one single track of footprints. Working on Friday nights, I remember looking at the winter sky through the telescope of a generous star gazer, a perfect sky bordered by the perfect skyline. My fondest memory is walking up 5th avenue one fall morning, and a wind blowing the golden leaves off the trees, the early sunlight seeming to make the matte leaves shimmer.

Here, the seasons are not so generous. There is the wet season (l'hivernage), and the dry season (le carême). The wet season is ending. The skies are being swept clean of their clouds, and the air is cool and dry.

Yesterday, I laid down on the couch and felt that cool dry air blowing on my face. The wind was blowing through the palm trees and I heard rustling. With my eyes closed, I could easily imagine myself back in New York on an autumn morning, walking through the park. All that was missing was the earthy smell of leaves beginning to compost in the dirt. It was bittersweet. On the one hand, it seemed incredible that this island could offer me nostalgia for an autumn in New York. On the other hand, I knew that what I felt was just a fleeting sensation, one that would end as quickly as I can open my eyes.

Still, while Guadeloupe may not be generous in seasons, it is generous in other ways.

Rainbows, not from an oil slick on the pavement, but large, gigantic, stretching across the sky.


Sunrises that burn.


Sunsets that melt like a popsicle across the sky.

Dry Island

Stressing out is really not an option in Guadeloupe. Sure, the beautiful beaches, amazing sunset, great year-round climate all do their part to keep the blood pressure low. But more importantly, if you stressed out about all the inconveniences - large or small - you would certainly be dead upon arrival.

Case in point: Yesterday, at about 9:30 in the morning, a large open-bed truck comes rumbling by, stopping at the top of our street. The driver yells out his window, in a thick creole accent, that the water will be cut. At least, that is what I learn minutes later. I had no idea what he was saying. But when will the water be turned back on? I run up the street to see if I can catch the truck, but am unsuccessful. I think it won't be long, and that surely they'll turn the water back on before lunch time. Lunch comes and goes, and still no water. I somehow managed to get through the day with the one liter of drinking water in the fridge, and a bit of water in the pot left over from the morning tea. That included washing my hands once, cooking a ramen, and drinking exactly two glasses of water. Water is not restored until 4:30 in the afternoon. Having thought that the cut would last no more than a few hours was the problem. I had a window of maybe a half an hour where I should have filled every receptacle, every pot, pan, and jar, with water. After having drank several glasses of water, and washing the crusty lunch dishes, I said to myself "Next time, I'll know what to do"...

...thinking that next time I would be similarly forewarned.

But no...Guadeloupe simply doesn't work that way. Apparently, I was lucky to have been forewarned. This morning, while still in pajamas and finishing off my tea, I hear M. swear. He's got a face full of soap and he's just found out that they've cut the water. He has to finish washing his face with the water from his water bottle that he brings to work. There is not even a dribble, as everybody on the street must be vainly attempting to draw the last drops out of the system. There is the disheartening silence of a completely dry pipe.

The neighbor was nice to give us two liters of drinking water. M. was therefore able to at least finish washing up before leaving. He was stingy about the water, and so was able to leave me practically the two 1 litre bottles. After washing my hands once, I still have 1-1litre bottle, and 3/4 of the second. I've decided that brushing my teeth can wait. I've also decided I should stop drinking, as that leads to water usage on a massive scale... water that I don't have. And don't know when I'll have.

I'm hoping that they'll restore the water before lunch time.

Stress-free and overly optimistic...

Cruising to Guadeloupe

My mother wants to visit and has been looking into cruises that have Guadeloupe on their itinerary. But she's stumbled upon a problem: nobody goes to Guadeloupe. She did her search on Expedia.com, and out of 64 cruises offered in the Eastern Caribbean, only one makes a stop in Guadeloupe.

