Martinique Trip Report

Hello peeps!

A few days left in Martinique before I fly back to the UK for a few weeks. Despite my initial doubts, I had an amazing time here. What's the big deal you might ask? Well, going back home for two months meant I was surrounded by the family 24/7- even while sleeping! No escaping it, but I live to tell the tale...

 1. Getting there
 

There are no direct flights to Martinique from London, so I flew BA for London/Paris then Air France for Paris/Martinique. My original Paris/Martinique was a direct one, but when I got to Paris, I was offered €150 to change to a Paris/Guadeloupe then Guadeloupe/Martinique. Despite the delays and subsequent luggage no show in Martinique following the flight change, it was not a bad deal.

 Other airlines also do the Paris/Martinique route, with various degrees of schedule reliability. That said, Air France was also rather bad on time keeping during December, with flights being delayed almost every day!

Same immigration requirements as for France as this is a French territory. So good news if you hold a European passport, otherwise have a look here for what is needed:

http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/france/coming-to-france/getting-a-visa/

2. Accommodation

I did not need to look for accommodation as I was staying with my family. As other cousins and their children were also coming for the Xmas/NY holidays, I had my first taste of sharing a bunk-bedded room with up to 3 small kids at a time - ear plugs were liberally applied throughout the stay!

Colourful beach hut, built by an ex convict - no available for hire!

There is choice between high end hotels, guesthouses, rentals and camping.Accommodation in Martinique is usually expensive. The only way to keep costs low is to book ahead. Have a look here for an idea of what is on offer:

http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Hotels-g147327-Martinique-Hotels.html

3. Weather
 

December and January are within the dry season - called Careme here - but stay fairly windy with the occasional burst of rain. During my whole stay, temperatures were in the mid to high 20s, although some nights were a touch on the chilly side with a "low" and windy 22-23 degC - all still very acceptable!

The rain was never an all-day affair and would leaving plenty of day-time hours to do stuff.The water temperature was well within the mid 20s.

4. Things to do

Thanks to the good weather, there was plenty to do during my stay, aside of eating a feast at every family gathering for Xmas Eve and Day, NY Eve and Day, birthdays, Sundays and every other possible occasion!

The beach at Anse D'Arlet

The beach was my favourite destination, with a swim every other day or so, pending family gatherings. I stayed mainly on the beaches in the south of the island. There the beaches are with white sand, as opposed to the northern part, where the beaches are with black volcanic sand, glittering with tiny little crystals.

Inside the Aquabulle

   

I did an outing on a glass bottomed boat in Le Marin. The Aquabulle (http://www.aquabulle.com/) is unique in offering this concept and it is well worth it! The hull of the boat is like a submarine and you get to see all the little fishes swimming around and there a swim at the end. This marketed towards families with small children - but I really enjoyed it :) 

                                                               

I have always wanted to sail in the Grenadines Islands, so I set out to find a boat doing the route and looking for crew. I finally found a guy, however the plan fell through in the end - being the only female on board, I did not feel very comfortable sharing a rather small space with 3 other guys. I had cold sweat just thinking about bathroom logistics!!

Cruises up or down in the Caribbean from Martinique can be done either aboard a proper cruiser - needs to be booked before arriving here for best deals - or by getting a lift from a private owner. It is rather easy to find boats looking for crew, you just need to keep an eye on the boards at the harbour in Le Marin, or simply talk to people on the pontoons. For a proper job with a charter agency, you need to have some sort of certificate saying you know the basics of sailing, and be registered with the harbour authority.

To soften the disappointment of the missed cruise, I spent a day sailing in the bay opposite Le Robert, in the north-east. The weather was great, sun shining from the word go, friendly crew and a "rum baptism"!

Many companies on the market offering to take you for half a day/day/w.e. Check out http://www.choubouloute.fr/ for a list of what is on offer.

I did mine in Le Robert with the Bwa Drese guys: (https://www.facebook.com/catamaran.bwadrese)

Lunch time stop at a mangrove beach

Another seaside activity: sea kayaking. I did this in a transparent boat! The visit took us out on the reef, then back in the mangrove and finished with a swim on the way back home. Simply amazing!    

