Tags
Basse-Terre, France, Guadeloupe, hiking, hiking trail, photography, photos, travel
Nous devons être très honnêtes avec vous : nous n’aurions pas dû nous entêter à terminer cette randonnée! Partout nous avions lu des avertissements qu’il était dangereux de s’engager dans les sentiers de Basse-Terre quand il avait plu! Mais que voulez-vous : nous étions dans la région des randonnées sur Basse-Terre et on nous promettait de belles vues sur la Soufrière. De plus, une randonnée de 7km avec une élévation de 577m ne nous semblait pas extrême. Mais, c’était sans compter avec la pluie qui rendait la piste boueuse et glissante. Sans oublier aussi les montées et descentes très raides; il y avait même un endroit où il y avait une corde pour descendre en rappel…
Nous avons réussi à la compléter mais de peine et de misère et nous étions épuisés au retour. Suzanne est tombée à plusieurs reprises sans toutefois se blesser et Pierre a fait une chute sur le côté du sentier où il s’est retrouvé couché sur le dos, la tête plus basse que le bassin, dans des fougères et autres végétations sans trop savoir comment se sortir de là. Finalement après quelques contorsions il a réussi à se dépêtrer; Suzanne ne pouvait pas du tout l’aider car elle aurait pu se retrouver dans le trou avec lui. La randonnée s’est avérée plus longue que décrite à 8,7km. Mais le ciel était dégagé à notre arrivée au sommet et nous avons eu le droit à de belles vues sur la Soufrière et les environs. Finalement, ce fut une longue et pénible journée avec comme leçon qu’il n’y aurait rien eu de déshonorant à faire marche arrière.
We have to be very honest with you: we shouldn’t have stubbornly finished this hike! Everywhere we had read warnings that it was dangerous to engage in the trails of Basse-Terre when it had rained! But we were in the hiking region of Basse-Terre and we were promised beautiful views of the Soufrière. Also, a 7km hike with an elevation of 577m didn’t seem extreme to us. But that was without taking into account the rain which made the track muddy and slippery. Without forgetting also the very steep climbs and descents; there was even a place where there was a rope for abseiling…
We managed to complete it but with difficulty and misery and we were exhausted on the way back. Suzanne fell several times without hurting herself and Pierre fell on the side of the path where he found himself lying on his back, his head lower than the pelvis, in ferns and other vegetation without really knowing how to get out of there. Finally after some contortions he managed to extricate himself; Suzanne couldn’t really help at all because she could have ended up in the hole with him. The hike turned out to be longer than described at 8.7km. But the sky was clear when we arrived at the top and we were treated to beautiful views of the Soufrière and the surrounding area. In the end, it was a long and arduous day with the lesson that there would have been nothing dishonorable in turning back.
Trace Grande Découverte
Les vues de la Soufrière / Views of the Soufriere 
Suzanne et Pierre 
[Auteur/Author: Suzanne & Pierre]
Les voyages de Suzanne & Pierre 
Excellent shots. Nice post
Thanks for your note. Glad you enjoyed this series of images.
Pour vous ce fut peut-être un enfer mais pour nous avec les photos c’est plus plaisant bien sûr et édifiant aussi. La récompense avec la Soufrière en final a dû vous sembler bien méritée.
Merci Marie. Les vues étaient méritées mais nous aurions quand même dû rebrousser chemin plus tôt car nous étions seuls sur le sentier donc si nous avions fait une chute avec blessures nous aurions été bien empêtrés. Mais enfin, ce sont des expériences qui nous apportent des leçons utiles dans la vie et nous avons été chanceux de pouvoir revenir sans blessures malgré la grande fatigue.
Lesson learned- no hike is worth your health and wellbeing. Neither of you look happy in the photos but the photos themselves are stunningly beautiful.
Thanks Jacqui. You are totally right. We felt very stupid not to have turned back; it was a very bad decision but we have learned our lesson…This hike was indeed in a beautiful forest and the views were very nice…
Gosh – there is said to be a fine line between pleasure and pain, and it seems you passed over it. I admire Pierre’s fortitude letting you take his picture while he was stuck! I’m glad you made your way back safely.
Thanks for your note. You are totally right about the fine line here…As for Pierre, I took the picture so he could see what his fall look like but then it worked well to tell the story of this hike so he agreed to its inclusion. Pierre didn’t take pictures of me with my ass in the mud…
I’ve fallen over a good few times in the mud and snow on our moors, although not during such a gruelling hike as yours. It’s embarrassing to walk home through town with a muddy bottom!
Eek! I remember you saying there was a post coming with worse mud and I guess this is it! Poor Pierre looks very miserable in that hole.
Thanks Anabel. Yes, that’s the one. This was the muddiest track we did during our stay in Guadeloupe. It was a very exhausting hike. Pierre was indeed miserable and it took him a while to get back up…we did worry for a while but all ended well.
I can see how it would have been very tricky to extricate himself.
Oh, wow, you two ARE intrepid travelers! Love the shot of the compromised Pierre, definitely not a happy camper, however. 😉
Thanks Eliza. Sometimes we are a bit too intrepid…we have to realize we are not so young anymore. Pierre was indeed a bit scared but fortunately he was able to regain his footing and climb back up.
This made me smile, Suzanne! (Once I knew you were both okay, of course…😉) Not everything works out according to plan, especially when you go against the advice of locals, and it’s nice to see a post that shows the challenges. The photos are wonderful, although I can’t help but prefer the one of Pierre stuck in the bush.
Glad you waited to see that we were Ok before smiling! It was indeed not very smart to continue with the hike but when you don’t fully know the terrain it is sometimes difficult to judge if you should stop or continue. Pierre wasn’t in a very good position as the vegetation was all soft things that he couldn’t grab on and he isn’t the most flexible person so it was quite difficult for me to get back up. He was a bit too far down for me to reach out with a hand to help him get up…It was a bit of a tense moment. I believe that it is important to show challenges as not everything is perfect in this world and you don’t always make the right decision.
Beautiful shots, so glad you made it without too much soreness and injury! I’m one to want to ‘keep going’ myself, but my husband is not, lol, so he keeps me from dangers probably more than I realize. 🙂
Thanks Donna. Pierre always wants to keep going but I am a bit more hesitant but I often give in to his arguments that we are able to do it…most of the time he is right but not this time. But it was a good lesson… Glad you enjoyed the images.
Oh my! I’m glad nothing serious happened to both of you during the hike. The views of the Soufriere look amazing though! It’s nice that despite the wet weather, you still managed to capture the beauties you saw along the way.
Thanks Bama. I guess we were lucky in our bad decisions. I must admit that we took our time. It was indicated that this hike took 4 hours but we did it in 6 1/2 hours. It was indeed a beautiful forest and the views were amazing. Without the mud, this would have a very pleasant hike.