Guadeloupe lies south of Antigua and north of Dominica. Because it's a French-speaking island, English-speaking tourists often have difficulty getting by. . . . Although there's wonderful shopping, a wealth of music and art, and the cuisine's out of this world, the diving is only average. Among the best dives are the Islets Piedgeon, cone-shaped, coral-covered islands that fall to the bottom at 160', and La Sec Patê, a group of large boulders rising to about 40' below the surface. Les Heures Saines (or "the quiet hours") is among the best operations at Piedgeon, and they speak some English. . . . The French diving rules are a bit quirky. Unless you're a divemaster yourself, which allows you great freedom, you must dive with a guide.

Guadeloupe, February 1998, Dean Clark, West Hartford, CT. Love it here. Residents are French citizens with standard of living comparable to France. A first-world tropical destination with culture, including shopping, food, and art with most of the population speaking French. Maybe this language barrier has dissuaded US divers from traveling to Guadeloupe, however, if you are pleasant and quiet you'll do OK even if your French is limited; many establishments, including dive operations, speak some English. . . . My pick for dive operators is Les Heures Saines (which means "the quiet hours") and its staff speaks some English. Diving at Islets Pidgeon a solid four stars for advanced divers, Five stars for beginners. Pointe Des Chataeux dive operation is friendly, speaks some English, and they arrange excursions to Reserve Cousteau at Pidgeon, about a 1.5 hour drive, Cousteau's tenth diving wonder of the world. Islets Pidgeon is two kilometers off Melandeure. Small, cone-shaped islands fall into the sea to 160 feet; covered with healthy corals, sponges, usual tropicals, including an abundance of lobster, octopus, stonefish, and, with luck, larger pelagics-all protected. A shipwreck off Pidgeon at 130 feet is visited by operators once a week. . . . Diving rules are quirky. Unless you're a divemaster, you must dive with a guide. Dives run $30-$40. Your regulator will work on their tanks without adapters. . . . A bit of a trek, but worth the effort on a world-class scale, is La Sec Patê, in the channel midway between Basse-Terre on Guadeloupe and Isles Les Saintes, interesting smaller islands; (Book a couple of nights on Les Saintes; interesting with good virgin diving on open ocean rock pinnacles.) At La Sec Patê, enormous boulders rise from the bottom at 100' to about 40' from the surface: 6-foot plus barracuda, jewfish, morays, 3' gray angels, and, with luck, mantas. Les Heures Saines no longer runs dives at La Sec Patê but can recommend operators; dozen or so small dive operations scattered about the island. "Les Saintes," a ferry ride or quick flight has interesting dives. Inhabitants are characters (inbred) who are even grumpy with their fellow Frenchmen. . . . Guadeloupe is beautiful; many beaches, superb food from native huts; haute cuisine (what they don't grow there is flown in daily from Paris). Filibuster Restaurant in Sainte-Anne is great, the atmosphere elegant, the view from the hill overlooking the Club Med impressive; don't look too out-of-the-ordinary when you walk in, because if the owner doesn't like the way you look, he's liable to growl at you. Guadeloupe's full of odd colorful characters. . . . There's music everywhere at night, art ranging from Haitian crafts to museum-quality works by local artists, and shopping diverse, from crafts to haute-couture from Paris; local museums and forts to tour. Beaches are good (remember you're in France, and feel free to take it off!) and there's a rainforest surrounding Mt. Pelée, an active, climbable volcano-a good day hike. . . . nice hotels: Meridien at San Francoise on the dry, mosquito-free side of the island. Upscale, large, beginner diving. Auberge de la Tour's in Gosier, is more touristy and less relaxed than San Francoise. Ft. Royal is the site of the original Club Med offering individual cabanas, shops, and some diving. Severin Plantation, an old wine distillery and working sugar plantation, and Chez Lucille are outstanding. Severin's plantation house with wide porches, a verandah, and garden serves elegant food: freshwater crustaceans steamed with saffron and curry with rice. Less formal, the venerable Lucille's home style Creole cooking has made her Moule restaurant a Sunday family favorite. Try the acras, hot bonnet peppers stuffed with fish and deep-fried in batter. . . . Book well in advance for high-season (especially Mardi Gras); diving is better later in spring. Change your dollars into French franc travelers' checks beforehand; FF100 and FF 500 are a good size, comparable to $20-$100, respectively. VISA is accepted everywhere, Amex is not. Agents at local French tourist boards can provide maps.

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