The many textures of Guadeloupe

It’s another beautiful day in Deshaies, Guadeloupe where we expect to spend another few days before heading farther south.

A few days ago a large cat pulled in behind us to drop the hook. That was fine except when it came time to watch the sunset. As the sun dipped below the horizon they obscured what turned out to be a green flash. It would have been the second for us this season.

However, all was not lost as after dark they turned on some underwater lights. The scene was amazing as the moon set behind them. Thanks to Brenda’s iPhone, that takes amazing low light photos, check this view out. The light in Pandora’s cockpit wasn’t all that bright but glows in this image. Note that this is not altered in any way beyond the way that iPhone sees the world. The wonders of modern photography. It’s been nice to be back in Deshaies, having visited this tiny port on our every trip south. The village is very quaint. I suppose that “shabby chic” describes it pretty well.

It is also the village where the filming for much of the BBC series Death in Paradise is filmed. It’s fun to watch the trailer to see images of this very harbor. Yet, I have not yet seen any detectives cruising the harbor in a business suit. And, the only thing that I’ve seen killed on the beach is a cold beer.In the village there is a nice mix of places to eat out and a lovely shop, Les Cave, that sells a number of gourmet items including foie gras that you can order with a few days notice. The shopkeeper, who greeted me this year with “I remember you. You are on a boat”, told me that the liver comes from France but that a friend makes up the pate here in Guadeloupe. Brenda had ordered a batch and I picked it up yesterday. It was quite pricy but worth it. I froze it all and we will portion it out so it will last as long as possible. Perhaps I will take it to NYC where it is illegal and sell it. “Hey buddy, want to buy some…”

We have been buddy boating with our friends Lynn and Mark on Roxy since Antigua as we have been for the last few years. It’s fun to go from harbor to harbor with folks we know. Here’s Roxy. She’s a huge 60′ ketch and very heavy at 80,000 lbs. By comparison, Pandora weights in at about 32,000 lbs. fully loaded. Yesterday I went on a hike with Mark and the girls met us at a nearby beach for a late lunch.

Along our hike, we encountered some leaf cutter ants, seen as a near perfect example of a symbiotic relationship. They being leaves back to their nest and a specific fungus grows on them. Then they feed on the fungus and the fungus feeds on the leaves. In a very real way they are farmers. For more about leaf cutting ants and their unique relationship with a certain fungus, check this out.

This is the beach our hike ended on. A beautiful spot. You might recognize this beach from the Death in Paradise teaser. Later we walked back to the boat. It was a very nice walk with huge trees lining the road.The other day we went to the local botanical garden, Jardin Botanique. It’s up the mountain a short way but the walk would be treacherous as the road is one switch back after another and the drivers go like they are in a race. Best to take the shuttle that they will send for you.

It’s sometimes hard to decide what to write about when I have already done posts about a place a number of times. However, I really wanted to do yet another post about these wonderful gardens but this time I decided to focus on textures instead of trying to document the place itself. Under the “been there, done that category” check out this post about the gardens from our first visit in 2017.

Anyway, as we made our way through the gardens, I enjoyed looking for patterns in the plants. There were so many to choose from it was hard to focus. This season has been wetter than normal and the condition of the gardens were particularly lush.

Some of the flowers looked fake but weren’t.Palm fronds never disappoint. This succulent was not as velvety and soft as it looked.
A tangle of palm berries.
I will never quite get used to seeing “house plants” that aren’t in a house.
These flowers look like little soldiers.
More soldiers. The soft texture of cypress. I love the koi. They are as big as they look, some 18″ long. Every where I looked, beautiful textures. And colors. And so many plants that we think of as house plants growing outdoors and loving it. I don’t know, just a dramatic pattern…A beautiful giant fern.A not so giant epiphytic fern. Some that looked like they would be right at home in more arid places. Just love these flowers. I have a particularly soft spot in my heart for orchids and to see them growing on trees here is a treat.And who doesn’t love flamingos?Who you lookin at?Texture in water or is it an aquatic Cousin It?
You don’t have to be green.
And speaking of standing at attention.
Some flowers don’t look anything like flowers.And a view of Pandora in the harbor far below. And what post is complete without clouds?That look, upon closer inspection, like a baby duck reclining on the cloud bank. Get it, his head with feet to the left? Well, that’s what it looks like to me. Not buying it? Work with me on this. Ok, anyway, I love clouds so perhaps yet another. Pretty dramatic day here in Deshaies, Guadeloupe.