Bouillante

Bouillante is the diving capital of Guadeloupe, named for the hot springs that still steam into the sea along its shore and now feed a geothermal power station. The Pigeon Islands lie a kilometre offshore inside the marine reserve that Jacques Cousteau argued for, and a bronze bust of him stands on the seabed at fifteen metres. Dive boats and glass-bottomed boats leave Malendure beach all day. The black sand here shelves steeply, and the reef wall drops away close in, which is why the fish life is so heavy. The village sits halfway along the leeward coast road.