Petit Anse

We had a short (steep!) walk to the beach from our first AirBnB. We followed this road down to the beach called Petit Anse (Little Cove).

Symba

There were lots of sweet semi-feral cats on the island. Our host adopted Symba but she wasn’t so sure about us.

Morne Larcher

Martinique is a volcanic mountain and it is dotted with mornes or small mountains. This was our first morne hike and it was steep (it turns out that they all were).

Morne Larcher Vue

We hiked Morne Larcher from two different directions. Here is the (sweaty) viewpoint at the top, la vue!

Le Diamant

One of our favorite places in the south western part of the island was Le Diamant: a lively market, a long beach with wild waves and a rock island right off the coast.

MÉMORIAL DE L’ANSE CAFARD, LE DIAMANT

The story of colonization and slavery in Martinique is always present including in public art. This is a memorial to the lives lost in a slave shipwreck near Le Diamant.

Trace de Caps

On our way to the eastern side of the island, we stopped to hike part of the Trace de Caps trail that runs through mangrove forests and along white sand beaches.

Trace de Cap, Martinique (February 2024)

The Trace de Cap trail runs along the south eastern part of Martinique through mangrove forests, rocky coastlines and white sand beaches. This was one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen.

Le Caravelle

The Caravelle hike through a nature preserve along a rocky peninsula on the east coast of Martinique. The coast is rough and trecherous: hence the lighthouse.

Le Caravelle

The trees and sea grapes (les raisins de mer) all bend to the force of the wind. Here I am doing the same.

Le Caravelle

The lighthouse is placed on the peninsula to keep ships off the sharp rocky coastline.

Tartane

Lots of rocky points jut into the Atlantic on the eastern coast of the island. One day we hiked several of them. The dropoffs were so steep I was zinging with adrenaline.

St. Pierre Marche

The open air market in the west coast town of St. Pierre. We bought fruit and vegetables here most days. Colorful and delicious.

Bois Bungalow

Our last AirBnB was our favorite: a secluded bungalow in a tropical orchard.

Calico

Bois Bungalow came with a cat named Calico who we loved to distraction.

Banane dessert

Sweet bananas in Martinique are called banane dessert. They are tiny and cute and must be eaten adorably.

Calabash

The Calabash Tree’s enormous fruit is used to make bowls and decorative pieces. It’s like a gourd on steroids.

Fond St. Denis

The village of Fond St. Denis is full of flowers and mountains. Off the main road is a jungle hike over a river…

Fond St. Denis

…through dense jungle…

Fond St. Denis

…and past lots of anole lizards.

Les chevres

There were lots of goats. They screamed “DAAAD” a lot. They were cute anyway.

Trace des jésuites

One of the famous jungle hikes on the western side of the island: le trace des jésuites. The trail goes straight down through verdant jungle…

Trace des jésuites

…to a clear cold river…

Trace des jésuites

…over a suspension bridge…

Trace des jésuites

…and straight back up again!

Le Fromager

The north western side of the island has many enormous trees called le fromager (do you see me?).

Le Fromager

The broad base of these trees must keep them stable on steep slopes and in strong storms. I liked to lean on them.

Anse Ceron

One of our favorite beaches on the north west coast was Anse Ceron: a black sand beach with glittering blue water and fun snorkeling (we saw sea turtles!).

Grand'Rivière

On our last day we did part of the Grand’Riviere trail which threads up into the jungle and looks down on the black sand coves below.

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