Among the dozen or so varieties of birds we see every day in Guadeloupe, there are three kinds of doves: mourning doves, ring-neck doves, and turtle doves. The mourning doves are constant companions – they hang out on the terrace or by the pool, chasing away the ring-necks whenever possible; they perch on the roof, peck for seeds, and of course coo constantly.
And Continue reading
We are visited by tons of birds every day: large numbers of birds and many different species. While we see blackbirds and at least two different kinds of doves every day, this green heron is only an occasional visitor, so I feel lucky to have gotten him on video, however briefly.
Rare sighting of a beautiful green heron, plus lots of blackbirds, including a youngish one squawking constantly to be fed.
Hello visitors! As you can see, I’m terrible about keeping this blog up to date, but here’s a quick update …
Since I live in Guadeloupe, which is part of France, I’ve been in lockdown for over a week. But it makes no real difference to me since I work at home and rarely go out anyway. 🙂
I’m still working away on my sites (French, Spanish, English, veggie).
I do quite a bit of cooking and have a vague notion of maybe doing some videos one of these days. Still waiting for my kitchen floor to be finished before I can even consider doing that safely.
Other than that, I’ve been learning Greek (off and on) for a couple of years, and spend part of the last two summers in Athens, which was incredible. I was planning to return this summer but of course now that looks extremely unlikely.
That’s it for now. Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home!
I hope you and your families are happy, safe, and warm this holiday season. Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all!
This is the story of an iguana in Guadeloupe. Iguanas come and go on our property – some we recognize for a while then never see again, while others are anonymous creatures that we never get to know. Sometimes they wander in our front door – and then usually get freaked out when they see us and hide in ridiculously small gaps behind appliances and furniture for a day or more, then sneak out when the coast is clear. Other times we barely spot them racing across the driveway or hanging out on the periphery. Generally speaking, they are extremely shy (though there are exceptions). Despite their sometimes fearful appearance, iguanas would much rather take flight than fight. Continue reading
There’s nothing quite like before and after photos for showing the effects of hurricanes. Continue reading
We’re coming up on our 4th anniversary here in Guadeloupe, and this is the first year that we’ve really been affected by a hurricane. Continue reading
My husband and I recently visited Dominican Republic for 5 days, and it was an experience – good and bad – I won’t soon forget. Continue reading
When I tell people I live in Guadeloupe, they often think that means Mexico. Interestingly, there are a number of towns and an island named Guadalupe (pronounced “gwa da loo pay”) in Mexico (and other Spanish-speaking countries), and I’m not sure which one they’re thinking of.
In any case, I don’t live in Mexico: I live in France. Continue reading
With the launch of cheap, direct flights from the US in 2015 and expanded dates and airports in 2016 – not to mention the full-page spread in NY Times Travel in 2017 – Guadeloupe is becoming a popular destination for Americans. Here’s a bit of advice on getting here.
If you live on the East Coast, you’re in luck, because extremely cheap flights can be found from New York (JFK), Boston (BOS), and Baltimore/Washington (BWI), as well as from Fort Lauderdale/Miami (FLL). If you’re not near one of these airports, you still might be better off flying to one of them to take advantage of this much cheaper second leg, courtesy of Norwegian Air.
Note: Guadeloupe is an overseas French department, and up until 2015, 90% of its tourists were from mainland France. This means that French is the official language and English is not yet widely spoken. To make the most of your trip, I recommend that you learn French.
