Star Clipper Cruise Review – Guadeloupe
We’ve all had a great day in Iles des Saintes and are looking forward to the short sail over to Guadeloupe. Guadeloupe is a volcanic island shaped like a butterfly. 
The larger western side has high peaks and dense rainforests and is an important agricultural growing region in the Caribbean. The eastern ‘wing’ is primarily flat and edged with white sand beaches, making it a very popular destination for European vacationers. We’ll be pulling into a quiet port in the northwest of the western ‘wing’ with no shopping, but a good jumping off point for our shore excursions. Clint and I have signed up to Kayak The Mangroves!
We have a half hour drive to our kayak destination of “Grand Cul de Sac Martin” allowing us to catch glimpses of beautiful deserted beaches and dense sugar cane fields. The topography reminds me of the Dominican Republic with mountain ranges ringing agricultural fields.
I had been hoping for crystal clear aqua waters to kayak in…. but it turns out we’d be kayaking in a somewhat muddy brackish bay. We were a bit challenged as our guides spoke predominantly French, so much of the intended eco information wasn’t absorbed by our group. We suited up and padded out into gusty winds and rolling waves. This is going to be a challenging paddle!
Soon we’re in calm waters paddling up a river into a network of thick mangroves. We meander up the waterway and into growth so thick we have to propel ourselves forward by grabbing mangrove ro9ts, then into narrow tunnels with mangroves forming archways, and finally into a lovely bay.
The whole journey everyone has been STRESSING that we’ll have to paddle back out to sea against the waves and wind to return to our original spot. Turns out we were worrying for nothing…. the bus was waiting up-river for us. With a big sigh of relief we happily boarded our bus for the return journey back to the ship.
On another occasion we would definitely like to see more of Guadeloupe, perhaps on the alternate ‘wing’.
And we’re off to Antigua!
