Southern Martinique - last day

Saint Pierre area

This was one of my favorite days in Martinique. We drove to the west side of the island, where you can see the old capital of Martinique which was destroyed by a volcano eruption in 1902. Most people died in the eruption, except for several inmates who were saved by the thick walls of the jail. It's a very interesting area and one of the prettiest in Martinique.

We were told of an "easy hike" to a view of Saint Pierre and Mont Pelée. Exhausted and drenched in sweat, we finally reached the top...


The town of Saint Pierre



The nearby Gauguin museum. Gauguin lived in Carbet, near Saint Pierre, for about a year and painted some of his most famous paintings there. I was disappointed that the museum was closed because I really like Gauguin.

A building destroyed during that Mont Pelée eruption.


The old theater, which was destroyed. The jail was just to the left. Apparently Barnum and Bailey hired the inmate survivors.

Martinique Gardens & Ruins

Me at Chateau Dubuc, the ruins of an old french plantation. Apparently, the owner used bad light signals to lure ships close in. When they crashed on the rocks, he moved in for the spoils.


Max by a Manchineel tree. They're marked by a red line around the trunk. They look pretty normal and have these little green apples. In Spanish they call them "Little green apples of death." Manzanilla de la muerte. If you touch anything with the sap on it, it causes terrible burns and sores. Apparently, the Carib indians used to dip their arrows in Manchineel during times of war.

Jardin Balata. It wasn't that great, I didn't think. They said it was really hurt by a recent hurricane and wasn't as nice as it used to be.


This was my favorite place in Martinique, Jardin Anse Latouche. Another old plantation. I liked all the lush foliage in such a desert setting. In some place, you could see ponds with water lilies surrounded by cacti.

More Anse Latouche. Around here was where the fire ants got me :(

Musée de la Pagerie, birthplace of Josephine, who went on to marry Napoleon and become Empress of France.

Beaches in Martinique

The beach near where we were staying. Lots of Martiniquain families, low key, nice feel.
Fancy beach in Southern Martinique with all these french tourists and yachts...we went on the last day.

Tartane, Martinique

We returned to Martinique to spend a full week. We stayed in Tartane, a village on a remote eastern peninsula. It was very pretty and a good base, since it wasn't very far to the capital, to the north, or to the south. The house we rented was pretty, but we didn't really care for the owners, who were overly interested in the money and didn't leave us basic things like toilet paper, bath towels, soap, etc., all of which we had to buy, which was inconvenient. Still though, it was a pleasant enough place to spend a really great week.

We left Pagua Bay at 5 am, took the 10 am ferry back to Martinique, taxied to the airport, rented a car, and drove to Tartane. We were exhausted by the time we got to the house. Also, I think the motion sickness pills we got Max (sold individually in a dirt-floored pharmacy in a village in Dominica) may have knocked him out.
The patio was the nicest part of the house.
Gorgeous view from the patio of the village of Tartane.

Carib Territory

Dominica is the only Caribbean island with a native Carib population. The Caribs hid in the remote mountains of Dominica, intermarried with escaped slaves, and managed to survive the arrival of the Europeans and the diseases they brought. Pagua Bay, where we stayed, is right on the north edge of Carib Territory. One day we went to their cultural center at Kalinago Barana Auté.

Waitukubuli Trail

The Waitukubuli trail is over 100 miles long and goes around and across the entire island of Dominica. The name comes from the Carib Indian word for their island, and it means "tall is her body," because of all the mountains. We hiked some of the trail segments.

Tree ferns, my dad's favorite.

Lots and lots of rivers to cross!!


Trying to see if we could break open a coconut...


Ruins of an abandoned house. The vegetation was taking over so quickly. A bit later we had to turn around because the trail was so overgrown.



Max went swimming in the pouring rain at Emerald Pool.

Everyone wanted to see these special amazon parrots, and it took about 2 hrs to find them. I wasn't really into it, so I took some pictures.


Max hiking through banana plants.



Ocean view on the drive home.

Pagua Bay House

This was our base as we explored Dominica. It was one of the nicest places I've ever stayed...the pictures don't do it justice! It was completely luxurious, tasteful, and gorgeous.


Arriving at Pagua Bay Restaurant and Bar. We ate here two meals a day for a week, and soon developed our list of favorites. Juice: Soursop. Dinner: Coconut Curry. Desert: Cheesecake or homemade icecream.



Our cabins, connected by the deck.

View from the deck. The ocean was very rough and you could hear the waves all night.
The deck, where we read every morning.


Max and my room.
I loved the tigerwood floors!

Arriving in Dominica

I knew next to nothing about Dominica before we got there except that it's great for people who like the outdoors and hiking. I don't think many people have actually heard of Dominica, and even at American airlines check-in, the lady at the counter seemed to think we were going to the Dominican Republic.

Anyways, now I have a somewhat better understanding of Dominica ("Domun-EE-ca"). It's the least developed Caribbean island, with only 70,000 people and very few roads. It's an English-speaking Commonwealth that gained its independence from Great Britain in 1978. It's one of the poorest nations in the Caribbean, with about 25% unemployment. Its economy is based on bananas and recently ecotourism. In 2008, Dominica joined the Bolivarian Alliance, which allowed for aid from Venezuela and Cuba. The Chinese are also major supporters and have donated hundreds of millions of dollars in aid for roads, stadiums, hotels, and schools.

The capital, Rosseau, where we rented a jeep.


Leaving the capital behind and driving up into the mountains.
In addition to driving on the wrong side of the road, the road conditions themselves were really challenging. Nearly all roads on the island are 1-lane, 2-way. At every blind curve (there are a lot!) you have to honk to warn people you're coming. There's an art to it!
Typical houses. They were all very open, usually no doors or windows, and no furniture inside. Sometimes you could see people napping on the floor inside. It was strange how open they were to the road.

Approaching our destination, Pagua Bay.