Already back in Belgrade I had this idea to pop from the USA to the Caribbean for a week or so and then I succeeded in organising this while I was staying with my friends in New York. I came across an airline company, Norwegian, which flies directly from the JFK airport in New York to Martinique, and so I bought a round-trip ticket for a very good low price.
Through one of the couch-surfing sites, in which I’ve been present for a number of years, I found a woman in Martinique who works in tourism and who proposed that I stayed at her place also for a fantastically low price. She lived in a village in the middle of the island, close to the airport, and this seemed quite ok to me. Moreover, the agreement was that she should arrange for somebody to wait for me at the airport. Needless to say, I paid for this, but I actually appreciated that I did not have to bother about this right after getting to the airport, but to have it all well already organised.
After the landing, I took my luggage and went through the customs, and there was a man waiting for me, so together we waited for yet another couple and then I was taken to Annie’s. As I’ve said, she offered me to take up a room at her flat, since she lived in a small residential building with one upper floor. I took it at the face value.
When we got to Annie’s, that man took us into something that was supposed to be the living room, but this room could also be a chaotically overloaded storage space, since Annie seemed to be a sort of a hoarder. She told me to sit at a table that was there while she finished her work with that couple I had come from the airport with.
Namely, Annie had her rent-a-car company. She obviously offered significantly more favourable prices than some other, bigger and better known companies, but then everything was in line with that, including this incredibly cluttered living room that served also as the waiting room for Annie’s company who was sitting in her office (a small room entered from the living room) at a desk with papers on the front side and another desk with a computer on the lateral side.
After she had finished the work with her clients and handed them over the keys to a car, Annie dealt with me. A small hallway led from the living room into two other rooms – one was Annie’s and the other one was mine. There, in my room, was a huge quantity of different things on the shelves. The room practically served as mini-storage for wardrobe, bed linen and some bunch of old candles that had been sold as souvenirs from Martinique a long, long time ago, but in this room in which I was to sleep over the next week there were still fewer things than in the living room. Annie gave me clean towels, as well as clean bed linen that I had to put on the bed myself. What I want to say is that it all seemed very “exotic,” but for me it was important to have my own bed, clean bed linen and a roof over my head.
Annie then even proposed that we went out for a dinner together at a local pizzeria. So, we went up to a parking lot where the cars of her company were actually parked and in a couple of minutes she drove us to that local restaurant. Although the food was quite good, as well as the beer, I was actually quite glad when we returned to the flat since I was tired and I wanted to go to bed as soon as possible.
At dawn, I heard a brief and strong shower through my sleep, which actually woke me up and so I got up quite early, but then I waited for Annie to wake up since the agreement was that she would get my breakfast ready, although she told me right away that in the future I was to do it myself.
While I was waiting, I noticed a rainbow through a kind of a French window looking out from her office.
First morning on Martinique; view from Annie’s office
When Annie got up a little later, she told me there were constantly clouds in the sky and that it rained often, but these tend to be brief showers.
Then I had my breakfast and at 7:30 am came Joanna, her neighbour or employee, I have no idea about who she actually was, so it turned out she was to drive to Fort-de-France (the capital) and then we agreed she should take me to a bus stop where shared taxis (taxi collectifs), a form of public transportation, stop.
Namely, I decided to spend my first day here on a beach, specifically on the Les Salines beach which is located in the south of the island and which is considered to be the most beautiful beach on Martinique. Since I was catching my ride on the main road close to village Ducos in which I was staying, that meant that I had to cover the distance of around 40 km.
As it turned out, I actually organised this trip of mine to Martinique quite well, except for one thing and that was my moving around the island. Thinking originally (while I was still in Belgrade) that I would find some accommodation in a hotel that would have its own beach or that I could possibly use public transportation or taxi to move around the island as I went, I simply did not bring my driving licence. While I was still in New York and while we were making the arrangements about my arrival, Annie offered to rent me a car, but this could not happen since I did not have the basic document. Well, I said to myself, I’m left with public transport or taxi. However, as it turned out, I was staying in the middle of the island, i.e., at least 10 km from the nearest beach, while Le Salines was some 40 km away, so taxi, as a means of driving around the island, was certainly out of question except in extreme situations.
In other words I was left with the public transportation and thus on this day I took up my position at the stop for mini-vans that serve as public transportation/shared taxi and they are appropriately called the * taxico* (derived from taxis collectives).
Waiting for a taxico beside the main road
As it happened, this idea with the public transportation was not a great one, since those mini-vans ran very rarely and I had to wait for almost an hour. Meanwhile, I watched the scenes along the main road.
Landscapes around the main road
Landscapes around the main road
At some point, a mini-van, i.e., a taxico going to Sainte-Anne, the last settlement before Les Salines beach, came and I went by it all the way, while that ride lasted for around 45 minutes. The driver told me that the last taxico from there left at 3 pm which seemed far too early to me and which also confused me a little since the internet information said that taxico ran until 6 pm (that is more or less the time of the sunset).
I was thinking about what to do, but I also decided not to make any detailed plans since it was starting to get cloudy, so I thought I may want to get away from the beach quite soon.
