Martinique

A day trip to Martinique from St Lucia, on a ferry; it’s a very choppy stretch of water. The Caribbean is far from being a tranquil holiday paradise at times.

Martinique, the Island of Flowers - in a Nutshell

• Martinique was occupied first by Arawaks, then by Caribs, before it was charted by Christopher Columbus in 1493. Spain had other fish to fry and Martinique was claimed by some French settlers, after they had been driven out of St Kitts by the British. In 1946 the French National Assembly voted unanimously to transform the colony into an Overseas Département of France.
• As a département of France, Martinique is a constituent part of the French Republic and the euro is used as currency.
• French Guiana is a département of France, so its official national flag is the tricolore of France. This is its official government flag.
• Virtually the entire population speaks both French (the sole official language) and Martinican Creole.

• This is a volcanic island. There are several emerald clad pitons (volcanoes). The eruption of the tallest, Mont Pelee in the north, killed 30,000 people in 1902 and the volcano is still active.
• Like much of the Caribbean, Martinique is known for its gorgeous beaches, nestling in turquoise bays. white sand in the south, grey volcanic ash in the north.
• Martinique is known, for obvious reasons as 'The Island of Flowers' but, also occasionally as the 'Island of Returns'.

Fort de France

But today, there isn’t time to explore beyond the capital - Fort de France. It is just like being parachuted into a ville on the French mainland.  It’s all little narrow streets, lined with cafes, boulangeries, patisseries and boucheries. Most of the streets are steep -  it's good exercise exploring and the hills extend across the island, a sprawl of bright wooden houses. The West Indies meets Europe.

In town, the larger houses and civic buildings are stone shuttered. It’s atmospheric, but there is little of note. A brown church with a tall steeple, the St Louis Cathedral, dominates the harbour. The main tourist must see seems to be a statue of Josephine de Beauharnais, first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. who was born on one of Martinique’s islands. It’s in the garden of La Savane. Despite it being a tiny island, four queens who have ruled France, Holland and Turkey, have all been born in Martinique

Le Sport - Bodyholiday

I seem to have the happy knack at the moment of picking the holiday that just meets my needs. Le Sport (all inclusive) in St Lucia is blissful. Waves lapping on a palm tree lined beach, three swimming pools and I just lie here and snap my fingers at waiters who scurry around and fetch anything I want. Champagne, pina colada, oasis mama, fruit punch. Anything. Every so often I roll off my sunbed into the sea and go snorkelling. Or have a treatment at the Oasis up the hill. Revivng champagne supplied when you get there. So far  I have had massage, seaweed wrap, aromatherapy, hydrotherapy, scalp treatment and so on.....The coconut de luxe combo was quite interesting.........

In between you can do classes golf, archery, tennis, scuba, snorkelling, tubing, windsurfing, sailing, water skiing, fencing, aqua tone, Pilates, yoga, keep fit and so on and so on. I'm exhausted already and I've only tried half of them so far.

After all that exercise you need to eat. I go from breakfast to the deli which has a juice bar and salads and stuff and then to the lunch buffet (Mexican, Indian, Caribbean...) followed by tea, scones, cream, sandwiches, cakes, then dinner in a choice of three places. Cocktails start at 10 a.m. and are best in the terrace jacuzzi at midnight, though the waiters made me fetch those myself. That's after the sunset cruise round the bay, with rum punch of course.

All my food resolutions have gone totally out of the window. Free champagne - the ultimate dieter's challenge. There's dancing every night till three ish and some don't bother to go to bed at all. Everyone's really friendly, particularly the gym instructors. One tried to persuade me to have a private massage yesterday evening. Six o'clock in your room then?

Have to go. There's a line of margaritas waiting for me and I just can't decide whether to do archery or fencing next.

A Brief History of St Lucia

• It's too easy not to venture outside the hotel gates, but St Lucia has plenty of history. It was initially named the Island of the Iguanas by early Carib settlers.
• It was colonised by the French, with Soufrière the capital of the island. They signed a treaty with the native island Caribs in 1660.
• However, England took control of the island in 1663, resulting in an ongoing battle with the French. Stuck in the middle of the ongoing conflict St Lucia became known as the 'Helen of the West'. It was ruled seven times each by the French and British until the British took definitive control of the island in 1814.
• Saint Lucia became an independent state in 1979.

So, there's plenty to see around the island :

• Pigeon Island National Park - over a causeway at the end of the bay where the hotel is - great for a cycle ride, though the ascent at the end up Signal Hill is a little steep. There's the eighteenth century Fort Rodney (named after the admiral who built it), military remains & views of Martinique, if you're lucky.
• Snorkelling at Anse Chastenet in the marine reserve, off a black sand volcanic beach.
• Marigot Bay where they filmed Pirates of the Caribbean and Dr Doolittle. The inland portion of the bay forms a hurricane hole, used to shelter boats from hurricanes. It's also the site of a number of battles between the French and British navies.
• And Rodney Bay (named after that admiral again) resort central, where Freddie Flintoff got drunk and stole a boat. There's even a water park.

