THE FRENCH CARIBBEAN BOASTS A VERY SPECIAL ‘JE NE SAIS QUOI’
Few islands are as exquisite as those in the French Caribbean, a place where rum-soaked Calypso culture merges effortlessly with croissants and pan au chocolate. Plump local seafood is served with sauces laced with wine and garlic. Sea-sprayed Peugeots are driven with a nonchalant Gallic shrug. Euros change hands faintly tainted with the aroma of Gitanes. Timeworn island phrases, such as du sublime au ridicule iln'y a qu'un pas (it’s just one step from the sublime to the ridiculous) fill the air.
French Caribbean islanders call the French Mainland le métropole and enjoy the same high standard of living as those on the Mother Land over 4,000 miles away. Topless beaches and menus of fine Bordeaux wine can muddle geographic sensibilities. Dramatic rainforests, powdery beaches, sparkling lagoons, varicoloured blooms and lush palms remind visitors they are in the West Indies. Welcome to the ‘France of the Caribbean’ - where the best of two worlds meet.
Four main islands in the Eastern Caribbean and a Département on the South American mainland make up the French Caribbean, lying southeast of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. First there is Martinique, at the heart of the Windward chain. Sister-island Guadeloupe is actually an archipelago that includes the pretty islets of Les Saintes and Marie Galante. It serves as the capital of two larger dependents: St Martin, the smallest island in the world to be shared by two nations and oh-so chic St Barts. Finally, there is South America’s French Guyana, bordered by Surinam and Brazil - a country renowned for untouched rainforests and unexplored jungle trails.
The island of Martinique exudes a distinctly French ambience in its culinary excellence, stylish population and purity of language. Dressed head to toe in Parisian chic, Martinique islanders sip café au laitfor petit-déjeuner much like ‘France in the Tropics.’ Exotic, sweet-smelling hibiscus, frangipani, bougainvillea, poinsettias and orchids fill the meadows with crops of papaya, guava, mango, bananas, pineapples, sugarcane, cinnamon and coffee in the fields. Dense rainforest, mountain peaks and dark sand beaches lead to rolling plains and white sand stretches. Towering ferns boast a thousand different shades of green. Many of Martinique’s remote rural spots remain virtually unchanged from when Columbus stepped ashore in 1502 - a dramatic contrast with the gleaming boutiques and fashionable cafes in the bustling capital city, Fort-de-France.
Martinique has become synonymous with beautiful beaches with white sand on the west coast south of Fort-de-France and volcanic stretches in the north. One of the most striking is Plage des Salines, an iconic sandy strip edged by towering palms. On the Atlantic coast, a rugged, contoured shoreline boasts the calm waters of the Caravelle Peninsula and at AnseAzérot, Cap Macré and Grande AnseMacabou. Martinique’s clear azure waters provide excellent conditions for water sports with good visibility and an abundance of technicolour fish, shipwrecks and pastel coral reefs. Swimming, snorkelling and diving are unbeatable at Pointe-du-Bout and AnseMitan as well as the small bays around Ansesd'Arlets and Sainte-Anne. Water skiing, windsurfing and jet skiing can be found along the beachfront in Pointe-du-Bout as well as in Carbet and Ste. Anne. Canoes and kayaks can be rented in the Bellefontaine and Lamentin.
Culturally, Martinique offers much to experience from the theatre, dance and musical events at L’Atrium Performing Arts Centre in Fort-de-France to local historical sites, museums and art exhibitions throughout the island, Hundreds of festivals, regattas, parades, pageants and carnivals celebrate Martinique traditions and heritage, such as Creole costumes, music, dance, arts, crafts and gastronomy. The island’s culinary culture offers a wide range of cooking styles, from classical and nouvelle French cuisine to spicy Créole and local specialties.
Succulent seafood is an island staple with dishes that include coconut shellfish, smoked fish, stuffed land crabs, stewed conch, and curried fish dishes. A dozen or so lively night spots in Fort-de-Lance host Zouk bands and jazz. Most open early and close at dawn when Martinique’s party crowd can party no more.
Christopher Columbus landed on butterfly-shaped Guadeloupe on November 4 the 1493, naming it after the famous sanctuary of Santa Maria de Guadalupe de Estremadura. An absence of gold or silver rendered it worthless to the Spanish and it wasn’t until the 17th century that the French arrived to colonize the island. Today modern Guadeloupe is a lively epicentre of Creole culture born out of a spirited blend of French and African influences. As famous for its rum and sugar production as for its palm-fringed resorts and stretches of sand, Guadeloupe’s modern cities, sleepy villages, thick rainforests and picturesque beaches offer plenty of diverse topography on a backdrop of turquoise waters. Created from two islands spanned by a bridge over the RivièreSalée, Guadeloupe’s landscape is distinctly different in its eastern and western parts. Grande-Terre to the east boasts magnificent white sand beaches, undulating hills, sugar cane plantations as well as the island’s commercial hub, Pointe-à-Pitre. To the west, Basse-Terre is renowned for its magnificent rain forests, cascading waterfalls and mountain peaks. At the 12,000-acre Parc National in the Basse-Terre rainforest a riddle of walking trails offer exceptional views at La Soufrière volcano. Golf, tennis and biking are popular and in August each year the 10 day ‘Tour de la Guadeloupe’ international cycle race comes to town. Horseback riding is another passionate island pursuit with off-road sight-seeing in a rough terrain 4x4 vehicle found on Basse-Terre.
