Tied up at the dock, But not tied down Guadeloupe Friday, Mar 3,2006

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Adieu Vaval, bonjour careme - Goodbye Carnival, hello Lent Lent: A time of abstinence Cartoon caption in Creole: "I said NO, respect lent" Marina Bas du Fort Photo taken from other side of bay Gosier, one of the original resort towns of Guadeloupe Close to Ponte-A-Pitre Street market in Pointe-A-Pitre Giant cruise ship at end of street in Pointe-A-Pitrre Can you believe the size of these things? Beach (plage) in St. Ann In Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Guyane (the French Antilles, Lent (careme) does not begin on Ash Wednesday (mercredi des cendres) like everywhere else in the world. The local Catholic church decided that more time was needed for Carnival (Vaval). To keep the fun alive, local bishops decided Lent should start on Friday (vendredi) instead of Wednesday (mercredi). How convenient. In addition, there is a special day called (Mi-careme), the third Thursday (jeudi) of Lent when Lent is at half-time (mi-temps), and it is set aside for one more day of parades (defile) and celebration. Lent continues until Good Friday (le vendredi saint). Easter is called "Paques" in French, Easter Sunday is "le dimanche de Pâques," and Happy Easter! is "joyeuses Pâques!" From March 3 to March 5, the Heineken sailing Regatta is being held in Saint-Martin. An amazing 255 boats from 27 countries compete. This is a big deal in the sailing world. Competitors include past winners of the Whitbread around the world race, the Fastnet, and the Sydney-Hobart race. There are 39 boats from the US, 22 from Saint Martin/Sint Maarten, and 17 from Guadeloupe. People were just gearing up for the race as we were leaving Saint Martin. It is now in the news here in Guadeloupe. The Bird Flu (Grippe Aviaire) is in the news here since there is an outbreak in France. Previous | Next