Mélange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine October 2016 | Page 239

Guadeloupe gets its nickname
from the shape formed by
its two halves, Grande Terre
and Basse Terre, which are
separated by the Rivière Salée
(Salt River). I was to spend my
next 24 hours in Pointe-à-Pitre
(the island’s largest city) which
is on Grande Terre, the more
developed and ¨touristy¨ half
of the Butterfly.
Our first stop was for lunch at
Le Bord de Mer, a quiet, casual
beach bar offering up-front
views of shimmering sand
against an endless backdrop
of glistening blue sea. Waiting
on lunch was made easy as
my eyes dreamily wandered
and soaked in the peaceful
surroundings. My sea-gazing
was interrupted by the
culinary portrait placed on
the table before me: bright
red and green Creole-style fish
was elegantly poised beside
soft-white rice and provisions
(starches commonly eaten in

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the Caribbean). After wiping
our plates clean, we were off to
start sightseeing!
Guadeloupe, I soon
discovered, was a charm. We
found a great photo opp at the
Place de la Victoire, Pointeà-Pitre’s main town square.
This green open space was
so named to mark the end
of slavery and the important
victory of the working-class
sans-culottes during the
French Revolution. The Place
features several historically
important monuments and
buildings, including a statue
of Félix Éboué who was the
first black man to hold a major
political position in the French
territories and who was
also appointed Guadeloupe
Governor in 1936. The statue
of General Charles Victor
Frébault, appointed governor
of Guadeloupe in 1859, is also
situated at the Place.