La Désirade: An Island of Rejects or a Hidden Gem?

La Désirade

     After a 45-minute, bumpy, stomach-sloshing boat ride, we finally arrived to La Désirade: one of the five islands that is part of Guadeloupe. On this small island, there is a library, a Post Office, a few small grocery stores, some restaurants, two Elementary schools, and three beaches. On Christopher Columbus' second voyage, this island was his first sight of land, which lead him to give it the name "La Désirade" - The Desired Land. However, he wasn't interested in coming ashore to explore the island as there was no sign of water, which is why he continued his route to Guadeloupe. In fact, this land was never an interest to settlers for that same reason. It later became a hiding place for pirates, and until 1958, the site of a leper colony. The western part of the island was also a place of banishment for offenders of mainland Guadeloupe, and sometimes even France. 

     Because of its history of being an island of rejects, Guadeloupians on the main island seem to still hold onto the negative view of La Désirade, and as such, it remains a place not often frequented by tourists. From any eastern point on Guadeloupe, you can see La Désirade in the distance. But solely admiring it from afar is like looking at the surface of the ocean and not wondering what's beneath it. I knew I couldn't leave Guadeloupe without discovering what stories this island had to tell.  

    Being only seven miles long and one mile

wide, it's easy to visit the whole island with a car in one day.  However, there is only one road accessible by car that goes from one side to the other. Otherwise, you need 4-wheel drive, or lots of drinking water and endurance to go by foot and explore the top of the plateau. 

The hand-drawn map

     We chose the option by foot, but little did we know that the trail (if you can even call it that) to the top wouldn't be so obvious.  Following a map that was hand-drawn for us on an envelope by a Désirade native, we set out on an adventure to follow the directions he had given us. 

STEP ONE: Find the "trailhead," which was located up a hill across from an old bus stop, past a house, around the first barbed-wire fence, and then the second giant barbed-wire fence, and finally after the fifth pole of the fence. The man explained that after the first barbed-wire fence there will be a trail that leads to some pigs. He warned, "If you run into the pigs, then you have gone too far to the right. Always stay on the left of the pigs." It seemed easy enough, but somehow fifteen minutes later I found myself in the middle of a group of pigs starring and growling at me like a pack of wild dogs. I never knew pigs could sound so vicious! I turned around and ran away as quickly as possible, retracing my steps and looking for the trail heading left that we missed. Finally we spotted a small opening in the vegetation that had the potential to be a trail, but clearly wasn't often frequented as one. Well, we took our chances. Eventually we spotted the barbed-wire fence that lead us to the trailhead. 

STEP TWO: Make it up the mountain and find the road on the top that goes across the island. Luckily, on the way up, we didn't run into any more pigs - just lizards and land-crabs.

FOUND IT!

STEP THREE: Pass through a restricted area where the wind turbines are located and find the lookout that gives you the most beautiful view on the island.

Step Three: COMPLETE!

Notre Dame du Calvaire

STEP FOUR: Head across the plateau, find the small blue chapel, then head back down from there. As there were no signs along this road, we had no idea how close or how far the chapel was, making each trailhead we passed a questionable opportunity.
After heading down a few too many of those paths and turning around, we finally came across the blue chapel and another beautiful viewpoint.

STEP FIVE: Head down the mountain to the main road and follow the road from there. Five hours later, and after stopping at a small supermarket for a Floup (a Guadeloupian popsicle), we finally ended up where we started! What an adventure and a beautiful way to discover the island.

Former Meteorological Station

     On the easternmost part of the island, there is an old meteorological station from the 1930's that was used to monitor hurricanes, as it is Guadeloupe's furthest point in the Atlantic Ocean. Although, destroyed by hurricane Hugo in 1989, the station is now closed. 
     As La Désirade is the oldest island in the Lesser Antilles, it has rocks that are 145 million years old (the oldest in the Caribbean), which you can find on the eastern part of the island as well. This area is a geological Natural Reserve and often visited by geologists. I could have stayed there all day looking at all the different kinds of rocks and shells you can find on the beach.  Of course, there are white-sand beaches as well - no tourists in sight, just palm trees and turquoise waters protected by the coral reef, perfect for snorkeling.  You're sure to not miss seeing the King who dominates the land, the iguana, as he roams everywhere, and is loved and protected by the locals.

Colombo Chicken

     A visit to a new place is never complete without tasting their traditional food. A large part of the Desiradian cuisine is made up of several traditional goat recipes, but I didn't have enough time or courage to taste any. Instead, I tried the Colombo Chicken, another typical dish. For dessert, their famous cashew fruit is cooked for several days in cane sugar, and used as a syrup over ice cream. 

     It may be known as "The Forgotten," but La Désirade proved to truly be a hidden gem, leaving you with the desire to return among its lush nature, tranquility, and simplicity... and with a memory that will definitely never be forgotten.

     Watch the video below for the whole adventure and to see the beautiful views!

VIDEO: La Desirade