 I did my tour with http://fleurdo.com/ but there are a number of companies offering half day/day outings on the classic kayaks or you can just rent one individually. Good listings on http://www.choubouloute.fr/



There are plenty of hiking/trekking/canyoning trails crisscrossing the island, most self-guided though. I could not get a group together to do one of the big trails unfortunately, but I did a short hike in the mangrove. Now that was a little bit smelly and I almost lost a boot in the mud, but was an amazing sight!

Have a look here for more info on the trails available on the island: http://www.onf.fr/martinique/sommaire/onf

Martinique is also a favourite diving spot, with a numbers of ships wrecks close to shore as well as reefs. I did a dive with Nathalie from Kalinago Diving Centre in Sainte Anne (http://www.kalinagoplongee.fr/english/index.html). I was very nervous at the beginning, but Nathalie handled everything very professionally making the whole experience absolutely amazing!

There are countless other activities available, indoors, outdoors, seaside, land bound and air borne! Please check the official website for more info: http://www.martinique.org/

5. Good to know

- Being a French territory, the Euro is the currency in Martinique. ATM are widely available. There are bureaux de change at the airport and main touristic hot spots, and you can also change money at the post office.

- Electricity is 220V, with the round pins system.

- Tap water is OK to drink. Food is OK to consume everywhere, even at the road side and beach shacks. Just keep an eye out for doggy places.

- Mosquitoes are everywhere and very persistent little buggers. Keep your DEET 50% spray handy and sleep under a mosquito net, preferably with the fan or air con on! Long sleeves top and bottoms are also recommended. There is no malaria or yellow fever in Martinique, but the dengue fever is still very much present, so try and avoid mosquitoes!

- Although there are no major issues with safety on the island, keep your eyes open and your belongings where you can see them. Also night time can be a bit rowdy, specially in the capital Fort de France, as alcohol flows more than freely!

- The island is definitely not gay friendly. The majority of the local LGBT is closeted, some even finding it easier to keep a low profile by having "normal" families and hooking up with like minded people in very low key parties and meet ups. Public displays of affection and physical contact should be avoided for same sex couples, as well as trying to chat up a local unless you know for a fact this will be positively received - the response could otherwise be violent.

A couple of bars and one B&B in the touristy hot spot of Pointe du Bout are openly geared up towards the LGBT community. Outside of these, best to pretend being just good friends if traveling as a couple.

It is not all doom and gloom though - the younger generation is somewhat more tolerant, but there is still an awful lot to do on the topic.

- Public transport: in one word - shambolic! Unless you are happy staying put in the area around your accommodation, you need to hire a car, and that does not come cheap. There is a system of mini buses centered on Fort de France, the capital, meaning you might have to go there first to catch another bus to you chosen destination. There are no set schedules, the buses leaving whenever they are full. No night buses, last ones are usually around 5pm. If you are in a big group, it might be interesting to hire a mini bus for the day, but you will need to negotiate hard on the price! Taxis are expensive, so best avoided unless absolutely necessary.

- Doctors and hospitals are French standard, so you will be taken good care off should you need an medical assistance.

- People in Martinique are very laid back, meaning service can sometimes be veeeery slow! Only way to deal with it is to just keep your cool, getting all worked up will not make things go any quicker :)

That's it on Martinique. Hope you will come visit some day, it is a very nice little corner of the world.

Warm regards from Martinique

There's no such thing as free cash

Hello peeps!

I am now officially a backpacker - or more like a suitpacker! Last Friday was my last day in the office and since Tuesday, I am in the Caribbean living out of a suitcase :)

My last few days in the UK have been rather hectic with sorting out storage for my car and belongings, but I managed most of it and the rest I left to the good hands of a couple of friends.

I began my journey around the globe at 6.50am on Tuesday 4th Dec, and I will not be putting my bags down for another 15months. I will be back in the UK for a few weeks to exchange my suitcase for a proper backpack then I am off again, only to come back in Heathrow in March 2014.

My first flight London-Paris was rather uneventful. After the 4am wake up call, I was glad to nod off for a bit. In Paris I had to get a connecting flight to Martinique, then off on the beach.

