April 2004 -- Like the determined little train in the famous children's story, Marie-Galante is the little island that could -- and often does. This 60-square mile satellite retreat 15 miles southeast of Guadeloupe does wonderfully on its own terms as a vacation destination and can reward the traveler many times over -- especially one who isn't out for fancy digs and a great deal of night life. For an appreciation of the Caribbean as it used to be before resort culture took over, this laid-back pancake-shaped haven is perfect. All the better, too, that its charms are not often advertised. Its history tells a lot about its spirit. Named by Christopher Columbus after his flagship in 1493, it became known as the island of 100 windmills during the height of sugar production and slavery. The gallant natives rebelled earlier than most from the heavy-handed royalists in Guadeloupe with which it still is linked administratively today under, of course, France and the European Union.
Dozens of windmill skeletons dot the landscape as reminders of colonial days, only one of which still remains with raggedy non-functioning arms attached, but sugar cane and rum production are still valuable economically. (There is one sugar refinery and three rum distilleries.) Tourism has made inroads although not as blatantly as in the neighboring island galaxy of Iles des Saintes. There commerce on the streets of Terre-de-Haut, the largest and most frequented is very much in your face. On Marie Galante, cows can seem more prevalent than people, who number no more than 13,000; the four-footers are given due respect with road signs warning drivers of their presence and property gates often stay locked at night to keep them away.
None of this idealization of the rural scene can hide the fact that life on the little known Caribbean islands is not inexpensive, as a recent trip there showed. Yes, it is possible even in high season to find accommodations at bargain prices, but the general tenor is set by the upward spiraling euro and downward slide of the dollar. A visitor should take care in estimating costs.
Getting There
Definitely not half the fun of being there since the trip involves delays, and possibly an overnight stay in Guadeloupe. From the East Coast it's possible to go all the way in a day but requires leaving New York at 7 a.m. on American Airlines, a change to American Eagle at San Juan for Pointe a Pitre, the capital of Guadeloupe, and another change to take either Air Caraibes (www.aircaraibes.com) for 80€ (20 minutes, three flights daily, with 15 kilo baggage allowed per person or a ferry. Most people go with one of the two main ferry companies that make the 50-minute crossing to Grand-Bourg on Marie Galante by hydrofoil three times daily. The ferry companies are Brudey Freres (www.brudey-frere.fr) and Express des Iles (www.express-des-iles.com). Cost is around 30€ and tickets are sold quayside. Add to that about 15€ for a taxi from the airport.Caution: passport and customs can be quite slow on arrival in Pointe a Pitre's grand new airport. Schedules posted for the inter-island ferries are accurate but change frequently on holidays so it's wise to double check. Traditional late winter carnival, for instance, takes place on different days on different islands, throwing off some listings since carnival is holiday time.
Getting Around:
A taxi will be available at the end of the long pier along as well car rental agency reps such as Magaloc (www.im-caraibes.com/magaloc), but at nightfall it's best if first time visitors have lined up something in advance. Maps generally are excellent. Hikers will have a field day exploring the eight marked routes shown in detail in a booklet, Les sentiers de randonnee pedestre de Marie-Galante, available for three€ at the Office du Tourisme de Marie-Galante, (Rue du Fort - BP. 15, 97112 Grand Bourg. Phone (011) 590-590-97-56-51. Fax : (011) 590-590-97-56-54; e-mail: info@ot-mariegalante.com. Closed weekends, at least for the moment.)
Two other useful Web sites for initial research are www.frenchcaribbean.com and www.antilles-infotourisme.com/guadeloupe. A bilingual entrepreneur named Florence Caquineau (A.Marie-Galante@wanadoo.fr), who acts as representative of several lodgings and car rentals can help with information and reservations. (Note: A computer check of "Statistiques Marie-Galante" by a helpful bureau employe showed a count of just over 8,000 tourists in 2001, the last year for which statistics are available, down from two preceding years; 22 "vehicle rental firms; 58 restaurants; and 101 lodging sites, most of them gites or B&Bs.)
The local bus service is erratic and doesn't operate to tourists' advantage, making a rental car at upwards of 40€ a day or a scooter at 29€ almost a necessity. The island's nickname is Grand-Galette, for its flat rounded silhouette, but hills and some cliffs abound, especially in the north and east. Given the distances between the two main towns -- Grand-Bourg and Capisterre -- bicycling is best undertaken by people in good physical condition. Narrow roads elsewhere challenge walkers and cyclists. Hitchhiking is possible but not customary.
On the plus side, roads have no traffic lights and only a few stop signs, beaches are pristine and uncrowded even in high season, and the mix of Caribbean and French cultures can make dining out a delightful -- if uneven -- experience. For many visitors, especially Americans, the experience is heightened by being on an island with a racially mixed population where there is little or no apparent racial tension. Crime is low, limited mostly to petty thievery.
At least a basic knowledge of French is a necessity. Nearly all tourists are French and native English speakers are few and far between.
Changing money can be a challenge. A clerk in the Credit Agricole, the only bank open in Grand-Bourg during a recent bank strike never before had handled American Express travellers checks. Rescue came in the form of a second employee who wanted, in charming fashion, to practice his halting English. The Post Office will change money but lines can be long and, of course, hours are strictly regulated. There was an ATM machine in the port of Terre-de-Haut, the main island of Les Saintes, but the only one spotted on Marie Galante was inside Credit Agricole.
Sleeping and Eating
Restaurants and accommodations are varied to suit all tastes and pocketbooks. Be prepared to be asked for a housing deposit in advance by Western Union. Contact by fax or phone takes precedence over e-mail in some places. While a "marigalantais" is up to speed as far as communications go, this isn't a place full of cyber cafes by any means. The only public spot open to send e-mail and faxes was a computer sales and repair store called Services et Informatique near the gendarmerie. Rates were 5.70€ per hour.
