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Martinique by Julian Hinton French standards, French atmosphere, Caribbean temperatures and Caribbean charm, Martinique is a heady mix. A far flung member of the Euro zone, to all intents and purposes it is as much a part of France as Paris or Nice. Officially designated as an overseas département of France, Martinique is governed by the same laws and uses the same currency. Yet there can be no denying it is also very much part of the Caribbean. Situated in the south east of the Caribbean, Dominica lies to the north and St Lucia to the south. There are no direct flights from the UK, although via Paris, Martinique is only 9 hours flying time away. This small inconvenience is the main reason why, apart from the occasional influx of American cruise ship passengers who spend a hurried few hours exploring the island before departing for their next port of call, there are very few chances of hearing the English language being spoken at all. That is not to say however that a knowledge of French is essential to get by on Martinique. Considering the small number of English speaking visitors, it is quite surprising how many islanders can communicate in English themselves, particularly those involved in the tourist trade. My wife and I flew into Martinique ourselves from Guadeloupe, another island of the French West Indies, some 100 miles or so to the north. It was as straightforward as, say, taking a flight from London to Edinburgh - a cursory glance at an EC passport was all that was required to gain entry - the French didn't even need a passport, an identity card alone was more than sufficient. We were accommodated in the south of the island and our first surprise hit us on our way there from the airport. Much is written about how the French try to resist American influences and, for the most part, this is true and perhaps even admirable in many ways, but as we sped along the main route south, we had to smile. There on a hillside in front of us were huge white letters spelling out 'Trois Rivières', every inch a copy of the huge 'Hollywood' sign in Los Angeles which is so familiar to us all. As far as I know, there is no film industry based in Trois Rivières, I can only put it down to someone having a particularly sharp sense of humour. Historically, Martinique's greatest claim to fame is as the birthplace of Napoleon's Empress Josephine, or Marie-Josèphe Rose Tascher de la Pagerie as she was then known. In fact her influence is still felt on the island to a large extent, although even today many of her fellow islanders would say that she casts a shadow over them. This ambivalent attitude is most notably visible in the island's capital, Fort-de-France. At the heart of the city, next to the waterfront, lies a small park called La Savane and within this park stands a statue of Josephine, which had originally been unveiled with great ceremony. Unfortunately, several years ago, the statue was vandalised. Josephine was decapitated and red paint poured over her. It is perhaps not totally surprising in this day and age that such vandalism took place - rather more significant is that the authorities have made no attempt to restore the statue to its former glory and still today she remains as the vandals left her. The reason for her continued unpopularity in some quarters goes back to the issue of slavery. Josephine, rightly or wrongly, has been blamed for delaying the abolition of slavery in the French West Indies, allegedly persuading Napoleon that it should remain on Martinique because her family still owned a sugar plantation that relied upon slave labour. Luckily not everyone continues to hold a grudge and Josephine's childhood home, La Pagerie, is still lovingly maintained and well worth a visit. La Pagerie Estate is situated near the town of Trois-Ilets in the south west of the island. There is an exhibition of articles relating to her life, including her bed as a child, various portraits and letters sent to her by Napoleon. It is all housed in an elegant stone building within beautifully kept gardens. If Josephine is perceived as the villain in the slavery debate, then the hero is a man who is not exactly a household name outside the Caribbean, Victor Schoelcher. He is generally credited with the abolition of slavery in Martinique and the Schoelcher Library is one of the 'must-see' sights of Fort-de-France. It was originally built in France, but in 1893 it was dismantled and brought brick by brick to Martinique where it was rebuilt. I wouldn't actually recommend staying in Fort-de-France itself, but it is definitely worth a day trip and for those who enjoy the shopping experience, maybe several day trips! On the sightseeing front, the city isn't called Fort-de-France for nothing - the sea front and La Savane are both dominated by the huge Fort Saint-Louis, which is the starting point from which the city developed. The fort itself dates back to 1640. Since the end of the Second World War, it has served as the Staff Headquarters of the Navy in the French Antilles and Guyana. Despite its continuing military use, it is open to the public most days. Driving north from Fort-de-France on the western, or Caribbean, coastline brought us further into contact with the history of this fascinating island. Just north of the village of Carbet lies the Paul Gauguin Museum. In 1887 Gauguin spent five months living close by this building and he completed many fine paintings here. Although, sadly, the Museum contains no original paintings by the artist himself, it does contain much Gauguin memorabilia, including letters to his wife and reproductions of several of his pictures. It is a