Caribbean diaries (1) - The islands of Haiti, Trinidad and Martinique

This summer I spent two and a half months in the Caribbean, most of which was on the island of Jamaica but I also got a chance to visit a few other places around the region - the islands of Haiti, Martinique and Trinidad, Panama and El Salvador and frequent trips to Miami for connecting flights. As I was there on work, I did not get as much time to explore all these places as I would have liked to. But the time I spent there was enough to get a sense of what the Caribbean life is all about.

Somewhere in Martinique

I spent a few weekends in Jamaica visiting its beach resorts, one weekend in the island of Martinique, and a few days in Haiti and Trinidad. In addition I also stayed a couple of days in El Salvador, Panama and Miami during the same trip. So even though they are not Caribbean islands, they all feel part of the same region to me. Overall, the islands are quite similar to each other. Most of them are very small, have a mix of African and European descent population, a very specific Caribbean culture in terms of music, food, dance and feel, lots of pristine blue green beaches, warm weather and an overall air of fun and enjoyment. The Central American countries of course were a bit different.

An island from the sky

During my travels there, I saw a lot of the islands from the plane. And they were all looked so enchanting from the top. Small dots of land coming out in the sea out of nowhere. With the light blue sparkling waters around them, they looked as pretty from the top as they would have been when on the ground. Some of the images I still vividly remember are of the Bahamas which have many small islands all along a curve, all with shallow seas and light green waters around. Another of course is Cuba which though larger than the other islands seemed to have huge stretches of long beaches and shallow seas all around.

Being in the region, I also realised there are some 30-40 main islands and countries in the region. There were names which I hadn’t even heard before, so my geography definitely improved once there. There were islands still owned by the French - Martinique, Guadalupe etc, by the British - Montserrat, BVI etc., the Dutch - Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao; and so on. And there were small islands which I had not even heard of before. For example, there is a very small island called Antigua which has 365 beaches - one beach for every day of the year. And another small island called Montserrat which had a volcanic eruption and its population went from 12k to 5k suddenly. There are many such surprising things you find everyday about this lesser known part of the world, making it very interesting always.

I realised when there that the region has very bad air connectivity. Its not easy to get from one island to another directly. Some of the larger islands are connected better but it turns out that most places you can reach only via connecting from Miami or a similar farther hub. In fact, the island of Martinique has better connectivity and frequency of flights to France than the Caribbean itself! It also highlights the fact how the Caribbean which could have been a more united entity is quite fragmented and independent across the islands.



Haiti

I spent only two days in Haiti which were mostly in the office or the hotel. Most of my impressions are from what I saw from the car, the window or heard in conversations. So it is limited. But I think I still got a good sense of some aspects of the country.

My first view of the island when landing was captivating. When the plane was landing, we passed by parts of the island which were full of green dense forests and mountains everywhere. And I could see beaches on the coast as well as the Caribbean sun making everything bright. And then the capital city of Port-au-Prince came into view, extending till wherever the eye could see.

Most of the Haitian population was of African descent, on the roads, markets and all. But you see mostly whites in the hotels, offices and restaurants. The culture of the island felt more French than Caribbean, and Haitians speak French and Creole, rather than English. Also, its residents are crazy about football. The whole country apparently shuts down during the world cup and other such events.

After the first view from the plane, once I landed and was being driven to our office, I realised that Haiti was actually a poor and developing country. It is one of the larger of the Caribbean islands, half of which is the Dominican Republic. Haiti got independence about 100 years ago but its history has mostly been full of coups and spoilt by politics. So it is in a much worse state than the Dominican republic which is almost like a developed country, even though they started out together. And Haiti is the second poorest country in the world. It was telling that when I told the immigration officer while transiting from US that I would be going to Haiti, he asked me if I was a social worker...

