Jacques Cousteau Reserve
Jacques Cousteau Reserve, off Malendure Beach. Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe
Moments that should be documented photographically throughout one's life: birth, kindergarten graduation, prom, marriage, first ride in a glass-bottomed boat. Of all the days to forget the frickin' camera....I did. So, this time you're just going to have to rely on distant views and verbal images of the Jacques Cousteau nature preserve, off Guadeloupe's western coast.
Unfortunately, the island (that rock in the distance) is not much to look at - at least, not above the water. Below the surface is a different story however, but you will have to board a boat to discover the wonders that lie beneath.
For novices, a glass-bottomed boat leaves from the dock at the cove a few times a day. The boat seems as though it were built specifically for the reef, its measurements gliding smoothly between underwater trenches, hardly ruffling the fronds of seaweed as it passes through.
Since the area is protected, very few boats have permission to enter, so the water is clear and the wildlife extremely bold. At the most fascinating moment, when a rainbow of fish were schooling around the boat and a sea turtle paddled past, the crew handed out snorkels and flippers (les palmes et tubas, for those of you interested in knowing the French) and all but pushed us into the liquid fish.
It's a completely different world under the surface, quiet and more colorful than I imagined. I dove under and became part of the fish soup, then tried to convince my husband (the fish were "swarming too aggressively" for his taste) to join me in the warm currents. I also tried to find the submerged bust of Cousteau but was too distracted by the creatures all around me. And for those of you who have seen "Open Water", the crew counted snorkels, not people, before serving a round of rum punch and heading for dry land.
The islet is one of the most famous spots in Guadeloupe (some say the world, but I am far from being an authority on the subject) for scuba diving as well as snorkeling. It's so good that Jacques himself came here and luckily he didn't forget the camera - for it's here that he filmed "World of Silence". If you find this post oddly devoid of photos, you can go ahead and watch that to get a better view without having to get your toes wet.