As I have mentioned before, Guadeloupe is not the destination of choice for Americans vacationing in the Caribbean. Several related factors make Guadeloupe an unpopular cruise destination also. For example, according to a report published in 2003 by the Inter-American Committee on Ports, market share is directly proportional to the distance from US mainland. Therefore, "the islands closest to the US such as Nassau, St Thomas, San Juan and St Martin, experience the highest market shares" (1). In terms of distance from the US, Guadeloupe is not well positioned. The report also notes that "historically, the English speaking destinations have dominated the industry," which is yet another constraint to Guadeloupe.

Beyond the geographical and cultural issues, I suspect that there may be some logistical problems. I've seen the Holland America ships (Maasdam and Staatendam) that dock regularly in Basse Terre, and they are very small (2). The ships sit right against the shoreline so the water must not be very deep. I've never seen the dock or terminal in Point-à-Pitre, but Costa Atlantica (3) dock regularly, so the dock must be a good deal larger than the one in Basse Terre. The dock is only a few years old though.

But, is it possible that the industry itself is turning American passengers away from Guadeloupe?

Costa cruise ships make stops in Guadeloupe. What is peculiar is that only ships originating from Europe make a stop in Guadeloupe. At least, according to the American page for Costa. Checking the French page, there are itineraries for the Eastern Caribbean, originating in the Dominican Republic, and making a stop in Guadeloupe.

It is clear that ships originating in Europe are cost-prohibitive to Americans and so becomes an effective barrier to Americans to visit Guadeloupe. But, apparently, it goes beyond that. When my mother contacted Costa agents by phone and requested the ship with an Caribbean-only itinerary, making a stop in Guadeloupe, the agent told her she could not book her for that trip. My mother would have to call agents in Canada.

It would appear, then, that the cruise industry has decided for American passengers that Guadeloupe holds no interest for them.

(1) Atherley, Kenneth A. "Cruise Industry-Related Challenges Facing Caribbean Destinations." Organization of American States Inter-American Committee on Ports. Sep 2003

(2) For comparison, see statistics below:
Maasdam
Gross Tonnage: 55,451 grt.(One registered ton equals 100 cubic feet)
Length: 720 feet
Passenger capacity: 1,258

Staatendam
Gross Tonnage: 55,819 grt.
Length: 720 feet
Passenger capacity: 1,258

Freedom of the Seas:
Gross Tonnage: 154,407 grt.
Length: 1,112 feet
Passenger capacity: 4,370

(3) Costa Atlantica
Gross Tonnage: 85,619 grt.
Length: 960 feet
Passenger capacity: 2,114

FranceAntilles Goes Online

Our local paper, FranceAntilles, is available online starting today: FranceAntilles.fr.

FranceAntilles is Guadeloupe's primary newspaper, and comes out 6 days a week. A standard paper costs 0.80, more when there are supplements. We don't manage to buy all 6, but I would say at least 3 each week.

To be honest, its not a great paper. Its not so much journalism than reporting. The stories are not always very interesting (though, I may be biased there...there are just lots of local stuff that doesn't interest me because I'm not local...at least not yet). Too much space is given to 'news in brief' sorts of items, where boyfriends beat their pregnant girlfriends, or where people are given tickets for speeding, or where girlfriend-beating boyfriends speed and get a ticket. An average of three pages are dedicated to the horse races. National and International News gets squished into one page.

Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks the paper could use some improvement. When I searched France Antilles on Wikipedia, a short stub came up. It was not so much an encyclopedic entry as a scathing criticism (1). The writer was much harsher than I am, pointing out that there are grammar problems, spelling mistakes, and questioned the credentials of the journalists themselves. The issue about boring stories came up, too.

Still, its my local paper now. I read it so I know about whats going on in Guadeloupe. I don't want to miss the banana festivals and such. Its also the best way to understand the people themselves: what concerns them, what moves them, what interests them.

Even if I still read the New York Times faithfully online everyday.

