In January of 1981, our little family (brother, sister, parents and I) set out for the " Island of beautiful waters", La Guadeloupe (Wikipedia link, Google Maps). It is an overseas département (département d’outre-mer, or DOM) of France. Like the other DOMs, Guadeloupe is also one of the 26 régions of France (as a région d’outre-mer), and an integral part of the Republic.

Guadeloupe comprises five islands: Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre (separated from Basse-Terre by a narrow sea channel called Salt River) with the adjacent islands of La Désirade, Les Saintes and Marie-Galante. Basse-Terre has a rough volcanic relief whilst Grande-Terre features rolling hills and flat plains.

Further to the north, Saint-Barthélemy and the French part of Saint Martin come under the jurisdiction of Guadeloupe. On December 7, 2003, both of these areas voted to become an overseas territorial collectivity.

We stayed first in Pointe-à-Pitre, the commercial capital of the island, then moved to an apartment complex called Les Alizés D-E in a sector of Les Abîmes called Le Raizet, where we stayed for five (5) years. We then moved on the main street at the border between Pointe-à-Pitre and Les Abîmes, right next to the only highway.

We all (my brother, sister and I) attended “Le Raizet Mixte II” primary school, later my brother and I entered “Le Collège du Raizet” and my sister attended “L’École Normale”.

Some of the highlights from our near eight years stay in Guadeloupe were of course the beaches, hikes on “ La Grande Soufrière” the active volcano, the carnival annual festivals, the summer camps, the friendly people and their culture including “le creole” and dancing to “ zouk”! :)

We returned to Canada in June 1988 to pursue our education. Everyone in the family has returned to visit, but me… I do plan a trip soon!