Le Rayon Vert - Deshaies Guadeloupe

 Le Rayon Vert, Deshaies, Guadeloupe. May 2014. 

My favorite place for a relaxing swim,  fabulous sunset views overlooking the Caribbean and great food. We  loved stopping at Le Rayon Vert for dinner and a cool dip at the end of a long day. Our hotel served a buffet that had a better selection of alcohol than food, so we opted to dine at this local hotel/restaurant instead. The name Le Rayon Vert ,which translates to 'The Green Ray', stems from the lighting effect of the setting sun on the ocean/sea horizon. The views from the infinity edge pool at Le Rayon Vert are spectacular.

Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904), known more for his writings on Japan and New Orleans than the Caribbean, mentions the green ray in his book, Two Years in the French West Indies. He describes the phenomena beautifully (1) "Across our way appears a long band of green light, reaching over the sea like a thin protraction of color from the extended spur of verdure in which the western end of the island terminates." (2) "The sunset offers a splendid spectacle of pure color; there is only an immense yellow glow in the west, - a lemon-colored blaze; but when it melts into the blue there is an exquisite green light..." 

While I too prefer a beautiful photo-shopped version of the Caribbean sunset famously depicted on postcards all over the island with lovely purples, magentas and blues.... this natural sunset reminded me of the lemon-colored blaze I had read about in Hearn's book. 

Le Rayon Vert is located in Deshaies, Guadeloupe near the shoulder of a steep hill on the N2. You will likely pass it going up the hill and again coming back down the hill, but you will catch it on the second trip up and trust me it is worth turning around for. The duck breast with the creole pepper sauce is incredible.

Nikon D7100 | Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 PRO DX II.