Let me start by saying Guadeloupe is a beautiful French Carribean Island and I enjoyed my short time there !
Let's start with prices 😄
My husband gave me a $1000 budget for our trip so I had to get a little crafty 😂 and of course I managed to spend just a little over that 🙃😉🤑 My job as a budget travel guru never ends !
We stayed at an airbnb with stunning views !
I honestly wanted to enjoy the island, it's so beautiful, however super expensive! Gas is about $10 (usd) per gallon, and that's no exaggeration. To rent a car from the airport it's about $156 for 3 days with insurance and your deposit is $920(usd)! A $900 hold on my card made me opt to use cabs and a tour guide. The total I spent for Taxi's was $260.
I didn't include that in my trip total because Cab prices vary.
La Grande Soufrière,
(French: "big sulphur outlet"), is an active stratovolcano on the French island of Basse-Terre, in Guadeloupe. It is the highest mountain peak in the Lesser Antilles, and rises 1,467 m high.
In 1976 a large amount of seismic activity led to a mass evacuation of the island's 72,000 residents
La Grande Soufrière delivered a phreatic eruption that commenced on July 8th, 1976 and lasted until March 1st, 1977. This eruption was similar to the 1797, 1798, 1809 and 1956 outbreaks. Phreatic activity ejected blocks derived from the fissure walls and fine pyroclasts produced by hydrothermal alteration of the old dome’s rocks.
The volcano is still active.
Our day started at 7am and we didn't have breakfast because we overslept. My advice is make a hearty breakfast, ( i.e., porridge or oatmeal to sustain you for the hike). Also pack 2 big water bottles and bring a generous amount of snacks.
Some shots along the trail 🌳
Midpoint 🏔
My instructor climbed up barefoot 👣
He was amazingly patient and inciteful
Book VERT INTENSE
My husband and I at the top 🏔
Most of the top is shrouded in clouds and sulfur
Taking a break on my way down... I think going down was harder than going up ! The wind and rain terrified me and I felt like I was going to fall ! It took me about an hour and 45 minutes to reach the bottom. It should have taken an hour.
Im a full figured diva weighing in at 232lbs and only standing at 5'5. Needless to say it was a struggle getting to the very top and body hurt for days afterwards... but climbing up in to the sulfuric clouds enlightened me and I had an unexpected revelation about the dynamics of a marriage!
When i climbed up to the top of a volcano with my husband, it really changed a lot about my perception of our relationship as a whole! See while he calculated his steps knowing I was following his lead, knowing that he had to keep me safe, protecting me when I was really really scared for the first time in a very long time.. I haven’t really put to much thought into how I would put the words together for this part but I’m humbled and truly amazed at the man god has sent to be my partner he’s nothing but an beautiful strong and thoughtful man I am so blessed 👏
(My cold and wet baby)
The rain was coming down but that didn't stop me from enjoying the hot springs!! I was already wet anyway 🤣
