The variation of trees, bushes and palmtrees was incredible, it felt like walking in a botanical garden as everywhere you turned your head you could see a new sort of plant you never seen before. The island is very small (61 sq. miles) and very flat (highest mountain 670 ft.), and thus called La grande Galette (the big pancake). But even by being so small, it offers an interesting change to the typical Caribbean nature, culture and ambiance. People are very friendly and helpful though it helps if you speak French. The pace is slow and laid-back as on most places around here and the guys drink their rhum agricole from morning till night like on any French West Indian island but there was something very unique about this place. 

The fact that Marie-Galante is visually perfect helps, but there is something else with it that I can't put my finger on. Maybe the light. The marvelous light as the sun rises or sets, combined with the silhouette of the many neighboring islands on a distance which are visible from almost everywhere. 

We did unfortunately not bring the camera with us when we took the bus to town, but the landscape inside of the island is equally marvelous with sugar cane plantations and cattle farms covering most of the land. Have never seen so much livestock on one and the same West Indian island before and it's refreshing to see that the land and nature is well made use of. 

If you're ever looking for a super tranquil, charming vacation spot in the Caribbean with gorgeous white beaches, clear turquoise water, beautiful nature, relaxed and unpretentious ambiance and not too many people around, Marie-Galante is an excellent choice.