Guadalupe West Indies

Guadeloupe offers a wide range of plants and fruits, as the island is spread with a typical tropical vegetation. It’s a paradise for the many fruit trees, which grow wild all over the islands and grant us with impressive fruits.

One example of it is the Melicoccus bijugatus known as genip, akee or Spanish lime. It’s a typical fruit from Central America. The tree belongs to the soapberry family (Sapindacea). It needs warm temperatures and loads of water to product the fruits. The genip is one of the sweetest tropical fruits, although the flavour is rather tart. It could be compared with the lychee, although the genip skin is green and smooth. The skin is thin and tight but rigid, and you’ll normally crack it with your teeth. You’ll find inside the salmon-pink pulp of the fruit which sticks to its dark seed.

The best way to eat it is by putting the inside part of the fruit in your mouth and sucking the pulp. When there is no more pulp, just throw the seed out of your mouth, like an olive.

The best season to find genips in the local markets of the archipielago is from June till August. Do not loose the opportunity to have a taste of it!

Christopher Columbus was an Italian navigator who wanted to reach the Indies through the sea. The Spanish Queen Isabella of Castile gave him three caravels to help him reach his aim. The Santa María conducted by Columbus and the Niña and the Pinta respectively by the Pinzon brothers.

Columbus did not reach the Indies in his first voyage, but opened a new world for the European. In his second voyage in late 1493, they had problems because of the lack of potable water on board for the whole crew. Columbus had decided to abandon and was about to give the order to return to Spain to prevent a mutiny, when he had a look at the horizon and catched sight of a land. He then decided to get closer and a few white lines in the mountain attracted his attention, as they were probably waterfalls. He finally tied up in that area of the island. It was definitely the Carbet waterfalls. Christopher Columbus named the island Santa María de Guadalupe after the Virgin of Guadalupe in Caceres, Spain.

Centuries later, they would call a village where they landed “Sainte-Marie” in remembrance of the original name of the island. Nowadays, a monument for the one who discovered the island to the Occidental World can be seen nearby. The village belongs to the city of Capesterre Belle Eau, which name means “cape at the East of the land with beautiful water”. Its waterfalls keep attracting many visitors all year round, and it’s worth it! The biggest one is easily accessible for the general public and the smallest ones are suitable for people who are fond of mountaineering.