The next port we stopped in was Martinique. Long before we moored, we could see the twin peeks, (Mont Pelee and Carbet), rising above the lush valleys and down to the sandy beaches.
Martinique is an archipelago, in the lesser Antilles islands. The temperature is about 30C/79F all year long.
The eastern side of the island is on the Atlantic Ocean, and the western side is in the Caribbean.
The population is made up of French settlers, former slaves and other people who decided to emigrate here. There is one official religion, Roman Catholic, but there are a number of Mormons, Protestants, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Seven Day Adventist Churches.
Some History
The Arawaks came from South America, to live on this island. The Carib Indians defeated them and named the island, Maninina. Christopher Columbus landed here, (1502), and named the island Martinique.
The French arrived in 1635, and official made it a protectorate of France. Great Britain, went to war with France, in 1815. They fought again, and France won and annex it. In 1974 the island became a Region of France, (all of the laws, departments and politics are the same as those, in all of France’s States).
The capital city was once called St. Pierre, until 1902, when a volcano, (Mount Pelee). erupted, and the entire city was destroyed in less than five minutes.
We Landed:
Our ship moored at the pier, at Fort de France, the island’s capital city. We had pre-booked a tour.
Our Tour:
A coach picked us up at the pier, and drove us through the down town area so we could see the architecture. I felt like a was in a small port city in, France. We made a stop toe see the La Cathedral Saint Louis. It has a roman styled bell tower, which I had never seen in a church in the Caribbean, before. Our next stop was at Fort Louis to see the old French Fortress.
After we left the city we drove through a rain forest to visit the small towns along th coast. We only stopped at Carbet, the one where Christopher Columbus landed and La Pagerie, where Empress Josephine was born. She was one of Napoleon’s wives.
Then we were driven up into the mountains, so we could see most of the island below us.
When we arrived back at Fort de France we had the rest of our time free. It was almost 2:30 p.m., and the shops close were closing for an hour. We decided to have lunch ashore, and ate at an outdoor café called Roche. The food here was Creole, the same taste as in New Orleans, (a mixture of Caribbean, French and African spices).
We went to see the workshops, geological gallery and aquarium in the Floral Park.
Shopping
I bought a light pink coral necklace, some douce-lettes, (coconut milk, sugar and milk, made into a bar), and some T-shirts, for our grandsons.
My husband bought some white rum, and a shirt made out of madras cloth. He picked up some pipe tobacco and cigars.
We bought our daughters a traditional styled necklaces, called collier chou, and our son a mask made out of bamboo.
My Final Thoughts:
Would I come back to Martinique? I don’t think I would, because we saw most of what there was to see on our tour.
The beaches are great, the food was scrumptious, and the hotels we passed looked luxurious, so if you looking for a beach type of vacation, this is an island you might enjoy.
Thank you for reading my review.
©LL2004