Martinique

(Side Note: I didn't blog yesterday because I wasn't feeling too well. Dizzy and woozie and weak. I think it might be due to the South Beach Diet which Lucas and I started on Monday. At least according to what a friend told me, this is common the first week because of the drastic change. She says I need to drink more water. It makes sense because I am prone to low blood pressure and the diet cuts out a lot of salt. Now on with the story!)

We did a whirlwind tour of Martinique on January 4th. We arrived from Barbados around 9:00 in the morning, and luckily Air France lets you check in from 9:30 a.m. (our flight was at 7:35 p.m.) So by 10:30 we were all checked in, and in our rented Opel Corsa and armed with a map and brochures. We headed for La Trinite on the east coast and stopped and had lunch at a beach cafe at Baie de Tartane. Then drove further along the Caravelle Peninsula until we got to the ocean. Spectacular views of the Atlantic crashing on the caost, reminding me of Bathsheba in Barabdos.

We then headed North along the coast driving through towns like Sainte- Marie and Marigot. Made a brief stop at the Saint James Distillery for a tour and rum-tasting (and bought yet another bottle of rum when Lucas found out that we were each allowed to bring six litres per person into France from Martinique).

We then drove through Morne des Esses to find the typical Carib basketmaking workshop,but decided to give it a pass as we really wanted to go to Habitation Clement in Le Francois (yes, another rum distillery). As we drove through the countryside we couldn't help but remark on just how much banana farming there was, we drove through miles and miles of banana trees, making the scenery a bit monotonous at times.

Because Lucas was determined to have cane juice before heading back to France we made a roundabout detour through Lamentin where we had seen a van selling juices on the side of the road. It was worth it, even though personally the cane juice in Grenada is much better (I'm biased).

I think we spent the most time at Habitation Clement, close to 2 hours. It's a large plantation that still produces rum, and the house is now a museum. With large grounds boasting many varieties of palm trees it was a very pleasant ramble. And of course we had to have a rum tasting. We bought a delicious coconut liquer this time, Lucas doesn't like Malibu so this liquer is a nice compromise.

Then all too sadly we had to head back to the airport, drop off the car and get changed into warmer clothes for the flight back to the cold.

See our photos from Martinique here