Guadeloupe and Terre de Haute Report

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Trip to Guadeloupe and Terre de Haute

June, 1994

Update on January 2001: I had heard and now have been notified by email that Caravelle beach next to Club Med is no longer nude or CO. I also read a report a year ago or so that Anse Crawen on Terre d'Haute is no longer CO as well.

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 francais 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 accomodations 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. Furthur 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;

- 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 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 isletsand 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!

(1999 note: hurricanes and possible gov't action at Anse Crawen may have have made it less nudity friendly.)

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