Sea life of Gwada (Guadeloupe)
Supermarket goods on Guadeloupe are as expensive as in Europe, if not even more because of import costs from France and French colonies in Central and south America. This is a solid excuse for tasting local recipes based on sea food. Still… same same but different. If you ask for a Dorade in Guadeloupe, you get it sliced like if it was a sword fish. If you think a Lambi (conch shell) might be a good snack with beer, don’t order dinner later. Everything grows unexpectedly larger here in Gwada, especially for a tourist used to the Mediterranean environment. Gwada, Lambi, Bokit (aka “bucket” sandwich) and Gwo-ka (drum music) are some of the creole words you will easily stumble upon during your stay.
Les Métropolitains, town beach of Sainte-Anne with (mostly?) European tourists
Fisherman at work on local-sized Dorade fishes at the harbor, Saint-François
Romance on the beach of Saint-Anne
Lambi (conch shell) and beer, an appreciated combo in Saint-François
The cemetery-beach or the beach-cemetery of Saint-François
Promenada Pointe-à-Pitre, whatever-fish-I-catched daily market
Click each picture to zoom in.
Previous episodes:
My lady of Guadeloupe
Constantly rocked by Atlantic gusts onboard my 777 flight, I understood why Cristoforo Colombo named Guadalupe the shores he reached with his second voyage. “Jesus Christ“, “Holy Mary“, “My God” would have been good alternatives to me. Of course, nothing against Colombo’s choice: he invoked “Our Lady of Guadalupe” for his fleet, endangered by tropical storms exactly 526 years ago.
Pelican with rusty neck, harbor of Saint-François
The flight from Paris-Orly to Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe took me only eight hours. Colombo needed six week-long sailing from Cadiz, Spain. Colombo looked for new commercial routes through the West, slaves, gold and spices. I got to Guadeloupe to meet my friend Josè, cultural mediator at Île du Monde, a Paris-based organization that documents the cultural diversity present in France and Europe. Recently crowned with UNESCO, Josè and his crew were sent to Guadeloupe by the French State, thus to compile an official report on the intangible cultural heritage of this Caribbean island.
Coconut palm trees on the town beach of Sainte-Anne
“What do you know about Guadeloupe?”, he asked me and I was asking myself while flying over the blue vacuity of the Atlantic. Caribbean seas, never-ending summer, winter holidays for métropolitains (meaning French citizens of the European territories)… zika virus, dengue fever, maybe… diving? What do I expect to picture there? Wild pelicans, white beaches and tall coconut trees… what’s more?
Back from school at Mare Gailard
What is the cultural heritage my friend is documenting in Guadeloupe? More than 15 million Africans were traded as slaves to central/south America along four centuries. Do their ancestors still honor their roots or did they get Frenchisized? What happened to Guadeloupe natives? Are there still any? Why was Josè so excited for the opportunity to document a Ramayana event during the Indian (from India?) cultural week of Guadeloupe?
Indian dancers (from India) in Schoelcher square, Sainte-Anne
Despite that Josè invitation sounded as indecipherable as Lisbon story postcard to Winter, I set sails to reach my friend. Follow me in the next weeks and add much more than pelicans and tropical beaches to your own postcard of Guadeloupe. Pictures shot by Lorenzo Borghi, editing by Maria Francesca. All pictures © artborghi. Click each picture to zoom in.
New Episodes (published from 9.12.2019 to 10.01.2020 every Mon, Thu, Fri )
2. Sea life of Gwada (Guadeloupe)
Three days in Turin
With this last episode of architectural fusion of Turin, this picture series end. Click each picture to zoom in. Previous episodes in Turin:
1. Deep red Turin
2. Red code
3. Citizens of Turin
4. Framed in Turin
5. Turin other postcards
6. On colors off
7. City lines Turin
8. Turin top bottom
9. Windows of Turin
10. Turin rooftop: the Lingotto
11. Turin style
Turin style
Towards Grande Madre Church
Courtyard
Roman ruins
Modern reflections
Downtown
Click each picture to zoom in. Previous episodes in Turin:
1. Deep red Turin
2. Red code
3. Citizens of Turin
4. Framed in Turin
5. Turin other postcards
6. On colors off
7. City lines Turin
8. Turin top bottom
9. Windows of Turin
10. Turin rooftop: the Lingotto
Turin rooftop: the Lingotto
On the roof top of FIAT (Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino) Lingotto, the ex car industry of Turin. Now converted into a shopping mall, only the rooftop survived. A 2 km long circuit for testing the cars just produced in the floors beneath.
A German plated old fashioned FIAT ready for the test
The circuit is not in use anymore
The modern “Bubble” of Renzo Piano installed on FIAT Lingotto
The ex chronometer builduing
Click each picture to zoom in. Previous episodes in Turin:
1. Deep red Turin
2. Red code
3. Citizens of Turin
4. Framed in Turin
5. Turin other postcards
6. On colors off
7. City lines Turin
8. Turin top bottom
9. Windows of Turin
Windows of Turin
Click each picture to zoom in. Previous episodes in Turin:
1. Deep red Turin
2. Red code
3. Citizens of Turin
4. Framed in Turin
5. Turin other postcards
6. On colors off
7. City lines Turin
8. Turin top bottom
Turin top bottom
Click each picture to zoom in. Previous episodes in Turin:
1. Deep red Turin
2. Red code
3. Citizens of Turin
4. Framed in Turin
5. Turin other postcards
6. On colors off
7. City lines Turin
