From: andy-w@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca (Andrew webster)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.caribbean
Subject: Re: CARIBBEAN TRAVEL ROUNDUP9
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 92 11:03:45 MST
Organization: Edmonton Remote Systems #1, Edmonton, AB, Canada

paul.graveline@travel.com (Paul Graveline)  writes:

- (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)
-                                                                              


Andrew webster              andy-w@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca 
Newsgroups: soc.culture.caribbean