(1) Ce journal fait lieu à plusieurs débats et est au centre de nombreuses critiques négatives à son sujet. Effectivement, plusieurs personnes se plaignent du journal quant à la qualité de l'expression écrite, de l'orthographe et doutent fortement des qualifications des journalistes. Aussi les sujets traités sont dites très souvent "inintéressants", avec en grande majorité des faits divers, comme de simples accidents mineurs, des constats, des altercations entre personnes dans la rue. On aurait pour ainsi dire pu croire que les articles sont le résumé d'histoires futiles transmis par quelques voisins au regard déplacé. Il est aussi profondément ancré dans le pays Martinique et sait retranscrire les émotions de la population de ce département d'Outre-Mer. (Source: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/France_Antilles)

My first experience with local interest in Barack Obama was when I saw a good-sized photo of the man posted on the wall of the local library in September. In fact, there were two photos - one on each side of the room. Alongside the photo of the Senator from Illinois was a one page bio. It might be important to note that there was no photos, nor any bios of the Senator from Arizona.

As the day of the election drew near, it became clear that Obamamania hadn't just hit the local librarian; a lot of Guadeloupeens were highly interested in Obama. The city of Lamentin (near Pointe-à-Pitre) organized un nuit blanche pour un président noir (literally, a white night for a black president. Nuit blanche means an all-nighter). Basse-Terre, the capital of Guadeloupe, assembled some giant screens to project election night coverage in the main square in front of city hall.

Like most newspapers around the world, Obama made the front page of the local newspaper, France Antilles, the morning after. Interest has not waned, as articles featuring the President-elect have appeared daily since.

Guadeloupeens, of course, aren't alone in their interest. The world watched the American elections with baited breath, and celebrated his victory. That a black man could be elected leader of the most powerful nation in the world, and by a white majority, is of particular interest to countries with large minority populations. France spent the days following the elections discussing, theorizing, contemplating whether or not something similar could happen in their country right now. The universal answer is no. The NYTimes published a piece about this, and described how minorities felt about Obama's victory.

The situation in Guadeloupe is somewhat different than in France métropole. Here, 90% of the population is black (1). What does that mean? That means that, unlike in metropolitan France, the grand majority of the upper class, the professional class are black. The intelligentisa and the educated class are black. Politicians and administration - at every level - are black. Why does that matter? It matters because power rests in the hands of blacks, and the idea of a black person in a leadership position is not so alien. It matters because financial, educational, political mobility exist here. Does the particular situation in Guadeloupe change the odds of a minority becoming President of France. No, of course not. But it does mean that perceptions of Guadeloupeens are different from those of minorities in France métropole.



(1) Population and Demographics of Guadeloupe

Zouk

Music from the US and from France get a lot of play in Guadeloupe. But, there are still lots of local artists. Sure, there's rap and RnB, but there is also zouk, which is local music with African and American influences. Musicians from Guadeloupe were the ones who created this style, and so it really is the music of choice here. I don't really think I can describe what the music is like in words, but its distinctive. It's always upbeat and the tempo is fast. And, often (though its not a requirement) the words are sung in creole. But, the lyrics don't really matter, because its party music. As long as its catchy, its popular.

The clip is of Kassav, the group that is credited with creating Zouk.

Media campaign for new racket; Roddick to endorse

Guadeloupe is home to a number of exotic insects, but the most pervasive is the ordinary mosquito. It is a constant battle to keep one's flesh from being a mosquito's next meal. One quickly finds that a whole range tactics is necesary to keep the mosquitos at bay. Sleeping under a mosquito net, spraying mosquito repellant on the extremities before going out at night...But these are all passive means, designed to protect oneself from bites. After the torment of incessant itching, and the hideous aftermath of spotty splotchy skin, there is a strong desire to strike back.

The best weapon in the arsenal for an offensive is the mosquito racket. I did not know that such a thing existed until I came to Guadeloupe. Its a plastic racket, similar in appearance to a tennis racket. But instead of netting, there are thin conductive wires. With a push of a button on the handle, 3 V of electricity shoot through those wires, effectively killing any mosquito who should be so stupid as to try and bite you.

I must admit that I thoroughly enjoy seeing a mosquito fry on the wire. After I've zapped the mosquito the first time, I often press the button a second time, for a few seconds more, just to be certain. Sometimes, the carcass smokes a little. Afterwards, I simply blow the dead mosquito off the racket out the window, in the garbage, etc.

