Have you flown in a gyrocopter?

“Feel the fear and do it anyway” Susan Jeffers

I was watching a show set in a tropical location; there were interesting characters and a good detective plot but it was the natural beauty of the location that stole the show.

There was a distinct insect sound in it that reminded me of my childhood, along with gorgeous shots of the sea. Yes, I live on an island but somehow this “fictitious town” of Sainte Marie was calling me. Imagine my surprise when I learned the fictitious town was located on the real island of Guadeloupe (French Caribbean)! Guadeloupe was not high on my bucket list of places to visit but suddenly it shot to first place. I made the decision that for my 40th birthday, I would treat myself to a visit. I booked a week around Easter vacation and headed there with family.

To get to Guadeloupe we travelled via Fort Lauderdale with a quick stop in Haiti. It was the year when Zika was a concern. The plane doors were left open when we landed in Haiti and some mosquitoes boarded. I said a prayer over those mosquitoes, and we landed in Guadeloupe without any mosquito bites.

We rented a tiny automatic car, which was vitally important since the majority of rentals there were manual cars. The last time I drove a stick shift was at age 16. I can see you doing the math!

I opted for no GPS…just a good old map. Fortunately, road signs in Guadeloupe are really good so we reached the rental villa in one piece. It was a beautiful house by the sea in Sainte  Francois (Grand Terre), which was booked through Villa-Prestige Antilles (www.villa-prestige-antilles.com). It also had an interesting layout with huge shutters facing the sea that acted as doors. Once opened, the entire living space flowed out to the lawn!

One morning we were lounging by the sea when we heard the sounds of helicopters flying towards us. As they got closer I said to the others in excitement, “I want to do that!”. The helicopters weren’t what you would expect, they were open-air two seaters called gyrocopters!

A few days later, we were at the hanger boarding shiny red gyrocopters booked through ULM Caraibes www.ulmcaraibes.com. We had to secure everything…clothing, hair and forget about holding our cell phones in our hand. As my pilot took off the runway, a slight wave of panic hit me; I am afraid of heights and this gyrocopter was open air! We hit a few air bumps on ascent that made me question my decision. I was feeling the fear so maybe I should tell the pilot to go back?

I made the decision…stick it out! We flew along the gorgeous coastline including Pointe des Châteaux with the huge cross, past lush fields and I could even spot our villa! It was an amazing moment which could only be captured forever in my memory as my phone was secure in my seat.

Had I felt the fear and caved in, I would not have enjoyed such an incredible experience. There are things we fear but feel the fear and do it anyway! Gyrocopter ride anyone?