Saranac Lake H.S. Martinique 2018

June 25, 2018

Today we got to kayak through the mangrove and it was really cool. There were tiny crabs that crawled on the trunks of the trees and sand. We then watched a pottery demonstration that impressed all of us. Then we had some time to shop in the pottery village followed by delicious desert. When we returned to the hotel, we had free time and time to swim. Can’t wait for tomorrow!

by Kylee and Juli

June 26, 2018

We started off the day with a full buffet breakfast. The pineapple was very fresh and delicious. We then drove to the slave savannah and learned about the history of Martinique. We learned a lot about native plants. We finished the trip with the gift shop and a lot of time petting the museum’s two friendly orange cats. They were pretty chill. We went to the beach and the two of us for, and found, a lot of pretty sea glass and some nice shells. On the way back to the hotel, we made stops to look at the Diamond Rock and learned about slave trade. There was a monument dedicated to a shipwreck that ended the lives of hundreds of slaves from Africa. We finally returned to the hotel, learned about the home stay families and ate dinner. Overall, it was a pretty good day!

by Sophia and Rosemary

June 27, 2018

After we packed up and left the hotel, we went to Napoleon’s wife’s birth place and learned about her life. Then we headed to the sugar cane museum to learn about the history of the sugar cane plantations on the island. For lunch we walked through the woods to have a picnic. We had sandwiches and saw cute stray kittens. The day was very hot and we were all sweaty and tired. After lunch we went to a creole garden. The guide, Olivier, was very cool and fun and he taught us about all the different uses if the many plants. Many of which we had never heard of or seen. Finally we met with our host families with a mini potluck that had a variety of food the families very nicely and made for us. Everyone was excited to see their host families but also nervous. We all went home with our different families and and they prepared dinner for us! Speaking French is hard but we are excited to improve with the homestays.

by Cassidy and Mistre

June 28, 2018

Today was the first morning with our home stay family. We had a great breakfast with fresh fruit, bread and sandwiches. We then drove to a nearby school to spend a few hours with the local kids. When we arrived we played games in different groups like tag, spot it, and duck duck goose. After playing the games for a little while, we played soccer with a bunch of the kids. They were nasty at soccer and scored a lot of goals. The reactions when the kids scored the goals was priceless and put a smile on everyone’s face every time it happened. The school was a great experience and it seemed to be everyone’s favorite activity so far. It was about noon when we left the school so we went to the market and bought food and drinks for lunch. After lunch we went swimming on a calm, beautiful beach while waiting for our boat to take us snorkeling. Snorkeling was amazing because the water was warm and we got to see a lot of beautiful fish and other aquatic life. Finally, after our long adventure filled day, we returned to our home stay families, had dinner, played dominoes and went to the bed. Nous aimons la Martinique!

by Brooks and Jackson

June 29, 2018

Today we had our second breakfast with our home stay family. We had homemade juice, pastries, fruit and chocolate soup, it was all very good. We then got on a bus to visit Fort de France. We bought postcards, wrote to someone and mailed them. After that we got free time to explore the Spice Market. Then we got on a boat that went to the other side of the port to eat lunch and shop around. We got back on the boat to fort de France where we ate ice cream. We got on a bus, went home and ate dinner. Then we went swimming with Sarah and Rosemary’s family, it was really fun.

by Olivia and Robyn

June 30, 2018

Today we hiked down a long trail along the beach for roughly an hour and a half, then we arrived at a beach and had a picnic when you could make your own sandwich and have chips and cookies. Then we went swimming in the shallow part of the sea. Then we took the bus back to the meeting spot for our home stay families. We were tired and most of us fell asleep on the bus. Today was a good day even with the long treacherous hike on the rocky beaches.

by Haley, Sophie and Julia

July 1, 2018

Today we spent a lot of the day with our host family. We woke up at 5 so we could get to the 6 o’clock mass at their church. The church was different and fun. There was lots of singing and dancing. One of the people at the church spoke English she told us what the preacher was saying. It was a two hour mass and at the end, the preacher said that anyone new to the church should stand up. So Jacob and I stood, then all the church patrons sang a song to us. After church we went to the grocery store to buy some things for lunch. Our family had a lot of people over for lunch and we talked and ate and it was fun. Then at two we left and went with the rest of our group to Clément, an old rum distillery on the old plantation named Habitation Clément. We walked around the plantation and saw the old distillery and where the plantation owner lived. Then we got on the bus and went to a restaurant named Hippopotamus. We got dinner and a desert, it was really good. Tonight is our last night with our host family. It was fun but I am looking forward to the last part of our trip.

by Camden and Jacob

July 2, 2018

Today we said goodbye to our host families and drove to the northern side of the island. We went to the town of St Pierre which used to be the capital of Martinique until it was destroyed in the eruption of Mount Pelée. We learned all about that in a museum at the ruins. Then we drove up the side of the volcano and had lunch in the clouds. Lunch was pretty good. Then we drove to the gorge. We had to go down a lot of stairs to get there but it was worth it because it was so much fun. At one point we got to jump down from the rocks into the water which was scary at first, but was awesome. After the gorge we drove to our new hotel, Résidence Oceane. We swam in the pool until it was time for dinner. Dinner was pizza. I like pizza, overall was a very good day.

by Sarah