Its not expensive (about 10€) and its not incredibly difficult to use. Much easier than catching them with bare hands (Don't laugh. Before I had a racket, that's how I was fighting this war. I got pretty good at it). Advanced hand-eye coordination isn't necesary since the ratio between surface area of the racket and the mosquito is about 200 to 1. Though, care should be taken not to touch the live wires...3 V may not be much, but I assure you, it stings.

I've come to regard my racket with much affection. So much so that I feel it deserves more recognition, better PR. If people only knew how good these things are, I am certain mosquito rackets would be the next hottest accessory. All that is necessary is a smart-looking spread, and maybe a celebrity endorsement.

Number 22

I was surprised to find that Guadeloupe made it on today's New York Times article, 39 Reasons to Go to the Caribbean This Year. The order in which the islands appear doesn't seem to correspond to any sort of ranking. Still, Guadeloupe came in at no.22, early enough in the list to escape being considered an afterthought, I think.

Guadeloupe remains largely unknown to Americans. A number of factors contribute to this. Americans need a passport to vacation here. And, of course, they need Euros to pay for it. French-speaking Guadeloupe presents language difficulties for strictly anglophone Americans. Considering the similarities between the various islands in the Caribbean, Americans choose the one that is least problematic.

The most significant factor, however, is the fact Guadeloupe simply doesn't offer what Americans want. No, its not the sand and the surf - Guadeloupe certainly has a lot of that. What Americans are looking for are the all-inclusive resorts, beach towel service and fruity alcoholic drinks with the little umbrellas. In fact, the article highlights that fact right in the beginning:

...with new hotels continuing to open, high-end resorts raising the bar on amenities, family-oriented getaways expanding their offerings and talented chefs starting restaurants that are transforming the region’s culinary scene, there are plenty of reasons for vacationers to seek some solace in the sand and surf of the Caribbean this winter.

Guadeloupe may have a few resort hotels, none are operated by large chains. Without that sort of capital, the resorts simply can't offer the dazzling grounds, or great amenities that can be had on other islands. Just reading the entry on Guadeloupe says it all: "...several established locations have undergone renovations for the coming season, as the island continues to modernize." Thankfully, Guadeloupe's tourism doesn't depend on the NYTimes to draw in the tourists. The description brings to mind out-dated hotels in the midst of a developing country. Still, I suppose its better than the treatment Martinique got: in a 60-word review, the writer uses a good 10 or so to describe the destruction of St.Pierre by volcanic eruption.

16 15 N, 61 35 W

France is divided into administrative regions called départements. One of four overseas départements (1), Guadeloupe is located in the Caribbean, southeast of Puerto Rico. Half of the island sits in the Caribbean Sea while the other half sits in the North Atlantic Ocean. People often have trouble understanding how Guadeloupe and France relate to one another, often assuming that Guadeloupe is some sort of colony. It is not a colony of France (though it once was) ... or a territory, or a protectorate. To help people grasp the idea of Guadeloupe, I often make the comparison of Guadeloupe/France to Hawaii/United States, even though départements and states are not equivalent on an administrative level.
Guadeloupe is actually composed of two islands: Grand Terre and Basse Terre. Separating the two is a a salt water strait, la Rivière Salée (Salty River). These two islands form the left and right 'wings' that create the butterfly of Guadeloupe. While it cannot compare with the region's largest islands (Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico), Guadeloupe is still fairly large. Measuring a surface area of 1,373 km², Guadeloupe is more than 20 times the size of Manhattan.


(1) The three other overseas departments, called departements d'outre mer (DOM) are Martinique, Guyane and la Réunion.

First Post

I'm starting this blog with the same good intentions and aspirations of wit as hundreds of other amateur bloggers. Hopefully, I'll manage to post on a semi-regular basis and continue to do so for the duration of my stay in Guadeloupe. With a bit of luck, I might even manage to be entertaining. But I'm not going to get ahead of myself here. Let's just manage to write a first post, with maximum coherency and minimum blather, without abandoning the whole thing to read superior writing in The New York Times online instead.