View from the hotel

For the two days I was in Port-au-Prince, I mostly spent my time in the hotel and office. Haiti is a very unsafe country, and so we had been instructed not to venture out on our own at all. From the hotel, I got a view of the seas beyond and the place felt like paradise - clear blue skies dotted with some white clouds, blue waters and the greenery of palm trees everywhere. It felt like it was a paradise spoilt, spoilt by men, and their politics. When I read more about Haiti, I realised that even though Haiti has beautiful Caribbean beaches, very few tourists visit them because of safety issues. You cannot just walk anywhere, you have to drive around in armoured cars always. And that can't be fun.

The pool in the hotel

Another thing that struck me was that the hotel that I stayed in was outstanding, it could match any 5 star hotel from anywhere in the world. And that was when I realised that the rich across the world experience the same amazing life. Its only the poor whose life in the emerging and developed world differs. And so even in Haiti, there would be all these pockets which were luxurious where you would not feel you are in the second poorest country in the world.

Other than the hotel and office, one afternoon I did get to go out a bit and see the market and a few shops in Port-Au-Prince. Of course, I went in an armoured car and we had 2 bodyguards with us. We were also instructed to remove any jewellery, watch or phone when leaving the car. This level of unsafe feeling is something very few of us can imagine now. And it was almost a new experience for me.

During the drive, we drove through a lot of the local roads, saw all the houses on the hills but we did not pass by any rich areas. It felt like all of it was very downtrodden and shabby. I saw some small restaurants somewhere but not much else to do or see. Some of the shops we went to had the shopkeeper sitting behind bars for self-protection and to handle cash. And credit card system really didn’t exist in the country. It all felt so unreal, its very difficult to explain.

The main market we went to seemed like any other emerging market local market. People selling their wares, small shops and stalls and so on. However, the presence of the bodyguard was the only difference. When I asked my colleagues what could happen if we didn't have them, they said expats can very easily be kidnapped! So definitely not something we wanted.

The city looked beautiful at night though from up in the hotel, with the twinkling lights across the hills and the calmness of the sea beyond. At night, when the ugliness of real life was not visible. So even such places have their inherent beauty which no one can take away from them. But two days there felt a bit tough to me, and I was happy to leave when I did. It had felt a bit like a prison being there, being unable to do anything, walk around and so on.

My biggest surprise on the visit: Haiti is a very very poor country, with lot of crime and lack of safety. It came as a big surprise for me as I assumed all of Caribbean is happy and fun!


Trinidad and Tobago

I spent a couple of days in Trinidad, in the capital city of Port of Spain. Again I spent all my time between the hotel and the office, with barely any visit outside. So all I got to see was from the car. But it was enough to know that Trinidad was completely the opposite of what Haiti was. Trinidad is one of the well to do nations in the Caribbean because of its oil. And it was very visible everywhere.

Trinidad from the top

The houses were much better, the buildings bigger (and colourful) and the people seemed well off and more relaxed. I think money has a lot to do with that always. The infrastructure was much more developed than the other islands we visited. Overall the roads and all felt a lot better. The route from the airport to the capital almost felt picturesque, driving through agricultural lands, palm trees and views of small mountains far away.

It felt like Trinidad had its very own culture, maybe because it is one of the larger Caribbean islands and had a large population. They had more mixed people from different races. There was lot of random paintings and graffiti on the roads and walls. It has an annual carnival which is very popular to visit. The temperatures were amazing, clear skies above and palm trees lining most of the roads - totally Caribbean. There was also a very warm and relaxed feel in the air which I had missed in Haiti.

And the island has about 40-50% of its population of Indian origin, which was very visible everywhere. There were Indian people, Indian Hindu school billboards and people driving around with Hindu symbols on their cars. And I felt closer to home because of that. Its very difficult to explain how seeing something of my country somehow made me feel very comfortable in such a faraway land.

View from the hotel

As I said earlier, my view of the city is limited only to the hotel and the office. The hotel was a top notch 5 star property, located on the seafront and had a beautiful view outside of the sea and port. It also had amazing food especially the sushi restaurant which had a lot of vegetarian options.

