Back from Martinique: the return!
Annie and I returned yesterday from a week long jaunt in the great nation of Martinique, a French colony originally used to export sugar, coffee and cocaine to Europe. Truly good tidings for a visit! Our gracious hostess Audrey disputed our claim that there are or were coca plants in Martinique, and perhaps we had mis-interpreted cacao, but we never really got to the bottom of the issue. Nowadays, it’s all bananas anyways. And coffee and sugar.
Martinique, still being a French territory, turns out to be quite expensive, comparable in pricing of goods to a smaller US city. However, the population is extensively un-employed, currently sitting at 30th in the world at about 27%. You can see how this might lead to some issues, and there was some conjecture amongst our travelling band about the operation of black markets for consumables on the island. We were able to confirm the existence of markets from Audrey, but their blackness went undetermined. It was noted that Audrey couldn’t get prices as low as her grandmother due to Audrey’s cultivated, non-Creole accent. To me, this tinges said market toward darkness.
A quick aside: Martinique is just as much a car-culture as the US. People drive.
The first several days of the trip were decidedly relaxing and collegiate. Zings abounded, salt water flooded nasal cavities, beer was copiously consumed, bridge was played. On 29-Dec-2006, events took a turn for the treacherous via a mass soaking on the slopes of Mt. Pelee, and a mass sun-burning the following day. Both events proved to be good conversational fodder.
List conclusion:
- Had a great conversation with Dave on the merits of living, despite riding in something of a death trap at the time.
- The fractal nature of choice becomes clear to me again. This time around I approach with trepidation rather than gusto.
- Always take the fifth.
- I am a much livelier/relaxed individual when I can put my energy towards social pursuits. I miss living with more friends.
- If you don’t know the words to a song, just sing ‘words’ repeatedly instead of mumbling or stopping.
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