Lesser Antilles and the languages of the Caribbean

I've written several blog posts about the Spanish West Indies and I'll probably write several more. Thats because these islands are those that I'm most familiar with, in basically every way. I'll admit that I've visited Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican so many times that I began to think of the Carribean as pure Latin America (by virtue of Spanish speakers). But recently I've had the pleasure of travelling down the Lesser Antilles. Opened my eyes and ears to a part of this region I hadn't known before.

From Puerto Rico (of course), we conveniently flew to the islands of, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Saint Lucia.

A car rental is crucial if you want to have any kind of control over your schedule in Guadeloupe and Martinique. If you're comfortable with slow taxi service and hitchhiking (very common in the Lesser Antilles) then have at it. No ride sharing here unless it's the old school thumbs up express. These two islands have generally high quality infrastructure, atleast compared to rest of the Carribean, and we didn't find any issues getting around.

Fort-de-France is Martinique's capital city and the hub of more modern dining and shopping life. But the soul of the island is found in the small towns around the coasts. We withdrew some Euros from the ATM and set out.  

This is, after all, a department of France and therefore French soil. The locals speak a French creole and are known as the Martiniquais. French is the widely spoken second language and I'm happy to say I finally got to use my very basic French in conversation. Hopefully I didn't make an ass of myself.

Martinique truly drew me to it's shores with a well positioned church and a pier. Known as the Eglise Catholique du Sainte Henry, this was first on my list of what to see. A quiant little town with so many hues, I'm surprised the place isn't more popular on the international stage.

The church I came for is located in the fishing village and beach paradise communities of Les Anses d'arlet. This chunk of the island is where we made our base. Full of life and French Carribean colors, the small towns of these islands have a pallet and layout all to their own.

We walked around some of the local eateries at night in the Grande Anse community. The place becomes very dark at night but you can always hear the sea nearby and everynight the locals entertain their mostly French visitors with a casual party, dancing, rum and seafood. Stuffing my face with crevettes and rice, the people watching was entertainment enough.

In the morning, Eglise Catholique du Sainte Henry did not disappoint. Its vibrance grew stronger as the sun rose in the sky. Radiating its islans colors. The warm crystal waters, yachts and sail boats took me back to the Mediterranean beaches of Cannes but the tropical jungle mountains and colorful French Carib wooden houses and shacks kept me anchored in this tropical dream turned reality.  

Walking through the small roads, the scents of French bakeries fill the air in the morning. Pop in any of them for your standard freshly boulangerie baked goods. Just like back in Paris.  

Unlike Paris, tropical fruit smoothies and fresh fruit vendors can be found within a stone throw in the Les Anse area. Nothing like a smoothie and croissant combo for a beach breakfast.

By the late morning, children had begun to swim along the beach. Some were local children while others were clearly French tourists from the continent and enjoying an exotic oversees enclave vacation. Side note: I didn't meet another American tourist during my entire visit. In fact, all the other tourists I encountered were French.

The children got to practice their diving along the pier while older locals and visitors alike got to try their hands at fishing. The fish were lucky, not a single catch was made.

Though the pier and beach are a continuous source of traffic, neither the town or beach ever got crowded. Even as Sunday mass let out of Sainte Henry's, the crowd was manageable and parking always seemed within an easy walk.

The pier, the town, the water, the beach and the fresh baked French goods were all enough to make this a day to remember. As we left the town for the afternoon, we walked into a store next to the lovely Sainte Henry and ordered a rotisserie chicken. The shop owner was just closing for the day (at 1 p.m.) and initially told us that he was out of chicken. Sad and hungry, we began to leave when he took pity on us and offered to sell us his whole chicken lunch for 10 Euros. I like to think this decision was out of sheer pity for our hungry state and not a last minute mark up opportunity. We walked out of his store feeling rejuvenated with a delicious rotisserie chicken in tow. It lasted us for the entire day. The jerk seasonings and au jus were unreal and when to compared to my normal eating habits, felt downright healthy.

No trip to Martinique can be complete without a visit to Le Diamant, a mere 15 minute drive from Sainte Henry. This beach town offers an even wider strip and expansive beach area as well as an even larger pier. Higher traffic then Les Anses but still far from crowded. Filled with more bakeries, bars, little markets and closed rotisserie chicken shops. 

The beach offers convenient access but a more natural ambiance as the boardwalk has been traded in for palm trees.  

Trying to rekindle my childhood passion for climbing, I scrambled my way up a low but sturdy palm tree. It went well until the tree went vertical. As I tried to make my way up, I lost my footing but caught myself by the arm before I hit the ground. In retrospect, the drop wasn't far and landing on my ass probably would've been fine. But instead I grabbed the tree mid fall and gave myself an ugly bruise on my inner arm. I was being photographed at that moment and I post one of those photos here for your ridicule.  

Other than physically beating myself up, the beach was a lovely experience made grand by glittering black sands and the lovely mountains that slope into the sea. Perhaps thats why its called Le Diamant?