As far as tourism is concerned, Port Au Spain felt more like an industrial city and apparently doesn't have many beaches around. If you go far off from the capital, you might encounter some pretty tourist places, beaches or turtle hatching sites. Also safety in Trinidad is again questionable, so tourism is low. The neighbouring island of Tobago is supposed to have much better beaches and is safer. Some of my colleagues went there and enjoyed it but I didn’t get a chance to go there. Maybe for the next time.

For me, the story of how so many Indians turned up in Trinidad is interesting, and moreover surprising that we were never taught that in our history. In the 1800s, thousands of Indians were brought almost as slaves to provide labour to the Caribbean when the African people became free. As would be expected, they were exploited and ill-treated. And very few of them made it back to their homeland even though they were promised safe passage back.

Its these Indians who stayed back who make up the Indian population in so many of the islands, like Barbados, Jamaica etc. but maximum in Trinidad. And I don't know if that is the reason or not, but the accent in Trinidad is different from the rest of the islands. It has a particular sing song tinge to it which is very unique. It is so sweet to listen to, I must say it is one of the best accents I have ever heard.

My biggest surprise on the visit: Trinidad has a 40% Indian population who came there as indentured labour with the British and decided to settle there. Also the Trinidadian accent has a very typical quality to to, like a singsong. You have to hear it yourself to understand it.


Martinique

Fort-de-France from the air

The next island I visited was Martinique, part of the French West Indies. It is technically France, uses Euros as currency and the Schengen visa works there. That was a surprise for me. Also, I got to spend about 6 days there including a weekend, so I felt a lot better that I was at least able to explore the Caribbean finally. Martinique is a medium sized Caribbean island, whose capital is Fort-de-France. It is the biggest town, with a few other villages in the north and south side.

In addition, given it is French, the island is quite popular with the rich French who like to have a holiday home here for the winter months. And so there are loads of those French Riviera kind of establishments with rich luxury houses along the coast. And there were a lot more white and French people around here than the other islands. So this experience definitely felt very different from all the islands I had visited in the Caribbean, most of it because it was "French".

Waterfront and the fort

As I was there on work, I was staying in Fort-de-France. And surprisingly, there were no chain hotels in town! So we stayed at the Simon Hotel which was quite nice, with a view of the sea, the main Fort, the waterfront, a small beach and lot of sailing boats in the water. The food there was quite French, so it got tough for me to find vegetarian food sometimes. But the views and the weather was lovely.

Streets of Fort-de-france

The capital felt quite average though. The buildings were colourful, but felt a bit run-down. The roads inside town were quite narrow. The fort was picturesque and there were loads of people enjoying on the waterfront next to it. I think it would have been a nice place to go, but we didn’t get much time. We also noticed some festivals happening there on the weekend we were there. So it did have an active feel to it. One of the days I visited some of the locals malls around which looked like any other French mall with all its french brands.

Within the town, we didn’t do much except one of our great finds, which was an amazing small restaurant called Lillies beach, for Friday dinner. It is located next to a not so great hotel called La Battaliere. You have to figure out your way somehow, and walk down a couple of stairs behind the hotel to reach this hidden gem. But it was paradise - a small little restaurant located right on the beach sand, hidden from all the world.

The atmosphere was very relaxed, the crowd quite mixed and upscale and the ambience one of the best I’ve ever seen. It felt more like a local haunt than a tourist spot, which made it even better. I loved it there. Imagine sitting in a cove next to the beach and eating food with the wind blowing in your hair and the waves providing the background sounds. The experience was priceless! And this was a great start to my first weekend in the Caribbean!

The island felt a lot prettier outside of Fort-de-France though. During the weekend, we spent most of our time outside, driving to the beaches towards the south side. The whole island felt a lot more greener than the other islands I had visited. There were small hills everywhere, the grass was very bright green, and there were loads of banana and sugarcane fields. With cows in the fields and lot of birds chirping everywhere. Martinique also clearly had a better infrastructure than all the other islands we had visited. The roads and cars were better, the people felt well-off and the air had a different feel to it.

