THE PARK RANGER ROBERT RÉGINA and I were
hiking along a ridge in the Caravelle Peninsula,
high above the sparkling Atlantic Ocean, when
he asked me, “What do you know about
Martinique?” Then he answered for me with
perverse Gallic pride: “Rien, je crois! Nothing,
I think!”
Well, not quite nothing. I once wrote a book
involving Napoleon Bonaparte’s romantic life,
so I knew that his legendary amour—Marie-
Josèphe-Rose Tascher de la Pagerie, better
known as Empress Josephine—was born and
raised on Martinique. But Régina was pretty
close, which I knew after one look at the lavish
beauty of this spectacular nature preserve,
where lovely forest cascades down
mountainsides to white-sand beaches. I had
never heard of the Caravelle Peninsula before.
My knowledge of Martinique was indeed
almost rien.
Régina and I eventually made our way to the
ruins of the Château Dubuc, an enormous sugar
plantation and today a stark example of
Martinique’s complicated history. The French
first settled on the island in the 17th century,
and quickly set up many plantations like the
Dubuc, all worked by slave labor. (Slavery was
outlawed in 1848.) Currently an overseas
department of France, Martinique remains
closely bound to la patrie: in its language, its use
of the euro, its cuisine, and its openness to
progressive ideas unusual for the region. This
Franco-centric worldview—and the fact that
many international f lights used to involve so
many stopovers that it sometimes seemed
faster to go via Paris—has long kept Martinique
off the radar of most foreign travelers.
All that changed over the past few years,
when Norwegian Airlines started offering
affordable direct f lights from New York, Boston
and Fort Lauderdale. Some friends who had
made it to Martinique told me about the/ the primer /
TARA DONNE
TRAVELANDLEISUREASIA.COM / APRIL 2018 53
Long ignored by many travelers, the French
Caribbean island is finally enjoying its
moment in the sun. BY TONY PERROTTETThe
Martinique
Mystique
dazzling variety of tropical landscapes that
make the country feel much larger than its 1,129
square kilometers. The northern coast is
volcanic, with dark-sand beaches, while the
southern coast is scalloped with white-sand
coves. The eastern, Atlantic shores are wild; the
western, Caribbean waters stay serene. At the
island’s green heart are mountains dense with
rain forest where the adventurous can go
hiking, canyoning and rafting. And you can
also retreat to villages that offer a relaxed,
uniquely Creole charm.Fort-de-France,
the capital of
Martinique.