Farsighted Fly Girl

It's been a long while since I visited the lively Rock City, also know as St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.  After 2017's Hurricanes Maria and Irma, I covered how the VI was affected and how to help.  This week, I'll get the chance to observe the recovery firsthand and see how legendary vistas like  Magens Bay , shown above, have fared. I'm also excited to attend St. Thomas Carnival!  I'll be watching the kids parade, sampling goodies at the Soca Village and maybe even participating in the adult's parade, so please keep a look out for posts and videos!

I'm not a fan of wandering through cemeteries and hanging out among the graves but Guadeloupe's Mourne-a-l-Eau cemetery is a beautiful exception. Set atop a hill, most of the crypts are covered in black and white tiles that resemble little checkerboard houses. The first thing I learned is that you should never enter a Guadeloupe cemetery or church without knocking first. So I knocked on the gate and roamed though the rows of intricately decorated tombs. The black and white design is supposed to represent the black color for mourning in Europe and the white color for mourning in Africa. Many of the crypts looked like miniature homes, complete with spaces for mourners to sit and commune with their ancestors. Some people even hire architects to create their tombs. I've never seen anything like Mourne-a-l-Eau, although I did spot smaller versions as I traveled through Grande Terre. To me, the beauty of these final resting places reflect Guadeloupe's respect

The islands of Guadeloupe  presented me with quite a few surprises. I didn't realize that the main island is really made up of the twin islands of Grande Terre and Basse Terre .  And there are also three other islands that make up Guadeloupe to add to the confusion. That was just the first unexpected experience. Spotting a mural of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on a Grande Terre street was another. I've always been a big fan of graffiti art. It gives a creative glimpse of the local communitiy's focus and concerns. Seeing MLK told me a lot about the locals pride and awareness. I actually watched the artists complete this mural, they had just started it the night before. Street art is always interesting but witnessing an American icon be painted on a French Caribbean wall was certainly an image I'll always remember. Photos by R. Cummings-Yeates