From: paul.graveline@travel.com (Paul Graveline) 
Newsgroups: soc.culture.caribbean
Subject: CARIBBEAN TRAVEL ROUNDUP9
Date: 31 Dec 92 01:03:00 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: Travel Online / St. Louis Online - St. Louis, MO
Reply-To: paul.graveline@travel.com (Paul Graveline) 

(continued)
so  good,  had I been there another week, they just might have had me  
swinging  out on the 70-foot-high trapeze, doing a leg-up and hanging  
head  down, then dropping into the net below at the end of the swing,  
with  maybe  even  a  mid-air  somersault  thrown in. And, although a  
pilot,  I've always had a fear of heights. They made it look so easy.  
Who  knows...I  just might have grabbed that trapeze...and with a big  
shove  from  one  of  the GO's...have tried to outdo Tarzan. And then  
again,  maybe  not.  It's  very  easy  to be brave 4000 miles and two  
weeks later.  

Before  we leave the beach, let it be noted it's got to be one of the  
best  in  the  world  from  the  standpoint  of  water, sandy bottom,  
surroundings,  etc.  let's  consider a CM dilemma: it is it better to  
upgrade  one's  room  (getting  perhaps a balcony and better location  
along  with  a 10 percent surcharge and an increased chance one would  
not  get  a  room  mate  because  of  the  extra  cost or to take the  
standard  room because one is not in the room much anyway and why pay  
the  premium.  Going  in, I thought former point made a lot of sense.  
And I paid the 10 percent...got a reservation on a balcony room.  

However  fate was to intervene and deliver a result far better than I  
could  have  planned at the outset. About a week before departure, CM  
called  and  said  that  there had been a gigantic booking error. The  
reservations  for  a  group  from Paris made last January had somehow  
'fallen  through the cracks.' They were going to have to bump me from  
my  balcony  room  and  give  me  a  standard  room, albeit with a 30  
percent  discount for my inconvenience. Since I really seemed to have  
little  choice,  I  said "fine." Turns out I had a room mate for only  
the  first  two  nights  and  I was there four without so I picked up  
almost  a  $390 credit in the bargain. I was going to have to give up  
5000  frequent flyer miles to get a 20 percent discount on a standard  
room.  Here  I  got  30  percent  and  saved  the 5000 miles. Ah, the  
serendipitous blessings of blind luck.  

One  tip  is  take your own beach towels to CM. At least I was glad I  
did.  They  were  bigger  than those at CM and I didn't have to sweat  
the  $10 charge per towel if I could not have found them at checkout.  
Electricity  is 220 in most of Guadeloupe so take your own converter.  
I  plugged  my 110 hair dryer briefly into a 220 outlet in Gosier and  
it  really glowed and took off. I quickly pulled it out of the socket  
and  apparently  did  no  damage  to the windings or coil. Could have  
fried it quite easily. 

Anyway,  let's talk about the food now. It was FANTASTIC! Any one who  
leaves  there  at  the same weight at which they arrived is a 'better  
man  than  I  am  , Gunga Din.' Beginning with le petit dejeuner, the  
little  lunch there are all sorts of pastries, fresh fruits (mangoes,  
guavas,  pineapple,  strawberries,  etc.,  etc.) and juices. There is  
coffee  and  tea and I usually have a couple of big cups of coffee in  
the  morning.  French  coffee  is  so strong one cup is ALL I wanted.  
But,  with  a  freshly  baked  croissant  or  brioche,  mesdames  and  
messieurs,  this  is  about as good as it gets. Quel magnifique! And,  
of  course, for HEARTY breakfast eaters, there were always the French  
pancakes,  or  scrambled  eggs  (or  cooked  to  order), all sorts of  
sausages,  ham,  other  meats. Breakfast was from 7-9:30 a.m. If that  
was  too  early  because you had discoed until 3 a.m., you could walk  
down   the  beach  about  300  yards  to  La  Biguine,  the  sit-down  
restaurant. (More about La Biguine later).  

Lunch  was from 12:30 to 2. Except for the fact that the sun was high  
during  lunch,  it was difficult to tell the difference between lunch  
and   dinner.  Virtually  the  same  panoply  of  entrees,  the  same  
extensive  array  of  salads,  scads of tempting desserts. At dinner,  
there  did  tend  to be a theme more often than not: Italian, German,  
etc.  

Dinner  was  served from 7:30 and tended to be a 2-3 hour event. Some  
of  the  most  enjoyable  conversations  I have in recent memory were  
around  the  candle  lit  tables, fresh flowers in abundance, and the  
soft  hit  of  a  cool  breeze tempering the evening. The guests were  
quite  diverse. Probably a lot of the guests were bi-lingual but were  
more  comfortable  with their primary language, as most of us are. If  
I  return  to  Guadeloupe,  I  plan  to  definitely be more fluent in  
French.  It  would  add so much to the experience, for example, being  
able  to  understand  the actors in the various shows that presented,  
one each evening, by the GO's.  

Jamaica Couples Trip Report from Dan Kirkhoff 
--------------------------------------------- 
My  wife  and  I  just  got back today from a stay at Couples in Ocho  
Rios,  Jamaica. It was an incredible vacation. Here's a couple of the  
highlights.  

Couples  has  a  free charter bus meet you at the airport to take you  
on  the 1:40 min ride. The bus was air-conditioned and they generally  
give  you  free  Red  Stripe Beer for the trip. The roads are narrow,  
winding,  loaded  with  people,  goats, vehicles, etc. Yet the driver  
will  make  the  entire  trip  at breakneck speeds. Everyone seems to  
have  the  same  story  about  the  ride  and  there were no reported  
incidents,  but your life will flash in front of you a few times. The  
rooms   are   all   air-conditioned  with  king  beds,  hair  dryers,  
AM/FM/CD/Cassette  players  (bring  some  music),  and  fairly  large  
patios.  The  furniture  was  not exquisite but was in good condition  
and more than acceptable.  
(continued)