wonderful experience to see a reproduction of Gauguin's 'Anse Turin' and then take a short walk from the museum to the beach and view the same scene in real life, scarcely changed and easily recognisable over a century later. A little further along the same road brought us to the small town of Saint-Pierre and a very different kind of history. For centuries Saint-Pierre was the capital of Martinique. Then, in 1902, came a devastating volcanic eruption. The town was all but destroyed and all the inhabitants died. All that is, except one, and what an incredible tale of survival it is. The town's jail had a small cell with very thick stone walls which was used for solitary confinement. On the day the volcano blew it had a prisoner, a man called Cyparis. His incarceration was what saved his life. The town's theatre, which was right next to the jail, was flattened. As for Cyparis, at the time he became so famous for his narrow escape from death that he was later able to join the P T Barnum circus as a sideshow act. Surprisingly, there are still today ruins to be seen from the disaster, including the remains of the theatre and the small stone cell which saved Cyparis. Many of the new buildings have been reconstructed using stone walls which survived the onslaught. This gives the town a special character of its own. Despite its place in the history of Martinique, Saint-Pierre does not overflow with tourists. It wasn't peak season by any means when we visited, but even so, Martinique is a year-round destination and yet in Saint-Pierre it felt as though we were the only tourists there. I suppose, considering it was the scene of such a disaster, it's really quite surprising anyone still chooses to live there. A century may have passed, but the volcano, Mont Pelée still looms over the town and continues to smoulder quietly. It is quite a drive from Saint-Pierre upwards to the car park situated at the base of Mont Pelée. If the weather conditions are favourable, there is a pleasant view down to the coast and also up to the summit of the volcano. Interestingly, I understand that it is possible to walk to the summit from here, a round trip of about three hours. By all accounts it sounds like it could be a very pleasant walk but we simply didn't have the time available to try it and, it has to be said, the clouds can cover the area very quickly and without warning. I think at this point I should mention the beaches. Martinique is, after all, a Caribbean island and the Caribbean is synonymous with beaches. Not surprisingly there are plenty to choose from, but what is surprising is the variety. On the southern tip of the island lies Les Salines, a beautiful beach of fine white sand, which stands comparison with the very best in the world. There are no hotels beside it and no town close by. Refreshments however are not a problem and many people, including the locals, choose to drive there and spend the whole day on the beach. Despite its popularity, Les Salines covers a large area and it just doesn't feel crowded at all. Elsewhere, beaches abound, with everything from white through to black sand, depending on where they are located. On the west and south coasts, the water is relatively calm. Over on the north east coast however, you are facing the Atlantic Ocean rather than the Caribbean and the waves can be spectacular. Personally I loved the beach at Le Lorrain where the foam seemed to stretch for miles. Not too far north from Le Lorrain lies Plantation Leyritz, just a short distance inland from Basse Pointe. Tourist buses arrive here for lunch most days and its main function nowadays is as a hotel and restaurant but that should not put anyone off from visiting. Although it has operated as a hotel since 1970, it was originally constructed at the beginning of the seventeenth century and worked as a sugar plantation. Some of the buildings which now accommodate hotel guests were once the quarters of married slaves and the highly scenic Avenue des Esclaves (Avenue of Slaves) nowadays gives no hint of its former role as a place of oppression. One of the restaurants is located within the old stone walls of the refinery. All in all it is a fascinating place to wander around and the grounds are quite extensive and filled with exotic plants. Furthermore, it houses a quite unique museum which owes absolutely nothing to the plantation's history. It is full of what seem to be old-fashioned dolls wearing many different kinds of costume. However, on closer examination it becomes apparent that they are all constructed and clothed entirely in locally found vegetal matter, such as banana leaves. Driving back along the eastern coast, we came upon a couple of more recently constructed man-made tourist attractions. At the town of Sainte-Marie we visited the Saint-James Rum Museum. Apart from learning all about the process of making rum there is the added attraction of free samples. It was at this point that I realised that there were disadvantages to hiring a car and exploring independently - as I was driving I must say it took considerable willpower to refuse the free offerings. In fact, it may be for this reason that I found another local museum to be more to my liking. I had visited a rum museum before and seen several advertised so somehow it didn't seem like a great novelty at the time. However, just a short drive along the same road brought us to the Musée de la Banane, a banana museum set in the middle of a fully operational plantation. I had no idea there were so many different types of banana, for example we were shown one banana that was only to be used like a vegetable and needed to be cooked before eating. We couldn't possibly eat all