Moorestown Friends School Martinique 2019
March 23, 2019
After a great breakfast, we were all ready and rearing to go discover the capital city of Martinique. But there was a strike with the boats ? and we had to change our plans last minute. Instead we visited the town center of Trois Ilets. We also walked around the hotel grounds. It was actually better that way cos’ we got to spend some time at the pool. Later, we went kayaking in the bay near our hotel. I loved this. The guide talked about the different kind of trees and animals we can find in the mangrove. I even held a tiny spider crab in my hand. I really enjoyed kayak today. It was real fun!
March 24, 2019
We left in the morning at 9:30 am and drove about 15 minutes to the ‘Village de la poterie’. We met Alex, a master potter, who was making vases and bowls out of clay. When his demonstration was over we had a go at making our own bowl. They didn’t look anything like what Alex makes, unfortunately. But we had a great time. The objects he creates are amazing. Later, we visited la ‘Savane des Esclaves’. It’s a type of walk through museum where you learn the history of Martinique. It was built by a man named Gilbert la rose. He reconstructed slave quarters and even an Indian settlement. So people can see how life was organized on the island. When we returned to the hotel, we had free time by the beach or pool.
March 25, 2019
We set off from the hotel at 8:30 am and drove to the southern part of Martinique for our environmental projects. We stopped off at the local grocery store to pick up lunch. Julie gave us euros and in groups we had to find food for the picnic. It was a great language experience. Food here is different but we successfully found what we wanted! The morning activity consisted of visiting a ‘Jardin Créole’. This is a special type of garden where many varieties of plants grow next to each other with a mixture of fruit trees, spice trees and flowers. And most of them will have medicinal virtues. Monique, the owner, showed us round the garden. It was so interesting to see things in their natural form such as the cinnamon tree, the pineapples and the cotton tree. We then ate in the garden. Monique’s 87 year old mother made us homemade lemonade. So refreshing! Digging out the turmeric was my favorite part. After we said goodbye, we drove to Ste Anne, the southern most town of the island. We went snorkeling, picking up the up trash on the sea floor. We saw so many different types of marine life. It was awesome. Can’t wait for tomorrow, when we spend the day with the local school children.
March 26, 2019
This was the best day so far. I didn’t expect to enjoy myself so much. We spent the whole day with local school children from an elementary school in st Joseph. It was actually Julie’s daughter’s school. The pupils and the teachers were so welcoming and seemed so happy to see us. We saw many classrooms and took part in various work stations. Some of them had songs and dances which they performed for us. At the end of the day, we did a flash mob with two of the classes. It was so much fun! And before we got back to the bus, all the younger kids started to ask us for our autographs. I felt like a celebrity. Then we headed to our second hotel, situated in the north of the island. The view from our rooms are amazing.
