[Article] The Hot Springs at Sofaia

When we asked around in Sainte-Rose, someone told us about the springs at Sofaia, a half-hour drive outside the city. So away we went, along a steep road that got progressively narrower, and eventually wasn't even paved...

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http://www.sitebits.com/2006/hot_springs_sofaia.html

Awesome!

I am booking my ticket to Guadeloupe right now to see that natural resource.

Ree

Sorry, but you are sadly mistaken and disrespecting so many Guadeloupian people by suggesting that people go here to bathe because they 'can't afford their own'
What kind of country do you think you visited???
People go here to bathe because its considered good for your health. In a country with so much rain, there are very few people who dont have showers.

Dont disrespect people and suggest that they dont have - they are a proud people and rightly so!

Sirajade,

To be honest, I can't see how Ree's article is disrespectful of anybody - after all, the main point here (to me at least) was the amusing discrepancy between the advertised attraction and the reality of a man taking a shower.

Have you visited the place? Would you like to share your impressions?

Ree is not making fun at the people or Guadaloupe ,in fact we loved it and we're going back sometime soon.However,when we got to the baths and found out that it was a very simple place far from he mega-description of the guidebook ,we were a little surprised but in a funny way. And by the way,how's everything in Guadaloupe?where do you live ,Basse Terre or Grand Terre?

Ok, let me explain

There used to be a spring there that you could bathe in, as the guidebook states, but it was taken for mineral water and is now only a set of showers where you can bathe (Commercialism at its worst)
This is why your experience didnt match what the guidebook(Guidebook? I thought you asked around in Saint Rose?) said - it was there once, but now isnt.

It wasnt made for people who 'couldnt afford one at home' (That's the part I find disrespectful- just becasue you choose to use the shower doesnt mean you can afford one - you should just be aware how sensitive local people are to that kind of remark- there would be a spa there if private $$$ hadnt got in the way)- and the logging wasnt illegal either - just paints a bad picture of a place very dear to me.
There are some beautiful amazing walks through forests there, with marked tracks - did you mention that?

we totally need some insider's sight to get where we didn't go the first time .When we were there (low season that is) we found it hard to find fresh fish .Why is that? the only place we found good fish was at some fisherman's house/resto and it was delicious.

The level of commercialization is both funny (in an absurd way - which is howI meant my comment to come across- no disrespect!) and heartbreaking. In general it seems that Guadeloupe has been preserved quite well, without actually having guards or rules every few inches. Everyone has great respect for the natural place, which I haven't observed on other islands.

I think part of the problem when we went was that there had just been very heavy rains - the area around the "spring-shower" was so muddy - every trace of paths had been washed away. or else we just didn't look hard enough? both from the description of people in roses and and the picture painted by the guidebook we were expecting something more along the lines of....now I can't remember the name! It was right next to the side of the road, but looked like a waterfall going into a stone pool. You can see how we were mildly disappointed.