Warm Winter Break
- Philippe Rideau
- Feb 20
- 4 min read
Taking vitamin D in Martinique during the French winter
For the second year in a row, we are heading to Martinique for a three-week stay. In addition to being able to enjoy the sun and tropical heat, in the heart of the winter cold in France, this stay allows us to share good times with friends from the Sables d'Olonne aqua walking club, and also to share excellent times with our Martinican friends.
Our base camp will be above the village of Trois Ilets. The view from our apartment allows us to capture beautiful moments of light after the rain.
Indeed, this year, the dry season is late in arriving, and we have to deal with many showers. We start with aqua walking at Anse à l'âne, on Saturday, with the local club Coolamon under the leadership of Christiane, and on Sunday still with Coolamon https://www.ffrandonnee.fr/nos-clubs/trouver-un-club/10596/coolamon under the enlightened guidance of Myriam and Olivia, we hike around Saint Pierre.
During this hike, we discover the ruins of buildings destroyed during the eruption of Mount Pelée in 1902: the psychiatric hospital and the civil engineering building. In the ruins of the psychiatric hospital, the frame of "therapeutic" chairs, fixed to the ground, resisted the eruption.
We also enjoy the beaches and the 28° water to swim, watch turtles and sunsets. We have a soft spot for the Grande Anse d'Arlet, the visibility is excellent, and on each of our snorkeling outings, we can observe several turtles there.
Despite our many stays in Martinique, we have never visited the Savannah of Petrifications. We are heading to Sainte Anne at the beginning of the week, to start our hike at 8 am.
The landscapes are superb, and the contrast of this "arid" area where cacti grow after the tropical forests that we have crossed is striking. Added to this is the deep blue of the sea that accompanies us throughout our walk, we are amazed. We punctuate our hike with a refreshing swim at Anse Trabaud.
Today we head towards the Atlantic coast to Sainte Marie, where we will visit the Saint James distillery https://rhum-saintjames.com/ . After this visit, we cool off by taking the Tombolo to L’Ilet Sainte Marie. This ribbon of sand connecting the islet to the town of Sainte Marie, is only open a few months a year.
Distillerie Saint James
On this second Sunday of our stay, Christiane organized a lunch in Grand Rivière, in the far north of the island, at the restaurant Chez Tante Arlette https://www.tantearlette.fr, excellent Creole cuisine that we shared with the Sables aqua walking group, Christiane and Monique.
On the road to Grand Rivière, we stop at the JM distillery https://www.rhum-jm.com/ . The site, located at the foot of Mount Pelée, enchants us each time we visit, as do their old rums.
After lunch, Christiane guides us to a swimming spot in the river coming down from Mount Pelée, the water temperature is perfect to cool us down. The wild north of Martinique is still as beautiful as ever.
This week, we also have our Yole baptism in Sainte Luce. Chantal has perfectly organized this activity, and we meet on the beach to put the heavy boat in the water, after the enlightened explanations of the coach We sail for more than an hour under the trade winds, and become more and more efficient when changing tack.
We take advantage of the sunniest day so far to visit the Domaine d'Émeraude https://pnr-martinique.com/visiter/le-domaine-demeraude/ . Located in Morne Rouge, with a view of Mount Pelée, this natural site allows you to discover the flora through the park with, among other things, many medicinal plants, also three well-equipped trails in the forest allow you to hike in the rainforest. After this morning we have lunch at the restaurant La Chaudière, located 2 minutes from the Domaine d'Émeraude. The setting is great, the welcome is warm and the Creole cuisine enchants us https://www.lachaudiere-sgtm.com
After this excellent meal, we take the road back to Morne Rouge to go back down to Saint Pierre, at the exit of the city we stop to enjoy the panorama of the bay dominated by Mount Pelée, whose summit we can see practically clear. We then make a stop at Carbet, (which was many years ago, our first Martinique destination), to cool off with a sea bath. We end this day in the north with a visit to the Neisson distillery https://neisson.com/.
Only a few days left before the end of our stay. We decide at the beginning of the week for a hike starting from Vauclin, the start of the capes trail. We leave from the small cove Macabou to the chapel of the Virgin of the Sailors, whose restoration is almost finished. On the way back, we stop in a small cove, at the end of Grande Anse Macabou, where we can swim since this cove is not invaded by sargassum. The landscapes during this hike are magnificent, alternating tropical forest, coconut forests. Unfortunately the accumulation of sargassum spoils our pleasure a little, in some places the accumulation and decomposition are such that the smell of H2S is very present!
After this hike, we have lunch in Sainte Marie and decide to push on to Tartane, to swim there. On the way back, on Olivia's advice, we stop at the rum distillery La Baie des trésors https://www.baiedestresors.mq/ This young rum distillery highlights the plot aspect of its rums, by developing different bottles depending on the terroirs where the cane is harvested.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and we must return to the freshness of France. Fortunately, this stay with its encounters and discoveries already warms our hearts and will therefore allow us to resist until the beautiful days….
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