Arriving in Tikazalou Hostel after the Hike

After the crazy hike of the GR-G1, we slept one night in Malendure, a small town on the coast of Basse Terre. But we wanted to find a different place to stay. Lou, one of the people we met while hitchhiking, came to mind.

Waking up on the beach in Malendure was beautiful and we enjoyed a mesmerizing sunrise. The black sand beaches in this area of Guadeloupe are truly interesting to look at.

After we packed up our things we went back to get the rest of our stuff from Natalie's home, were we left it at the beginning of our hike. Saying goodbye to her and her husband, we enjoyed the beauty of their house one last time. It felt so good, so wholesome.

I think they live in one of the most beautiful places on Earth and their living room might be the most amazing that I've ever seen in my life.

They live in nature, in the green, in the middle of the jungle. Yet their house is cozy, with all the creature comforts you could wish for. They have beautiful cats and dogs, too.

Leaving Nathalie's place we tried to find out where Lou's hostel, Tikazalou was located. Not an easy task, because it didn't exist on booking.com or Google maps yet, because Lou had just started building the place a few months prior.

In the end we found the place on Instagram and got Lou's phone number. Sometimes the universe has a way to be serendipitous like this, where because of a random chance encounter while hitchhiking, you find one of the most beautiful places to stay in Guadeloupe.

Lou's hostel is truly a gem. A quiet place, settled into nature, where many of the guests stay there for long term, one months, two months or longer.

There is a small kitchen, and most of the things are built by hand from bamboo. The shower is situated under a giant mango tree and when you take a shower it feels like you are in the jungle, with light filtering through the green leaves of the trees.

The thing that makes Tikazalou most special are the people though. They are all so friendly and relaxed. Most of the days I just play games, billiard, chess, checkers and work a little bit on the computer and do a bit of Yoga.

It's truly a beautiful, rewarding life. And I like the rhythm of this slower form of traveling. I have enough time to work a little bit here and there on my own projects, and organize things for later this year.

But I don't miss out on traveling either, with crazy hikes, diving sessions and waterfalls.

Sometimes I feel like I need periods like this when traveling. Periods where I can unwind, listening to music, doing everything a little more slowly, with little adventures in between.