Anse Noir

On Saturday, we first drove towards a small black sand beach called Anse Noir. The drive there was amazing, up and down on narrow single lane roads through Caribbean rainforests which were very fresh, green and dense. It is among one of the best and freshest drives I’ve experienced. I totally loved it. We lost data at many places on the road but always continued on. It helps that there weren’t too many roads on the island, so getting lost was not really an option 😁.

Sunset at Anse DuFour

The beach though was a bit of a disappointment. It looked dirty even though it wasn't, and somehow wasn't as appealing as it should have been. There weren’t any facilities there either, so it wasn’t very convenient. Right next to it though was a small white sand beach - Anse DuFour - which definitely felt like an upgrade. It was lined with palm trees and as we were there long, I got some amazing sunset shots too. The water at both the beaches was perfect - warm, green and clear, just what you would expect from the Caribbean. Both the beaches also had a lot more white people than black, clearly marking it as a tourist spot. They had a lot more shops on this beach, which definitely made it more tourist friendly. We also sat at a cafe there which seemed a bit dodgy but provided great views of the sunset across the water.

While driving back, we first stopped at a village on the way and randomly explored the village and the local church. We then walked to the waterfront. And then we drove back to the tourist town of Les-Trois Ilets. It was an area next to the sea which was full of hotels and places to eat. We first walked into an open air area with loads of restaurants and stopped at one called le Bistrot D'en Face (I think). We sat outside for some time and had a hearty tasty meal there. It also started raining but thankfully it was the typical equatorial rain which stopped soon.

Then we walked a bit and reached a small bar on the waterfront called Kano. It felt like a hidden gem we had found and we sat there for some time just admiring the views of the sea and beyond. But when we were driving back, we realised that it was actually a main street restaurant which we had earlier crossed, so not really a hidden gem 😁. And then we were back to the capital later that night. Most of the island had felt quite safe, but while coming back, we stopped at a petrol station which felt dodgy. And that made us realise that we had to be more careful here than we were being till then.

Drive to Salines beach

The second day, I drove to a much longer and popular beach called Grande Anse des Salines, which was on the South most tip of the island. Google map there wasn’t helpful, so I ended up taking the longer route, and turns out that I drove through the posher parts of the island. On the way, I crossed some small towns - Vaughlin and Francois - which felt like the French Riviera, really. With beautiful palm tree lined avenues, orange roofed posh houses along the cliffs, and blue green clear water beyond. Isn't this what paradise would look like? 

Salines beach

On the way I also drove through the village of Sainte Anne, which had a lot of beaches too. I would really have liked to live in one of such places rather than the capital. These felt more fun and Caribbean. The Salines beach as expected was a huge white sand beach, extending for kms, with palm trees on the bank and people chilling in the water. There were loads of shops and facilities around, like any tourist place. And the water was warm, a lot of fun. And the drive back was through a different road, again very picturesque, with empty roads through green lands till wherever the eyes can see. I loved the drive totally.

In addition to the places I visited, there are more beaches in the north part of island which are worth going too, like Anse Turin and Anse Couleuvre (a black beach). And the volcano, Montaigne Pierre near the town of Saint Pierre too. All for the next time.

Overall Martinique felt like an interesting mix of European and Caribbean culture. In terms of quality of life, it was definitely French. As was the traffic, much more than other islands. The roads were top notch level, to European standards. Also service in most restaurants was quite bad, keeping the French-ness alive 😜. But when it came to the vibe, it was clearly Caribbean. Relaxed and fun. All in all, a fun place to stay on a weekend. I can now see why the French have kept the island still...

My biggest surprise on the visit: I realised Martinique was such a weird mixture of the French and Caribbean. With French rules and infrastructure, and Caribbean feel and air. But the locals don’t like to consider themselves Caribbean, they think of themselves as French 😊.


Caribbean diaries (2) - Panama City, El Salvador

Caribbean diaries (3) - Ocho Rios, Port Antonio (Jamaica)

Caribbean diaries (4) - Negril and Kingston (Jamaica)