Grande-Anse is the main village on La Désirade and the hub of what life there is on the island. A handful of streets, a small church, a few restaurants and bars, fishing boats drawn up on the beach — it is not much, and that is precisely the point. The whole character of the island is compressed into a fifteen-minute walk through the village.
The waterfront is the best place to be in the late afternoon when the fishermen come back in. The catch is unloaded, the conversations are unhurried, the light on the water is something. Wander through in the evening and the small bars and restaurants fill up with the island's population — there are not many of them, which means the distinction between locals and visitors is soft and easily crossed. This is what a small island feels like when it has not been organised for tourism.