Water sports enthusiasts will discover plenty that Guadeloupe's offshore islands are ideal bases for sailing. Some, including pretty palm-scattered Les Saintes, can also be easily day-tripped by ferry. Glass-bottom boats at Malendure Beach offer snorkelling trips to Pigeon Island with some of the best surfing spots along the northern flank of Grande-Terre at Le Moule, Port Louis and Anse Bertrand. World-class windsurfing and kite-surfing can be found off Le Moule on Grande Terre while on the west coast of Basse-Terre a Jacque Cousteau Marine Reserve has a specialist dive programme in some of the finest and most fertile waters of the Caribbean. Guadeloupe’s beaches are nothing short of stunning, with highlights at Grande Anse on Basse-Terre as well as St. François and Le Moule.
Guadeloupe’s local culture spans from highbrow literature and traditional art to the wild tempo of Zouk music. More than 100 vibrant festivals take place each year along with music and dance events at a host of nightspots galore. A gastronomic highpoint is La Fête des Cuisinières (Festival of the Cooks) held annually in early August each year. Visitors are encouraged to pile their plates high with robust French-Caribbean fare, such as avocado charlotte, fish crepes saintoise, and fish court bouillon.
St Martin and its Dutch alter-ego Sint Maarten are divided by a simple border, a couple of rustic signs that says "Bienvenue en PartieFrançaise" and "Welcome to Dutch Sint Maarten, N.A.". The island doesn’t pretend to be anything than a superb beach destination - Baie de l'Orient is the place to head to for activity with Baie Longue and Baie Rouge are a beach-bum’s delight. Apart from the sand, St Martin offers a couple of simple pleasures in the form of good food and unforgettable sunsets. A handful of small towns ensure plenty of beguiling West Indian charm blended with the influences of provincial France. Street vendors hawk a rainbow of tropical fruit next to bakeries that would be at home in Dijon. In the capital, Marigot beautifully restored old buildings are opening up as seafood restaurants. A handsome marina sits on a pleasant waterfront promenade where a pier overlooks a flotilla of bobbing million-dollar yachts. A few water-ski, jet-ski, kayak, windsurf and sailing operators can be found in BaieNettlé, Orient Bay and Friar’s Bay.
There’s an old island recipe that describes St Barts (Saint-Barthélemy) in gastronomic terms, urging the island to be viewed as a rare treat to be savoured:
It says: take one beach-fringed volcanic island, sweltering in the tropical sun for several million years. Add a handful of French maritime adventurers in search of a new and better life. Simmer for four hundred years. Turn up the heat, and add luxurious villas, elegant small hotels, and world class French restaurants. Baste with equal amounts of sophisticated relaxation and rustic charm. Next, enjoy – bon appétit!
Unsurprisingly, St Barts’ tourism chiefs love this analogy as this unfeasibly chic corner of the French Caribbean is every-inch the champagne playground. An international elite jet in for Parisian grandeur coupled with the risqué antics of St Tropez. Fine dining and expensive French wines are enjoyed by a host of Gallic starlets and beautiful people - who are overdressed in the bistros and underdressed on the beach.
Although just eight square miles in size, this diminutive island makes up for a lack of girth in the style stakes. Over 30 beaches ooze pure class with Colombier Beach an exclusive treat enjoyed by those prepared to make the glorious 40-minute trek. St Bart’s array of sophisticated French restaurants and bars remain the envy of the Caribbean. Prices may be high, but the bronzed über-wealthy that spend time here can certainly afford the bill.
French Guyana is the oldest of the overseas possessions of France and the only remaining French territory in The Americas. Originally inhabited by indigenous tribes, it was settled by the French during the 17th century. Situated on the north-eastern coast of South America with a landmass of 3,399 square miles, French Guyana is bounded by Brazil to the south and east, Suriname to the west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the northeast. From 1852 until 1951 it was the site of penal colonies. Two main geographical regions consist of a coastal strip and near-impenetrable swathe jungle rising up to the modest peaks of the Tuman-Humac Mountains along the Brazilian border. Several small outlying islands include the three Iles du Salut (Salvation Islands) of which Devil’s Island and the isolated Ile de Connetable bird sanctuary forms a part. Resplendent, pristine rainforests lie looped with many fast-flowing rivers and creeks heading north-eastward to sea. More than four-fifths of the terrain is dense vine-tangled jungle, home to an array of wildlife species including tapir, caiman, ocelot, sloth, great anteater, and armadillo.
Small patches of farmland form a checkerboard across the landscape with cassava, rice, maize, banana, plantain, dasheen, sweet potato, sugarcane, lime and a kaleidoscope of tropical fruit. Most visitors arrive in French Guyana clad in jungle expedition gear to explore the Amazon Basin region or to discover the extraordinary biodiversity of the island. Treks often start at Saint Laurent du Maroni in the north or Régina in the island’s south east. Accommodation and amenities are rustic, as you’d expect, with a simple palm-roofed hut and a hammock standard. Multi-coloured butterflies the size of dinner plates flutter amongst ant-clad creepers in a forest of a thousand sounds and cries. The vast swamp of Kew is home to basking crocodiles, snakes and frogs while magnificent giant turtles can been seen at WWWF-conserved nesting sites near Sinnamary and L'Amana.
Those that do yearn for city life will find a bountiful supply in Georgetown. Fairy tale spires and quaint Colonial buildings with louvered shutters with window boxes sit in charming tree-lined streets. Victorian architecture provides a telltale sign of past English colonisation with Georgetown’s series of criss-crossing canals were once a trading hub for timber, bauxite and gold. Today, apart from a handful of museums and the streetscapes, Georgetown is largely used by tourists as a launch pad to visit the attractions further afield. Kaieteur Falls is a popular tour on the Potaro River, where a magnificent cascade tumbles over a sandstone table before dropping 741 feet into a deep valley. At five times the height of Niagara, the waterfalls peak at 400 feet in the wet season with several tour agencies in Georgetown offering unforgettable four-day trips.
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