Anyway, to start with I arrived in Sainte-Anne, but there was still around 4.5 km to cover in order to get to the beach itself. I wanted to catch a local taxico there, because this was the information I found on the internet, but then everybody told me that there was no public transport and that I would have to hitch-hike. I was a little confused and not too delighted, but it seemed I had no choice. So, I started walking slowly towards the beach, with no car passing by at all. However, after a couple of hundred metres, I heard a vehicle behind me, so I turned back and raised my thumb. It turned out the driver was a girl and she stopped right away. Then she took me directly to the beach, the clouds cleared out in the meantime, I felt relaxed and was ready to enjoy.
Les Salines beach
I found a nice spot in the shade of some palm trees and first I applied some suntan lotion.
Les Salines beach, view towards the sky
The main reason why I left from Ducos so early this morning was to get to the beach as soon as possible in order to be able to sunbathe a little, without getting sunburns. For years now, I have been avoiding sunbathing between 10-11 am and 3-4 pm (depending on the time of the year and where I am), but I certainly apply suntan lotion anyway since I don’t like getting sunburns. When I travel alone, the problem obviously lies in my back, since I can’t reach it myself and when I’m in the water this part of my body is most exposed and can easily burn. Since it was still relatively early in the morning, though, I got out into the sun with no worries and then I also got into the water.
Les Salines beach
Les Salines beach, getting ready to go into the water
After a few short visits to the sea, followed by the drying, I decided at some point to go for a walk along the beach. As I’ve said Les Salines beach is reputed as being the best and most beautiful on Martinique, and it is also very long – 1.2 km.
Les Salines beach
Les Salines beach
In fact, this beach consists of two parts: the larger part is located in a cove called Grande Anse des Salines, meaning the big cove, and it is mostly called just Les Salines, while the smaller part is located in a smaller cove – Petite Anse des Salines. In order to get from one beach to the other, one needs to follow a path that goes through an alleged forest.
Petite Anse des Salines beach
But, in the continuation, there is yet another beach and it is located in a cove called Anse Meunier. In order to get to that beach, one also needs to follow a path through a forest.
Forest path that leads from one beach to the other
When I got to this beach, I walked there a little, taking a few photos of one side and of the other.
Anse Meunier beach
Anse Meunier beach
I did not go to the end of this beach, I didn’t feel the need to do that, but at some point I just turned and headed back. After some 15-20 minutes, I returned to the big Les Salines beach and continued walking there towards the central part where I liked going for a swim. At some point I looked back and in the direction from which I was coming. There were some people swimming in the shallows, while in the distance I could see the 175 m high rock called Diamond Rock.
Swimming on Les Salines beach; Diamond Rock is on the horizon to the left
While I was walking along these smaller beaches, more people had arrived to the main beach in the meantime and therefore it was more crowded.
Les Salines beach when there are more people around
Again I left my things in the shade and went for a short swim a couple of times (in order not to be exposed to the Sun for too long). The water was relatively cool, not only when I entered the sea, but later as well. However, I did not mind. On the other hand, it was perfectly transparent, just as I like it, so I really enjoyed.
Then clouds started to gather. It did not seem promising, but the temperature was truly fantastic and I didn’t need anything more than my swimsuit. So, even with a cloudy sky I would go into the water from time to time.
Les Salines beach when the clouds pile up in the sky
Soon it became clear that the clouds were serious and that it was starting to rain.
Les Salines beach when it rains
Although I was in my swimsuit I did not feel like being in the rain primarily because of my small backpack and the things that were inside of it. I was not sure the backpack was fully waterproof. However, right there on the beach where I was, there were two French couples fully prepared for all situations, especially for rain. Namely, they had a large canopy made of tarpaulin that was stretched between the trees and underneath which they were sitting without a worry in this world. I asked them if I could also get under the canopy and they kindly let me. Because of the wind, the rain drops splashed from all the sides, but it was still a negligible quantity in comparison to the rain out in the open and I was very content with how the things worked out for me in the end.
There was nobody left in the sea.
Les Salines beach when nobody is swimming
The rain soon stopped, I thanked my kind “hosts” and then I started to walk along the beach again, this time heading south. Of course, I was not the only one who got activated after the rain.
Les Salines beach after the shower
Les Salines beach
By the time I got to the south end of the beach and turned back towards the central part, the sky got dark again. Still, it did not rain any more.
Dark clouds have gathered again
When I reached the central part of the beach, the Sun got through the clouds again and the colours were more attractive once more.
Les Salines beach when the clouds thin out
Again, I left my things on the beach and went for a swim. While I was later sitting on the beach looking towards the open seas, I could occasionally discern a pale silhouette of the neighbouring big island which is an independent country in the Caribbean. This was Saint Lucia. Still, these contours were so pale that it made no sense taking photos of this. So, I just took a photo of the reflexion of sunrays far away on the open seas.
Open seas of the Caribbean Sea
Still, since I’m mentioning Saint Lucia, let me say a few words about the geography of this region. Both Martinique and Saint Lucia belong to the Lesser Antilles, which is a group of smaller islands that constitutes the east boundary of the Caribbean Sea towards the Atlantic Ocean and that stretches from the Greater Antilles towards South America. On the other hand, the Greater Antilles is a group of larger islands, such as Cuba and Jamaica, that extend along the west-east axis and in a way they divide the North and South Americas in the region of the Caribbean.
As I was sitting idly on the beach, in a semi-shade, still worried I could get sunburns, it occurred to me that perhaps I could go earlier to Sainte-Anne in order to go for a short walk and have a coffee there, after which I could see how to get back to Ducos, the place in which I had my accommodation.
To start with, I remained on the beach a little while longer in order to get as dry as possible and then I started heading back on foot.