Scenes from Guadeloupe

I apologize for this dark, under-exposed picture, a tropical storm cloud was going over to the right, while bright sun was coming through to the left, the camera's light meter just couldn't deal with it. Anyway, add this to the collection of derelict abandoned vehicles photographed over the years, this on a Guadeloupe roadside in December 2004. As said in an earlier posting here, Guadeloupe is a lovely island to visit, but they seem to be lacking certain basic services, like a bus carcass removal team. So this one was getting overrun by vines...

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This next one is another poorly exposed image, so that makes two in a row, so I'm doubly sorry, if I could get on a plane tomorrow to Guadeloupe to go re-work some of these scenes with the new camera, I would... sure could go for some warm sunny weather right now, and a dip in the ocean. But somewhere removed from this waterfront dump that was sorely in need of being cleaned up...

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After two poor exposures, this one will hopefully make up somewhat for lost photographic credibility... well, I never said I was perfect. This gives you an idea of some of the roadside art that can be seen in the Caribbean. And this time of year is perfect... no hurricanes likely !

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Sleeping by the Sea

Around this time of year when the typical gray, cold, windy northern Europe winter weather patterns set in, I start dreaming of escaping to warmer climes... Guadeloupe a couple of winters back there was perfect... and what better combination for a guy like me than sun, sea, and cemeteries??? This one went right down to the water's edge. A beautiful place to spend eternity... by the side of the deep blue sea, with waves to rock you into a nice long sound sleep...

Sailing Into Sunset

It's been a busy week, but now it's time to sail right into the weekend. Took this shot from the southwestern coast of Guadeloupe a couple of winters ago... a great place to go to find some winter sun while still speaking French.

Dream Car From Guadeloupe

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After posting those photos taken just a few days ago below of some dream cars that have been mouldering away in the pitch black night of a stone quarry cave, it seems appropriate to give you the other extreme of the abandoned car spectrum. This beauty has been getting a deep brown tan under the brilliant sun in Guadeloupe for who knows how many years now. There seems to be a problem there with basic public services like towing old wrecks of cars to the junkyard, because the island is dotted with basket cases like this one. This stripped out wreck was by the side of the road near the far north end of the island where there are breath-taking cliff-top views east and west over the ocean, and south looking back along the lines of cliffs that disappear in the distance. Old cars left to slowly disintegrate in public places are a monument to our times... which explains why, like with roadkill, I tend to photograph them wherever I encounter them. But that doesn't mean that I didn't notice the brilliant blue sea here... that same blue visible even from space...
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Facade

In December 2004, around Christmas, I was in Guadeloupe for two weeks walking all over the island, photographing right and left. This older home in the town of Basse Terre had a beautifully weathered facade. You can imagine what the real estate ad would have said... 2 bedroom old city charm in quiet street of Basse Terre, short walk to beaches and lovely view of la Souffriere volcano. Minor repairs needed. What I would have given to see the inside of it... hidden secrets, hidden treasures.

Wooden Ships and Everyman

I said earlier below here somewhere, maybe in Cornwall, that I generally avoid trying to do postcard photos, because the postcards and tourist books are already for sale in the gift shops... But every now and then a scene comes along that just begs to be photographed, like this lighthouse and sailboat on the far southern tip of Guadeloupe, bathed in the rose light of a Caribbean sunset. Taken on Christmas Day, December 25th, 2004, one day later we would hear that the sea had risen up in fury in Asia and swept away more than 200000 souls... there are no guarantees in life... it is sometimes tempting to dream of sailing off in a wooden ship, on the water...

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