Easiest to find perhaps (12€ by taxi from the port) is the island's only resort, Hotel Cohoba (www.leaderhotels.gp), a modestly-styled family-friendly collection of bungalows and double rooms, some with outdoor kitchens. The lobby has a Hertz desk, open erratically, and a plentiful buffet breakfast was included in the price (well over 100€ in season). Yes, real croissants. A stretch of sea grape and woods separated grounds from a small private beach. The sleepy village of St. Louis, another ferry port, is a short hop away. Day visitors often leave from St. Louis for a look at bustling Terre-de-Haut.
To Hotel Cohoba's credit, when the room telephone didn't work, it was replaced within the hour. And although a credit card had been pledged for a guaranteed longer stay, management agreed to cancel those reservations; a smaller, more intimate abode beckoned. Online photos can't always convey the tricky matter of ambience. (Hence, the need for newsletters such as this!) Two places that may seem only yards from the sea but not necessarily from a beach may cost as low as 50 or 75€ but be wildly different in feeling.
One of these, an older establishment called Touloulou had a flashy bar and disco dancing on Saturday. Farther along the road was a six-room, cold-water-only hotel-bar-restaurant named Hajo, that, up close, looked more seductive with its rustic stone facade and a red tile floor on an interior that was almost southwestern in feel. A third spot and a real find for bargain hunters was Soleil Levant, a sprawling sun-filled complex on a hill with a beautiful view above Capesterre that boasted a communal kitchen for guests. (Apartments available for long stays.)
But it was Grand Palm, also just off the main road not far from the airport, that won our heart. Not because of the three outdoor jacuzzis or the good sized swimming pool and deck but because of the well-planned and spacious tropical garden as well as the personal touches the proud owner couple brought to their property. For just under 100€, a semi-detached bungalow had a kitchen, air conditioning (plus mosquito nets), radio and CD-radio-tape player (but no telephone) within sound of the sea. Neither credit cards nor checks were accepted, but there was a rocking chair on every porch and a large outdoor barbecue at the disposal of guests. Guests -- all from mainland France -- included a concert pianist, a couple plus the wife's best friend who had found the south of France too cold in winter, and a younger couple with two young children.
The best suggestions on where to eat -- those times we weren't grilling fish bought early morning by the pier in Grand-Bourg -- came from locals. The Grand Palm couple recommended Footy near the port -- it has a lively dancing scene Saturday night -- and a car hire employee pointed us for lunch to the popular Plaisirs du Marin in the hamlet of Chalet outside St. Louis on the way to some of the island's best beaches.
Lunch there was long and filling at a table in the sand by the sea; a rum punch to begin, fresh grilled dorage to follow. A splurge one night led us to Restaurant La Charrette -- the word for the wooden ox carts still in use to haul sugar cane from the fields -- that offered a "traditional menu" of four courses for 23€ as well as a none-too-thrilling grilled lobster for considerably more. Traditional menus can refer to whatever is in season but count on spicy fritters (accras) or a curry (here's the Indian influence in Caribbean cooking). At Les Pieds dans L'Eau restaurant, a gite with small bungalows and a common kitchen for 46€) Saturday night is reserved for special Indian-African menu.
The personal touch made all the difference, too, at Hajo, where the owner with the improbable name of Christiane Hinckfoot was all too willing to prepare a meal -- ordered in advance -- for a couple to dine alone on the enclosed terrace within yards from the sea. Grilled eggplant, dorade, salad, creme caramel, and a bottle of Muscadet: 60€ for two, plus conversation, in French naturellement, about how "Marie Galante really is the last best island since Les Saintes have been spoiled like St. Bart's."
The best outlet for food supplies was in town was the "8 to 8" supermarket (closed Sunday afternoon), although even more expensive fresh fruit and produce were available at an open air market near the port. The best bakery -- real baguettes -- was across from "8 to 8" and fresh meat markets were open on Sunday morning.
Activities
Swimming is prime at any of the coral reef protected beaches, mostly on the west and northwest coast -- only one of which appeared to be the target of small tourist buses. La Feuilliere, near Capesterre, has a café and bathroom. By prior arrangement, it's possible to rent a horse and have a beach ride, or have wind sail ride on nylon wings in the sky at any one of these. (At one especially spectacular beach a few kilometers outside of St. Louis, the machinneel trees, said to drip a poison when it rains, are conveniently banded with red paint.)
Consider sitting with a glass of rum portside at sunset or early morning to watch the action in Grand-Bourg when ferries come and go. Bottles of spices, syrups and handcrafted baskets are sold under the covered awning by the pier. A movie house is open most nights for restless souls uneasy with the delights of silence and the glistening stars. Distilleries open up most mornings for free rum tasting and, if you are lucky, the sight of cane being pressed and boiled into an especially strong brew.
At one of these, where the well-known Pere Labat label is made, a crumbling two story wood mansion had been cordoned off and left to decay like some ghostly colonial relic. The abandoned 18th century plantation Habitation Murat was another example of living history gone astray, but here locals have done some restoration work, including work on the old slave quarters. Distillerie Bielle, marked by signs pointing down a country lane, sells a rum said to have aphrodisiacal powers, but of more interest and value was a pottery shop next door (closed Sunday morning) and a perfume and condiment store where floral scents, jams and hot Creole mustard alone were worth the trip. There was the perfect photo op: A smiling woman in a bright red costume selling fritters and other delectables made on the spot under an umbrella stand. Good manners would suggest that the camera bug request permission before clicking away at this or any other human interest feature -- n'est-ce-que pas?
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