Trip through the south

So this past Saturday I had the pleasure of taking a car ride through the south of Martinique thanks again to the kindness of my hosts for the first week, Daniéle and Didier. Didier is an engineer and helped with the design and installation of some of the electrical systems in the south of the island. He said each day he went up to the mountain side to work and oversee the erection of power lines, he would head up with next to nothing on his person not even a lunch, only the tools necessary for the job. He said that he would just pick fruit from the trees and use a huge leaf (I forgot the specific plant/tree he mentioned) to scoop up water to keep him hydrated and nourished. As you can imagine the cities in this area aren't caught up in the hustle and bustle of the bigger cities near where I am. First we drove through a couple of the cities in the south and saw what would be considered traditional houses in Martinique. They reminded me of traditional houses from the Louisiana bayou, wood siding and wood wrap-around porches. The more modern houses look like a take on this design incorporating different, more hurricane and weather resistant materials. As we made this drive we headed up and down hills, around bends and past huge banana and sugar can fields. All of the soon to be ripe bananas are covered in blue semi-translucent sacks so as to keep the insects and rain off the bananas while they continue to hang from the trees. Some fields were designed solely for export while other crops were to remain local. There's lots of different types of bananas, yellow like what Americans are used to eating (these tend to be for export), green which are the local bananas that become ripe when they acquire brown spots similar to the bananas in the states though often smaller in mass, and vegetable bananas which are a local specialty having the bananas themselves be a yellow color not just the peel. These yellow bananas are considered a vegetable and are extremely good when fried, a local favorite for sure. After passing through a couple of towns and winding pass the banana and sugar cane fields, we descended on the western coast of the island looking out over the Atlantic Ocean. It was a breath taking descent as we dropped down toward the coast looking out a clear blue waters and miniature islands speckled off the coast line. It's at this point that my words nor my pictures do justice to sheer power, awesomeness and beauty of this region of the island. Passing through the final town that fed out to the coast I could see local fisherman heading out in small motorboats or coming back from an early morning fishing trip. It was easy to feel the pace of life slow as you passed by people though it probably felt even slower because it was the weekend. As we reached the coast and beach line, the paved road ended and we traveled along bumpy solid dirt roads hardened by the rains. The sun was shining on the coast illuminating the mystic colors of the coral reef just off the coast causing the coast to appear phenomenal underneath the morning sun. Behind us I could see lush green mountain sides peppered with houses soaking in the wondrous view. As we continued along the dirt road we reached a place where you could rent water sport equipment primarily for wind surfing. This stretch of coast is renowned for wind surfing and his favorite spot of French wind surfers. In the future I'll have to come back and rent a board, but at the time we slowly drove past as I longingly looked out at the those enjoying the surf. As we left the coast line we made our way up a mountain side again on paved road. We ascended past houses carefully perched on the hillside nestled amongst the thick greenery and bountiful flowers. Martinique is known for its flowers and this hillside didn't disappoint. I saw vibrantly colored flowers growing to their full potential in this perfect environment in addition to all sorts of other green and lush vegetation. We climbed higher and higher until we reached a point where the road narrowed from a road just barely wide enough to squeeze two cars on to a road where there was one lane servicing both directions with a huge rock face on the right and a severe drop off on the left. As we came out this stretch of road that soon widened for two cars we began to make the final push to the top of the mountain where we reached one of the most spectacular views I've ever seen. We pulled the car to the side of the road at the first chance we got and stood in awe of the magnificence of the view. I had sat silently most of the car ride taking in the gorgeous nature around, but at this point I was truly left speechless. I was on top of a mountain surrounded by thick green shrubbery and trees so magnificent they almost seemed as they were boasting about their health and vitality. As I looked passed the immediate environment around me the view only became better. The Atlantic ocean to the west and lush green hill sides to the north and east. I could feel the power of life running through me as I fed off all of the energy coming from the life forms around me. My body only allowed me to muster one phrase over and over again as I stood in awe. I managed to blurt out to Daniéle and Didier "C'est comme un rêve" (It's like a dream). When I could muster the ability to force the muscles in my face to stop smiling from ear to ear that was the only thing I could say. There was no other way to describe it. It felt like a dream and if it hadn't been there with my eyes witnessing what was around me I don't think I could have believed it had someone described to me. We stayed there for a short a while longer taking photos and basking in the splendor of our surrounding before making the slow descent back down the mountain side. I replayed the images in my mind on the rest of the car ride home as rain slowly began to pepper the roof of our car and the countryside around us picking up intensity with each second, I decided that had been the most beautiful place I'd ever been. I was extremely lucky that Didier had the knowledge of this small windy mountain road and am forever indebted to the two of them for being gracious enough to share that wondrous beauty with me that many don't have the good fortune of seeing. It was an experience that filled me with life and reminded of the goodness and spectacular power and beauty that our planet has. I hope that this brief description above can give a sense of the scene I was fortunate enough to witness, but bear in mind that it pales in comparison to witnessing it first hand. I started working my high schools this week and will soon right about that I when the end of the week approaches. But for now you're left only with a description of Martinique's natural beauty a description of its people is soon to come.