Le Gosier

I now live in Le Gosier (Eng. throat; Pl. gardziel:-), about 10 km east of Pointe-à-Pitre. Le Gosier is located on the eastern wing of the Guadeloupean "butterfly" - Grande-Terre. The city is one of the island's major resorts. Conveniently located and panoramic, it has a nice, sandy but narrow beach, stretching west to Pointe. We're now in the low season (mid-April to mid-December); nevertheless during the day the Gosier beach is crowded with Métros fleeing the continent to get some Caribbean sun...
(Map: http://www.les3epices.com/images/carte.jpg)








Le Gosier has a realtively compact center (bourg), with the city hall, a post office, several pharmacies, a few grocery stores, and bakeries. The city has a population of approx. 25,000 and is the third most populated commune in the French DROM.








Let's now take a short walk around the place where I'm staying...

The building used to serve as a police station (apparently some people still come here in emergencies; thus the surrounding area is supposedly quite safe). From its 2nd floor there is a nice view on the city. It's been rather foggy recently - on a nice clear day one could see from here the Soufrière, an active volcano on the west wing of the "butterfly" - Basse-Terre.



My two lovely neighbors... Apparently they have a nest right in front of my window. I once spotted them in flagranti:-)

I took this picture on my first morning in Guadeloupe. The peaceful atmosphere can be misleading here. From the dusk the streets are full of life. Because of the heat and the humidity, most people adjust their lifestyles to the pace of the day. For example Martine, a woman I sat next to on the plane, gets up at dusk and is ready for bed by 8-9pm! It was only past 7am when I went on the first stroll. Looking though the windows, the locals greeted me with a certain curiosity...

It takes only 3 minutes to get to the beach. It's like heaven here. After a humid day, tired having walked around, I love my daily swimming routine! The major downside is the jellyfish but it's a topic of its own...

L'Îlet du Gosier is located within approximately 500m off the Gosier coast. It is a small, picturesque coral island, since 2003 under the auspices of the Conservatoire du littoral. Actually, the name takes its origin in the pelicans (pélicans d'eau-grands gosiers) that used to hunt here.