Okay, with yesterday’s housekeeping out of the way, onto the first two days of the tour.
- St Vincent’s and the Grenadines: our first port of call. The itinerary called for an all-day private beach event including a beach side BBQ. The grilled lobsters were fantastic but the Caviar was Beluga but we prefer Sturgeon…but that’s nit-picking. Susan swam and swam while I stayed near shore because about 12 inches into the sea, the water came up to my forehead.
- Guadalupe: this was the first real “working” island, and, being a French territory, the word “working” is used liberally. Upon debarkation, one was free to meander the colorful shops and open- air markets where intrepid shoppers all oohed and aahed over produce labeled with Dole and Chiquita stickers. But, from my independent research, I identified a must-see historic gem called Fort DeGres. Fort DeGres was built in 1802 when the French and English were finalizing the rules to the board game “Risk”. It sits high atop the harbor’s entrance where visitors from around the globe were welcomed with open arms, unless you were British (in which case you would have been greeted by a ferocious volley from a battery of 8-ft cannons along with vulgar hand gestures). As with all historic attractions these days, the first station is a brief vignette explaining the Fort’s heritage. Being French, the vignette was shot with a film noir vibe complete with interesting angles, creative use of color and light, and facial close-ups capturing tensions and tears. Towards the end of the “film”, a guy wearing Ray-Bans and smoking a cigarette appeared and then the words “Fin”. It was all in French so we didn’t understand any of it but I gathered from the footage, in true French fashion, there was intrigue and innuendo, with plenty of twisted and tragic romances. Moving along further into the fortress, each of the outbuildings had a variety of interactive media, none of which worked. The first outbuilding was the Fort’s prison which was certainly macabre and inhumane (not unlike a studio apartment in Manhattan). The next outbuilding was fairly well preserved and had an extensive placard explaining it’s purpose. Again, being in French, I was only able to make out three words: croissant, sorbet, and éclair. I surmised this must have been the fort’s Boulangerie. Upon exiting the site, we were bid “Adieu” from the pretty, large-breasted attendant sporting a neck tattoo and tongue stud. In the evening, upon reflection, I thought to myself, if only the walls of that fort could speak, what would they say about her?
Tomorrow, 2 more terrific excursions.