St Lucia - Facts and Factoids

• Saint Lucia was named after Saint Lucy of Syracuse (AD 283 – 304) and is one of only two sovereign states in the world named after a woman and the only one named after a human woman (Ireland is named after a goddess.)
• St Lucia has Sulphur Springs, the world’s only drive-in volcano
• The country is 70% covered in rainforest
• There are 180 different species of bird on the island
• The Saint Lucia Parrot, or Jacquot, is unique to St Lucia, and is the island’s national bird.
• As with much of the Caribbean, sugar cane was the main cash crop produced for decades (although mainly supported by the slave trade). In the 1960s, Saint Lucia bananas, became the dominant export.

Castries

Castries, the capital of St Lucia, isn't hugely exciting. it's a cruise line port with the associated duty-free shopping around the harbour. There's the Cathedral, the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, with its colourful murals and a lively covered market. And a few traditional, if slightly battered colonial houses with jutting wooden balconies. Derek Walcott, famous Saint Lucian who the 1992 Nobel Laureate for Literature, was born in Castries.

The Pitons

And last but not least, the iconic Pitons, towering velvety peaks framing a powdery beach with more good snorkelling off the jetty. These (Gros and Petit) Pitons are two UNESCO world heritage, mountainous volcanic volcanic spires, near the town of Soufrière. They feature on every boat trip and every St Lucia publicity shot

And Venturing Beyond St Lucia

• A light aeroplane trip to St Vincent and the Grenadines - great views of St Lucia on the way over, as well
• A day trip on the ferry to Martinique

St Vincent and the Grenadines - Facts and Factoids

• St Vincent and the Grenadines consists of the main island of Saint Vincent and two-thirds of the 32 tiny islands which make up the Grenadines (the northern part).
• The islands are in the southern Caribbean, part of the Lesser Antilles chain
• St Vincent is by far the largest island (with its capital Kingstown). It's bigger than better known Grenada and not much smaller than Barbados.
• Not all of of the Grenadines are inhabited (just 9 are), but many are small and privately owned. Some of them are very well known for their rich and famous connections - Bequia, Mustique, Union Island, Canouan, Petit Saint Vincent, Palm Island, Mayreau and Young Island. They're favoured yacht destinations, at the right time of year.
• Paradise is never perfect. Most of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines lies within the Hurricane Alley.
• The national dish of the country is fried jackfish and roasted breadfruit. Breadfruit is so popular that the country even hosts a festival in its honour.
• The island of St Vincent produces Sunset Very Strong Rum, an overproof white rum bottled at 84.5% ABV, widely considered one of the most potent in the world
• St Vincent and the Grenadines is known locally as SVG

A Brief History of St Vincent and the Grenadines

• Hairoun (or Hairouna or Youloumain) was the original, indigenous Kalinago (Carib) name for the island of St. Vincent. It translates directly to 'Land of the Blessed. It's preserved today, as the name of the local beer.
• The name 'Saint Vincent' is said to have been given by Columbus on his 'discovery' of the island on 22 January 1498, after Saint Vincent of Zaragoza, whose feast day was on that day. However, there is considerable debate as to whether Columbus actually set foot on St Vincent at all and it's generally considered to be a myth.
• Spanish administrators and cartographers controlled the entire island chain from Grenada. They named the smaller islands stretching north Granada y Granadillos, (Grenada and the little Grenadas), after the Spanish city of Granada. The name 'Grenadines' also derives from the Spanish for 'pomegranate', which was the symbol of Granada.
• The Carib Indians were fiercely resistant to European invasion and saw off the English and Dutch, over 200 years. They finally succumbed, to the French, who settled in the town of Barrouallie, in 1719.

• The majority of the people of St Vincent and the Grenadines are descendants of enslaved Africans, brought by France and then later Great Britain, to work on plantations producing sugar, coffee, indigo, tobacco, cotton and cocoa.
• The British captured the island during the Seven Years' War, in 1763.
• They then fought the Caribs, who opposed them, and the French, who recaptured St Vincent in 1779. However, the British regained control under the Treaty of Versailles (1783).
• SVG then remained a colony of the British Empire until 1979, when it peacefully achieved independence; the country's culture, language, government and legal system reflect the long legacy of British rule.
• The nation remains a Commonwealth realm, retaining King Charles III as its head of state

What to do in St Vincent and the Grenadines?

This is one of the loveliest (and exclusive) parts of the Caribbean. Private islands with mega expensive hotels, pristine waters and the most beautiful of beaches.

Read about my visits here:

• Grenada to St Vincent - Island Hopping in the Grenadines