This is where things started to go a little bit off track... 

When I got to the check in desk, the lovely Air France lady - a touch surprising to see somebody from AIR FRANCE in such a good mood so early in the morning - so, the lovely lady asked me if I would be up for being bumped onto another flight, in exchange for €150 cash. Instead of my initial direct flight, I would need to get to another island, then catch another connecting flight before finally arriving in Martinique, a mere 45min later than initially planned.

At €50 the 15min, I said yes please, gimme the cash! But there is no such thing as free cash, oh no...

To start, we left with 1hr delay for the Paris to Pointe a Pitre flight. That meant I missed my connecting flight to Martinique as I only had 45min between the too. Fair play to Air France though, they got me a seat onto another flight later that day, without me having to yell at anybody. It was actually rather funny to see all the other passengers in the same situation getting all worked up and stressed out, while I couldn't have been less bothered - I am off traveling, so who cares 1.5hrs delay?

I finally got to my final destination only to realise that my bag didn't quite follow the same itinerary! You know that feeling when you are the last one standing by the luggage belt, looking at the same abandoned bag turning round and round and round, hoping that yours will be there in just a second...

Still, it was with the same good humored mind set I had all day that I went to the customer service lady to explain my case and confirm that my suitcase would be arriving on the last flight of the day. The other guy in the same situation was completely losing it! By the way, no one I knew, but he had the same name, traveling on the same flight - how random??

All in all, the journey from wake up call to bed time was a long 22hrs, as opposed to the usual 13hrs. BUT - I learned a few things:

1. It is all about perspective: I didn't let the little things get to me and kept smiling and having a good time - despite the long delays, the bag going missing, the aisle seats, being tired - while others where losing it around me. Why? Because I choose to keep my cool. Simple.

2. The way you approach people will determine how they react to you. Go in there all guns blazing and you are less likely to find an understanding ear, as one my fellow delayees found out. Smiles, positivity and a cool head will get you a lot farther and open a lot more doors than yelling at someone!

3. Just C.H.I.L.L.A.X man and enjoy the ride, you will get there eventually!

4. There is no such thing as free cash - but if you follow pt.3, you can come pretty close to it :)

That's it for now peeps - I am off to eat some pineapple :)

Itinerary

Hello there!

I have done some progress on my planning since last time. Now I have pretty much defined when I will go - end Feb 2013 – which countries I will visit and roughly how long I will stay.

0- I will go back home to the Caribbean see the family in December and January then come back to London early February, get all my stuff together then hop on a plan again!

1- From London, my first stop will be the Maldives.  I will stay for a couple of weeks, relaxing on the beach and slowly melting away my stressed self. Like a holiday at the beginning of the trip.

2- From there, I will fly out to India where I will stay for about a couple of months, traveling around.

3- Next: Hong Kong for about 2-3 weeks for some shopping and a short overland trip to China.

4- After filling up on dim sums, I will be heading down south to Thailand. This will be the main part of the trip. I intend to stay for about 3 months, alternating between hostelling and work-for-keep.

5- Leaving Thailand, I will end up in Bali/Lombok for a few weeks for my second “holiday”.

6- After recharging my batteries, still heading south, I will then reach New Zealand. There also  I will alternate between hostelling and work-for-keep for a couple of months.

7- Next is Fiji where I want to be there for my birthday end of October. I am planning to stay at least 2-3 weeks, soaking up the sun and visiting around.

8- Now the next leg of the trip is still TBC. There are two options: either heading to Patagonia then head up to Brazil or Brazil straight away from Fiji. Both are equally appealing, and I quite like the idea of Patagonia, but first I need to see if I can get a flight or overland transfer from Buenos Aires. Staying in Brazil for a couple of months sounds good too!

9- Whatever the option I will choose in 8, Brazil will be my last stop before flying back to London.

I just need to get a good deal on the ticket then I can start putting some meat around the bones of this trip with things I will do/see. It will not be a day by day type of planning, more like a very loose short list of the main things and activities that will add some spice to the plan.

Catch up soon!