La Savane des Esclaves

Our Caribbean cruise is rapidly drawing to a close. We’re now into our final three days. It’s been an incredible experience, and the weather has been largely sunny and dry, with an occasional (and normally very brief) rain shower in two or three ports. 

Today’s cruise highlights come from sunny (and humid) Trois-Ilets on the island of Martinique. The island is part of the French West Indies (Antilles) and thus is another one of those French territorial collectivities. Martinique is renowned for the active volcano, Mount Pelée, its most dramatic feature. Pelée erupted in 1792, 1851, and twice in 1902. The eruption of 8 May 1902 destroyed the town of Saint-Pierre and killed 28,000 people in a matter of minutes.

Our ship dropped anchor in the bay opposite Fort-de-France, the capital of Martinique. Garry and I then joined a tour to an open-air museum called La Savane des Esclaves. I recently read a travel guide about this unique venue. It's set among a jungle-clad hillside and features faithful reconstructions of traditional indigenous and Creole huts. These structures include woven cane walls (excellent cross ventilation in the tropical heat) and a roof often thatched with sugar cane leaves. Slaves on the island were typically housed in these structures for hundreds of years.

Various exhibits around the grounds gave us an insight into the daily lives of two distinct populations: the pre-colonial indigenous people and the plantation slaves. We learned about their living arrangements, daily rituals and the impact of the island’s sugar cane industry. The grounds also include examples of local crops, spices and medicinal plants. 

Incredibly, the entire complex is the vision of one man, Gilbert Larose. It was a passion project that kept him busy for decades. He constructed the huts, carved life-sized wooden statues of slaves going about their daily lives, and landscaped the grounds for more than twenty years. It was a genuinely memorable venue.

That’s country number 85 for me. I’ll clock up one more before we finally depart the Caribbean.