Before leaving the area, a touching monument named Cap 110 is worth a visit. The site was built as a memorial for the utter destruction of a slave ship nearby in the mid 19th century. The only survivors were approximately 80 slaves. Unable to determine the owners of the surviving slaves, they were ultimately all sent back across the Atlantic to Guinea. The monument is in memory of all those people born or forced into bondage during that time but also for those few who had to endure the brutal middle crossing more than once.

Martinique seems largely undiscovered by my countrymen or much of the rest of the mass travelling world. The island does not feel geared towards large scale tourism at all. There is little celebrity here. It's nearby neighbor to the south can't quite make the same claim...

While many honeymooners, including my own brother, have long known the pleasures of Saint Lucia, I decided it was time to get a peak at this stunning isla myself. Coming from within the Carribean, we flew into the capital Castries. A romantic method of transit to Soufriere, is via water taxi along the coast. Apparently this coastline played host to scenes in the Pirates of the Carribean films... which I've never seen. It is also vacation home territory to mega wealthy celebrities like Oprah. Particularly the posh Marigot bay area. 

You'll know when you've reached Soufriere. A breathtaking turn along the coast around Anse Chastanet opens up an unreal view of the twin Pitons mountains. Stunning is too mild a word.

Arriving in Soufriere, the cultural and touristic capital of Saint Lucia, is an incredible contrast. Generally speaking, the tourism industry in Saint Lucia is geared towards the high end. As I mentioned earlier, this island is huge on the American honeymoon list so the inflated prices make sense for its demand. Many visitors will be quickly whisked away to the comfort of their resort. I encourage you to see, atleast for a little bit, some of the town of Soufriere. Colonial bungalows, colored shacks and vibrant little fishing boats set against poverty. Its important to see the friendliness of the people of Saint Lucia, even outside of the hospitality industry.

Like any western town, there will also be pan handlers and people trying to sell you weed. A polite "no thank you" (and maybe a fist bump) will be enough to be left alone, if you wish.

This community dates back to the 1700s. It is an island rich in history. More on that later.

Even if you don't have an interest in seeing the town, wandering up the back roads of the Pitons by foot will also get you more connected to the local life.  

While wandering alone by the sulfur baths one morning, I met a deaf man on his way to work. Although he barely spoke the local French Creole dialect and I can't speak any sign language, we managed to have a conversation as he walked to his job at the sulfur baths. Despite the major language barriers, we talked about him growing up in Martinique, his prowess for climbing coconut trees and the sweet battle bruise on my arm from my slip off the tree in his home island. I felt at home walking along the roads. One of the islands where people always say hello. Saint Lucians have been some of the nicest Carribean people I've met so far.

They also have some of the coolest names. I met a Wincia, Orion, Solomon and a Kingsley. Names that are unabashedly epic.

The history of this island, as well as those of all the Lesser Antilles, stretches back several thousand years to when the first Native Americans began travelling from what are now the modern north shores of modern day Brazil up into the carribean islands heading north all the way to Cuba. The latest groups of people to enter the Lesser Antilles were the Caribs.  

The Caribs were supposedly the rivals of the Tainos, the native people found in the Greater Antilles. According to European historians, the Tainos were peaceful and welcoming while the Caribs were described as being warlike. According to some European scholars, the Taino cultures were already at risk of annihilation due to the invasion of the allegedly war hungry Caribs. According to Spanish historians, the Caribs were blood thirsty, warrior cannibals. I question the validity of this history as it may have been propaganda used by the conquistadors to justify the enslavement of the Caribs. But I suppose I'll never know.

One undisputed fact is that the Carib cultures populated these islands before experiencing massive displacement, warfare, disease and subjugation at the hands of the Dutch, French and English.

The island of Saint Lucia, more than many, exemplifies the kind of madness brought by Europeans. Originally the English began attempted settlements in the early 17th century but were ultimately wiped out by the Caribs. The island was routinely fought over between France and England. The French established Soufriere in the 18th century which has remained its cultural center to this day. Saint Lucians tell any visitor that they can't say they've been to Saint Lucia if they haven't visited Soufriere.  

During it's history, the island became heavily populated with slaves that produced massive quantities of sugar for Europeans.

The island frequently changed possession between France and England until becoming an independant nation in 1967. Because of its long history as a French colony, Saint Lucians all speak a French creole similar to Martinique. This creole is a mixture of African language, Arawak language and of course French. The tourists visiting Saint Lucia are heavily American, Canadian and British so English is spoken as the majority second language.

The Carib managed to maintain enough control over certain areas that bits and pieces of their culture survived in places while many of their people did not.

Just like the Tainos, the Caribs left stone carvings and runes. Some of the more interesting carvings are find on the fertility runes located on the grounds of the Stonefield Villa Resort located in the pitons. These runes were meant to enhance and identify the place of fertility. This location in full view, of the Gros Piton, was considered a sacred place for child conception.

But the most powerful language in this area is simply the visual splendor of the Gros Pitons. A stunning view is afforded from the ridge but the best angle I found was undoubtedly the night I spent at the Jade Mountain resort. Accompanied with the sleek style of an infinity pool, the view is nothing less than sublime. The beauty of the twin mountains sliding into the carribean speaks to the inner being - no matter where we're from or what language we speak.