Guadeloupe in February 2017

I am so behind on my blogging. Not only did we take a family trip to Guadeloupe in February, but we also just got back last night from a spring break trip to Barcelona. So, since my kids have had me up since 5 AM this morning (jet lag is so delightful!), I figure I will use the time to catch up on Guadaloupe before I start in on Barcelona.

Here are the highlights:

Sunny skies, and 80 degrees! Perfect for February. :) This is the view from our first rental.

The kids loved the hammock in the bungalow we stayed in.

Hiking to the Waterfall!

We also did a jungle hike, and, as you can see, the vines were a big hit!

The beaches were gorgeous and the water was nice and warm.

More from the bungalow. It was very open, so birds and lizards had free range. We slept under mosquito nets, which was a first for me.

This is the yard in front of the bungalow. It was great having a yard to play in!

More beach! Isaac mostly preferred the safety of the sand, but the other two didn't want to get out of the water!

A random street in one of the cities.

There is a museum on Guadeloupe about the history of the island and Pirates in the Carribean. The kids had a great time there!

There was even a playground with a pirate ship to play on!

Taking a stroll. . . The rocks to the side were infested with crabs. Ginny stayed as far away as she could on that little sidewalk.

We had lunch at a restaurant on the beach. It was delicious!

We took the kids to the zoo, and got a look at all of the animals that live in the area. It was a really fun zoo, built into the jungle, and it even had some rope walks where you could walk high in the trees and see the birds and other wildlife. We had so much fun!

Crabs!

Ezra made friends with the bungalow owners, and they kept sending him home with coconuts for us to eat.

Our bed with the fancy mosquito netting. All Ginny wanted to do in her down time was read Harry Potter. Not that I blame her.

Another view of the bungalow yard.

Isaac was a great helper when we were ready to clean up and head to our second destination.

Ezra quickly made friends' with the owners' dog.

Climbing rocks!

More of the jungle hike.

The second half our our trip was on the "beach side." The Island has two halves. One is mountainous and jungle. The other is flat and beachy. It was a bit of a relief to get to the flat side because driving all of the crazy hills on the mountainous side made us rather motion sick.

One of the many beautiful views.

Lunch after a short hike on a hot, hot day.

This was the view out the window of our second rental. This one was in a gated community with a semi-private beach and an infinity pool. It was a fun and relaxing way to spend a few days.

The beach water here was so calm and warm, it was like being in a swimming pool with fish and sand. We all took turns snorkeling and looking at the fish, and the older kids really took to the water and started doing some serious swimming and floating. It was great!

Isaac would venture in a little ways, but, as always, had a preference for the beach. He collected a lot of coral while wandering along the sand.

The second building we stayed in.

A random beach front restaurant. 

Views from the community's infinity pool. We spent our mornings at the beach, and our afternoons at the pool.

It was such a fun trip to take as a family, and it was so great to enjoy amazing weather and sunny skies for a week in February! We had a bit of a rough start (i.e. Erik learning to drive a stick up super steep hills--he killed the car 5 times, and I really thought we were going to be stuck. Luckily, we learned that if you turn off the AC, your car gets adequate power. . . Once Erik figured out that trick, we did okay!) but it turned out to be a fun vacation with lots of great memories!