Forte-de-France, capital of Martinique. Obscure and filthy at first sight. You gradually lose interest to step off the ship. That would be one of two ways to reach this island, while the other one is naturally, by plane. There is a direct line from Paris. Martinique is one of the "larger" Caribbean islands, situated between Dominica and St. Lucia. Green is dominating colour of the mountainous scenery. Volcanic origin of the island gives it another dimension emphasizing the fact that still active volcano beetles as a master over the entire island. More about it later. First gaze from the ship and I am already dissapointed. In front of me is a landing crammed with containers and cars, what certainly didn’t leave the impression of the European colony. Nothing French was in the air…

With the visible questionmark above my head, what, where, how, I drown in the crowd of the arrived turists and head towards the unknown. As it usually goes, if you don’t know where are you going, you ask. Well, that’s the ticklish part of the story. French island, French language, none of the hosts bother to speak English, they simply don’t understand it. Man gets the impression that locals thrill when they hear some other language, but if you mention the name Croatia, they’ll heartfully welcome you and cheerfully start to list all famous Croatian football players. After short hands&legs communication and my decision to grab a cab, driver proudly sits in the car and contented begins to drive. It is best to agree upon the price right away, should it seem too high, you can just thank and move on, sure you’ll get more favourable offer from another cab driver.

And where else to go but downtown. In few minutes you arrive at the big square where everything buzzes from local vendors, who don’t seem too keen to sell their stuff, since they do not try at all to intrigue potential buyers. They leave the impression as if they came there for everyday exchange of the common information, shallow stories about politics…. Devil would know what else… Prices they set are smart high, especially for the finery that is mostly made of natura materials (coconut, wood, shells and sand) but it really is attractive. If they notice you intend to bargain, they start to roll their eyes, and you suddenly don’t feel like shopping anymore. Downtown, old town part, that is also the center, buzzes with small shops in small narrow streets, that is recognizable sign of European, above all French culture. You can’t avoid the cemetery situated in the sole center that became sort of feature with its fanciful monuments and ingenious family mauzoleums.

Drop a gaze on the photos. Town itself did not have much space for plain expansion instead of what family houses crammed on two nearby hills creating very picturesque sight. Once I decided to have a coffee in the company of a Polish girl who spoke French well. We have chosen small open-type shop, with original Martinique pastries. I was pleasently surprised with the fluent French Maja spoke. It wasn’t too difficult to figure out she had ordered coffee. I was looking forward to it hoping it will be tasty. But… llyaaack! I have never ever tasted worse coffee in my entire life!!! With very bitter smile on my face, I drank the rest standing (literally) and got lost with my interpretor in the swarm of little streets. So, if you ever come here and recognize the place in the photo… don’t take coffee! But don’t take this for granted, there are really nice caffeteria’s here and places where you can chill with local rellay delicious fruit juices. Women, girls… are so gracefull and smart dressed, even though poverty is blossoming. Some 2/3 of the population is unemployed!

And now a bit on natural beauties. Mont Pelee is the name of the highest spot on Martinique, as also still active volcano. Some several centuries ago volcano flashed out, cracked as a popcorn! Explosion was that strong that in had, in only few seconds, because of the ejected lava and massive stone rocks, crashed the place down to the ground and some 20 thousand souls within it. To get the picture of that mighty explosion … place was some 30 kilometers away! Only one person survived it because the night before was arrested for heavy alcohol and dropped into the underground dungeon for a night. Even though he survived, the drunk had earned heavy burns and never looked the same again. Later on he voluntarily joined the circus (not) playing a monster, and as sole survivor continued to attest the catastrophy.

This is last in row of all Caribbean islands to which Columbus had sailed. Not because he didn’t get around, but due to superstition he was filled with by the other islands’ inhabitants. Hmm, can you call it a bad luck when they tell you the island is inhabited with women warriors, who will eat you for lunch?! Such stories were the reason he kept delaying his voyage to the island. When he finally arrived, no sight of warrior women, normal people, and the island was so colourful full of fancy flowers. Therefrom comes the name – flower island. In the picture gallery you may see the exact place of Columbus’s first dismount. This is rare Caribbean island that doesn’t have those white sand beaches, for there is only few of them. All other are black! And again, because of the volcanic soil. Atlantic side of the island is almost inaccessible due to very sharp rocks, but the other Caribbean side is very beautiful and romantic. Yes, I know a bit about that too :-) Oh, but there’s a trick in it. You cannot just get there easily. You must ask around, and you’ll find out there is a ferry to go there. You have a feeling as if they keep it for themselves, as a sort of a secret. If you decide to get a cab or a rented car, trust me, you’ll get lost. So, follow my first advice.

In general, when you get to know the people, you’ll see how friendly they are, always willing to help. User friendly, computor geek would say. That would be Martinique! I may have left something out, but if I remember, I’ll just upgrade this version. There are some really interesting pictures in the gallery, so enjoy!