of the tasting samples that we were generously offered. However, when we left we were the proud owners of a cake of banana soap (very effective against mosquito bites apparently) and a jar of banana jam. We had consumed more bananas than were good for us and had washed them down with a banana milk shake! As if that were not enough in itself, we had also been more than adequately instructed on all matters banana, past and present. It was certainly memorable and I would happily return. Martinique's northern interior marks a complete contrast to the remainder of the island. Unspoilt rain forest, streams and waterfalls make up a vast wilderness area. The main access route through this area is called the Route de la Trace, which runs from Fort-de-France. Right at the beginning of this road, before reaching the rain forest and high up above the capital city, lies an amazing sight as unexpected as it is beautiful, the Sacré Cœur de Balata. This church is a smaller version of the Sacré Cœur in Paris and almost as stunning. As if this wasn't enough in itself, there is an exhilarating view across Fort-de-France and out across the bay. Then, in the other direction can be seen some of the higher points of the rain forest, the peaks known as the Pitons du Carbet. We arrived just as the church was emptying from an earlier wedding ceremony. The sight of the local citizens all dressed up in their finery in such a magical setting was a wonder to behold. Just a short drive further on from the church, we came to the Jardin de Balata. This is a wonderful mature botanical garden. Although most of the plants are not endemic to Martinique, its setting so close to the rain forest could easily give you a totally different impression. It feels really peaceful walking along the paths despite the large number of visitors it attracts. However, the garden is clearly a magnet for American cruise ship passengers. This was the only place during our visit to Martinique where we heard English spoken and, it has to be said, at one point it felt as though we were in an American botanical garden, so many American voices could we hear. In fact, the influence of the 'this is Thursday so it must be Martinique' crowd was clear for all to see. Although it only takes about 45 minutes to walk at a leisurely pace through the entire garden, there was a specially marked out short cut for cruise passengers who did not have even 45 minutes to spare! Returning to the south west corner of the island, not a great distance away from La Pagerie, we came to the town of Le Diamant, which is often mentioned as a contender for most beautiful town of Martinique. This has absolutely nothing to do with the town itself, although it does have its points of interest. Rather this notion arises because of the view from the town. This is the best vantage point from which to view the Rocher du Diamant (Diamond Rock). Standing about three miles out from the coast and 525 feet high, this huge volcanic rocky outcrop towers into the air, uninhabited except for a myriad of sea birds. In the haze of the Caribbean heat, it has a strangely ghost-like quality about it. It also holds a curious position in British history. In 1804 the British landed a force in excess of a hundred men on this rock, who built barracks within the caves and installed cannons. They then renamed the rock HMS Diamond Rock and proceeded to harass any French shipping which passed by. It was nearly 18 months before the French finally dislodged them. The manager of one of the local hotels took great delight in telling us that all British visitors are advised that they should salute the rock because of its distinguished history! Le Diamant has another tale to tell, one that is rather more poignant. In 1830 just in front of the rock, a slave ship capsized in rough weather. The slaves were all shackled and unable to escape. Except for a handful of survivors, all were drowned. Today, just above the town, there is a monument to the dead. Fifteen larger than life pure white figures stand atop a cliff, staring out to sea. It is a moving sight and a fitting memorial. On a much lighter note, there is one tourist excursion on Martinique which really is a 'must-do', as, for me, it epitomises the spirit of the island (pardon the pun). Over on the east coast, almost straight across from Fort-de-France, is Le François. Judging from some of the houses, this is a popular residential area for some of the more affluent members of society. However, from here it is possible to arrange for a local fisherman to take you out to sea for a visit to La Baignoire de Joséphine (Josephine's Bathtub). After about 10 minutes he will stop the boat, seemingly in mid-ocean and invite you to jump over the side! Amazingly, the sea is so shallow at this place that even non-swimmers can quite safely take up the invitation. The sea of course is beautifully warm, but then, as you are standing in the sea, comes la pièce de résistance. Almost miraculously, the fisherman will produce from nowhere some of the local tipple (hence the pun), known locally as a 'ti-punch' (ti is Créole for little), it consists of white rum, sugarcane syrup and a squeeze of lime. It beats drinking at the hotel's poolside bar any day of the week! As for drying off afterwards, there are a number of small islands nearby. We went to Ilet Oscar where the only habitation is an intimate four-room hotel which not only has a beach close by, it also serves gourmet food. It was quite idyllic. Martinique
is a very special Caribbean island with a character and atmosphere all
of its own. There is no mistaking its French credentials however and that
adds much to its charm. Vive La Martinique! |