Visitors
to Martinique will have to do some legwork to discover the island
Columbus once
lauded as the "most charming country
there is in the world". Aggressive development has resulted
in resort towns complete with artificial beaches and pastel-hued
cement
hotels
more appropriate to a Florida landscape than the French West Indies.
That said, Martinique's resort emphasis makes the island ideal for
all-inclusive travel, and most resorts organize optional day trips
to the spots that give an idea of what brought the developers here
in the first place.
The second largest holding in the
French West Indian empire, Martinique's 1100-square-kilometre terrain
is topped by a series of mountain peaks.
The most imposing, the dormant Mont-Pelée volcano, wreaked
devastation on St-Pierre in 1902; traipsing about the fabled city's
charred ruins nowadays is an eerie experience. Botanical gardens
teeming with indigenous flora evoke Martinique's original designation
as Madinina (island of flowers), while the stupendous Habitation
Clément distillery hosts a fascinating anti-Columbus exhibit.
In between these sights, villages like isolated Grand' Rivière
and Atlantic-facing Tartane steadfastly retain the customs emblematic
of traditional Caribbean fishing villages; the latter, on the Presqu'Île
Caravelle , is also the island's most laid-back destination, a
wonderfully underdeveloped stretch that boasts some of Martinique's
finest beaches. |
