Adventures Through Martinique
The beautiful peacefulness that can be experienced in the small fishing village of Tartane on the eastern coast of the Caribbean island, Martinique, is blissful. In the morning as you stroll to the beach, the locals have set up their food stalls, selling the fruits and vegetables far beyond the reaches of your local grocery store. Other stands that open towards the afternoon dish out barbecue fresh off the grill, served alongside flavorful lentils, rice, and black beans. Further down the road, a stand only opens as we make our way back from a day of beaches and hiking. This stand sells pickled vegetables, homemade rums, liters of honey, and a kind of peanut brittle. Even without a great number of restaurants, we have more than enough to give us a taste of what the locals eat.
On our first day in Martinique, I picked up my rusty French and began with a long taxi ride explaining directions to the small fishing village we'd decided to spend a week in. Upon arrival, we decided the best way for us to get some rest after 25 hours of traveling was to sleep it off on the beach. We winded through the little village which appeared to be a lovely balance between lush rainforest and civilization. Little colorful houses were planted besides grand mango trees, palms, and other blooming giants. It was tropical and beautiful. Another five minutes down the road led us to the coast. Here, small fishing boats, each painted vibrantly, tied to their own palm tree, like horses in a stable. Each fisherman had his own makeshift fish filet and preparation station made crudely out of planks of wood, hemp fabrics, and any plastic crates that could be found. Alongside this the coast we strolled until we hit a beautiful beach crowded with palms and vegetation and then a strip of white sand that led up to the cool waters.
We frequently passed by this beach through the shaded vegetation where hundreds of land crabs inhabited. These agitated little crabs flee back into their holes the second human activity is present, like a flock of pigeons. After passing through this beach, a small hiking trail (keep an eye out for the cows) can be found which will lead you to Anse Tartane or Anse L'Etang, another beautiful beach. Here, Cocoa Beach Cafe offers delicious drinks and food, where we enjoyed hibiscus iced tea, fresh pineapple and watermelon smoothies, lambi (conch shell) in sauce, and mahi mahi with fresh vegetables. Here you can languidly lay on the beach, wade in the water, or check out Bijou Claire. Our first time here we brought roadside barbecue with lentils and rice and fresh mangos, the best meal on the island!
This little town area is filled with friendly island dogs that love to follow you around as you explore and sometimes will even lead you to their own favorite destinations. The smell of barbecue always seems to permeate the air, mixing languidly with the fresh, damp scent of palms and the sea breeze.
We quickly fell in love with our quaint Airbnb about five minute walk from the beach. We would wake every morning, run down to the little market for whatever fresh vegetables, eggs, and bread were offered, and then enjoy a long lazy breakfast on the terrace where we would hear our host jabbering away in french on the other side of the hedge. In Martinique, we truly enjoyed our relaxation time. We had just ended a long and difficult school year and had rewarded ourselves with a tropical vacation. We spent days, walking along the sea coast, winding around paths from one beach to the next, scaring off crabs, and stuffing ourselves full of barbecue.
One of our favorite fruits we found on the island was pomme liane, an orange passion fruit. While conversing with the merchant in french, I didn't quite get the correct translation, so James was quite shocked when he opened the fruit to find grey brown seeds rested inside and even more unsettled when he tried the slimy fruit. However, if you really give it a chance, I would equate this to nature's version of Sour Patch Kids. Both sour and sweet, these little seeds are addictive, like candy. We brought them everywhere with us!
Our favorite way to explore is hiking, so we decided to take on La Phare de la Caravelle, a long coastal hike around the tip of the peninsula. We walked about three miles along the highway to get to the park itself. By the time we arrived, the humidity drenched us in sweat and the sun was baking hot. Yet, the road was lovely and we love to be outside walking everywhere. The hike was stunning. We crossed vast changes in landscape, from tropical lush forests to sea cliffs covered in dark volcanic rock. It was beautiful to see the great shift in landscape. The weather changed just as quickly, ranging from a beautiful sunny day to a dark and drizzly coast that refreshed us. The vibrant green that grew everywhere, like moss, would halt abruptly at the stone cliffs that led to the rocking ocean. The trail intertwined between rock paths and walking underneath vines and great palms. As we continued our way around the Caravelle, walking through swamp areas littered with mangroves and giant crabs, we finally reached a small beach were we cooled off and relaxed. The Caravelle is a beautiful area to explore the natural splendor the island has to offer and experience the wildlife around Martinique. One thing we didn't expect: the massive population of crabs littering the island. They're funny little creatures who build and protect their own hole and never stray too far from their haven. They range in color and size from pale yellow creatures the size of your thumbnail to sinister black with red hues and the size of a large turtle. We loved hiking to the beaches and watching out for these little guys and seeing how fast they would scuttle away from us.
We didn't travel around Martinique besides our little stretch of paradise in Tartane. We enjoyed the time to relax and get to know the feel of the languid life in the tropics. Public transportation is difficult in the this country; there are no scheduled bus times or even bus stops really. Most locals just wait along the side of the road for a bus and have become accustomed to the general path these van "buses" take. We were a bit skeptical to try them out as my french isn't the best and the locals preferred to speak more creole french than french. However, our host was gracious enough to take us along with her to Sainte-Marie, a city a bit north of Tartane, still along the coastline.
Here, we ventured to the St. James Distillery & Rum Museum. Martinique makes most of its revenue from agriculture and a surprisingly large sector of that is sugarcane used for rum production. The plantation has restored some of the old buildings into a museum and created a larger facility for sugarcane distillery. We bought our fair share of rum and walked through busy streets, numerous fruit and vegetable carts, and the regal, yet unkept city center. We wandered our way to Le Tombolo, a beautiful stretch of beach shadowed by overarching palms and green and the beautiful color buildings of the city center peeking through. As we walked along the beach, colorful overturned canoes stood sunbathing and up above, the men were bringing in their catch of the day, preparing it and bartering with the locals. James and I happily trotted through the lapping waves to the natural sandbar that connects the beach to a small island. On either side, waves chased each other off the thin strip of sand, an endless game of tag. We stopped at a small bakery before our dysfunctional attempt to take the bus back home.
(Side note: Taking the bus in Martinique is a complicated process. You must have a high level of French, know the roadways well, know how many buses you need to take, and be a little fearless. To make it back to Tartane, about a 20-30 min drive from Sainte-Marie, we had to take three buses. It was a difficult journey, we asked about 7 buses if they were heading back to Trinite to no avail. Then, we had to search the for the route for the next bus and wait along there. If you're not shy and willing to talk and ask the locals (in French) which way to head, it might serve you well!)
We enjoyed out time in Sainte-Marie and furthermore our time in Martinique. More than anything, it was a lovely time to explore and relax in a peaceful undiscovered little quadrant of the world. We loved the warmth of the people, the delicious food we inhaled, eating a home cooked dinner on our small balcony while watching the local kids play soccer on the large field below, walking past the community center on weekend nights where the women had prepared barbecue feasts, children were playing games, and the men enjoying a game similar to curling or playing cards. We enjoyed the sleepy town feel surrounded by beautiful green lush everywhere a calm sea. We will be back Martinique.
