The first full day in Martinique was beautiful, fun, and adventurous for our Intensive Learning group! We all had breakfast at the hotel, with an amazing view of the famous Mount Pélé across the bay! Beautiful birds flew around as we enjoyed our traditional French breakfasts. Next, we all got ready to visit the spice market.
Our group gathered in the lobby of our hotel and waited to leave for the ferry that would take us to Fort-De-France, the unofficial capital of the island. After a bit of a wait, our cultural guide in Martinique, Julie, introduced us to what she called Caribbean culture. Apparently, the employees of the ferry system were on strike. Julie informed us that the public bussing has been on strike for some time on Martinique because of the government not taking care of their employees properly. Despite our setback, or rather, cultural experience, our group was able to enjoy the community immediately around our hotel, Trois Îlets, rather than Fort-De-France.
We learned intriguing historical facts about Martinique before retiring to the hotel, with free time to roam around the pool and the beautiful beach behind it. It was awesome! The water was bright blue and crystal-clear, and there were small fish that greeted us. The beach also had some gorgeous sea glass, shells, and coral which we all collected. It was then time to venture a bit away from the hotel and to one of the most stunning places on the island!
Kayaking in the mangrove forest showed us white jellyfish, a multitude of crabs, and huge birds singing all around our boats. We launched from a dock in Trois Îlets, eventually reaching le Petit Isle, where lizards, rats, and chickens ran rampant and locals played games and music joyfully. We docked off the island and hopped into our kayaks to journey over to the forest, which grew straight out of the salty water. The weather was warm and the river was flowing as we were carried down the estuary by two guides for 3 hours, picking up jellyfish and holding spider crabs we found in the trees. After, we returned to our hotel by bus at sunset and ate dinner by the beach.
Overall, despite a few hiccups in starting our day, the experience was informative and gorgeous. Our group is eager to continue learning about the history and French and Creole cultures of Martinique tomorrow before beginning our service projects later in the week.
Written by Abi Bischoff, Anais McCallister, Madi Hughes
