Saint-Pierre, Martinique

The City that Arose from the Ashes


Saint Pierre on fire
Panoramic view of Saint-Pierre at dusk.
About to leave
Believers leave Saint Pierre Cathedral.
religious greeting
Conductor of a bus that brought dozens of faithful to a Marian meeting in Saint Pierre.
Mass II
Faithful during a Marian Mass in the city's cathedral.
Notre Dame de Bonport
Statue of Notre Dame de Bon Port blesses Saint Pierre and its fishermen and navigators.
under observation
Visitors to the Pelée Mountain observe the slope of the volcano.
Missa
Believer gathered in white during a mass in the cathedral of Saint Pierre.
Saint Pierre House
Casario de Saint Pierre, with the eponymous rusty cathedral highlighted.
Outgoing II
Believers leave the church at the end of a homily, part of the Marian meeting taking place in Saint Pierre Cathedral.
In case of rain, in case of sun
Betty Moustin, a Marian believer descends from a viewpoint above Saint Pierre, blessed with the statue of the virgin.
the hours it is
Old clock from the library of Saint Pierre.
Unceremonious meal
Two faithful have lunch on a break from a Marian encounter in Saint-Pierre.
Notre Dame de Bon Port II
Statue of the Virgin Mary, rebuilt after being destroyed by the eruption of the Pelée volcano.
The Pelée Volcano
The mountain volcano Pelée that, in 1900, razed Saint-Pierre.
In 1900, the economic capital of the Antilles was envied for its Parisian sophistication, until the Pelée volcano charred and buried it. More than a century later, Saint-Pierre is still regenerating.

A photogenic route, full of curves, counter-curves and spontaneous stops to contemplate the lush tropical sceneries had held us back too often and delayed us beyond repair.

The day was already over when we finally reached the beginning of the trail that led to the volcano's crater, then hidden behind a blanket of low white clouds.

A few walkers returned exhausted from those veiled heights and indulged in life-saving meals at the bar located next to the car park. Others, in obvious improvisation, tried to see if there was still time to go up.

Visitors Monte Pelee, Saint Pierre, Martinique, French Antilles

Visitors to the Pelée Mountain observe the slope of the volcano.

We follow a couple who use binoculars to discover what those heights were made of. Like them, we decided to postpone the expedition. We knew the terrifying reputation of the Martinique vipers. Still, we were left to explore the damp slope where the tall grass and remaining weeds had subsumed any sign of lava.

Shortly thereafter, we return to the serpentine road, skirt the broad foothills of the mountain and point out the Fort-de-France.

The morning brings the blazing sun back over the capital but also the desired weekend. A street band occupies a dark corner next to an uncharacteristic shopping center and enlivens the square with their choir voices, synchronized drums of jambés and other percussion instruments.

San Chénn Ensemble, Fort de France-Martinique, French Antihas

Band San Chénn plays in a street in Fort-de-France.

We found out it's the San Chènn. We never questioned them but, by name, we infer that their motive was the celebration of the island's native culture and, more than that, the liberation of slaves from the long subjection to the French settlers who, two weeks later, would have their ephemeris there.

Ludger Cylbaris was born in 1875, almost three decades after Governor Victor Schoelcher signed the abolition of slavery in the territory. It enjoyed, therefore, an existential autonomy that was unthinkable until a few years ago.

But in one of so many days of excessive alcohol in Saint-Pierre, he became involved in a conflict with a fellow countryman whom he wounded with a knife. He was sentenced to one month in prison. Near the end of the sentence, he escaped.

Captured again, he saw his sentence increased by eight days. Ironically, this aggravation of punishment would save him from a tragic end and promote him to the status of eccentric and bewildered hero of the predominant Afro community in the French overseas province.

This explained why the San Chènn repeated his name over and over again, as part of the chorus of a song that portrays and immortalizes him. However, we still lacked the discovery of the village in which he had lived and the most burning episode of his existence as a guinea pig of destiny.

We head north, almost always with the west coast of the Caribbean Sea in sight and along a coastline shortened by steep slopes. Saint-Pierre would not be long.

The tropical breath is stronger than ever when we reach the entrance to the city. We ignored the coastal breeze and headed down a slope that a sign lost in the vegetation confirmed, leading us to a semi-promontory.

Pilgrims, Saint pierre-martinica, French Antilles

Christian believer walks along part of the ramp that leads to the Notre Dame de Bon Port viewpoint.

We only get halfway when we have to interrupt the car's laborious march. A platoon of talkative ladies in white Eucharistic garb descends and blocks the road.

Betty Moustin asks us if we are going to the viewpoint: “We just came from there. It's a special place”, she assures us, smiling, as if inspired by a vision.

It was May. We realized that they were part of a Marian pilgrimage to the city and that they were returning from praying on that summit. We completed the ascension. A final descending grass trail leads to the platform.

From there, the more distant Pelée Mountain and the bay filled by the Caribbean Sea defined an unforgettable scene.

Casario, Saint Pierre, Martinique, French Antilles

Casario de Saint Pierre, with the eponymous rusty cathedral highlighted.

In between, the reddish and white houses of Saint-Pierre stood out, rejuvenated, between the gray sand that the village had taken by storm and the leafy cliff opposite.

The fascination proved instantaneous but prolonged. We agreed that a painting like that had to be seen in a decent light. We promise to return in good time and descend back to the heart of the city.

Believers Cathedral, Saint Pierre, Martinique, French Antilles

Believers leave Saint Pierre Cathedral.

Hundreds of devotees circulate around the cathedral and between the temple and a communal house that serves them meals and religious gatherings. Shortly thereafter, a mass begins.

The church is filled with worshipers from all over Martinique who fight the heat with handkerchiefs, fans and other practical flaps.

faithful at mass, saint pierre, martinique, french antilles

Faithful during a Marian Mass in the city's cathedral.

Despite the gaudy green Afro dress and the crisp yellow turban that crowns her and sets her apart from the crowd,

Fedia also has her role in the event: “why am I so colorful? Well… it may not seem like it but I'm a driver and I like to cheer up my passengers. I brought a bus full of believers from Sainte Marie to here. Now I'm waiting to take them back.”

bus driver, saint pierre-martinica, french antilles

Conductor of a bus that brought dozens of faithful to a Marian meeting in Saint Pierre.

Only going back more than 100 years could we find a Saint-Pierre so exuberant and busy. When we visit the ruins of the cell that held Cylbaris, we are faced with the calamity suffered by the former capital of Martinique and the fate reserved for the prisoner.

At the turn of the 1889th century, the Pelée Mountain was considered a dormant volcano even if, since 1902 and, especially in April XNUMX, there was some activity of sulfur fumes in the crater.

From the end of the month, the mountain imposed several geological whims. It projected small samples of ash, then rocks, produced earthquakes, made the sea move back 100 meters, and then return to the normal waterline, among several other manifestations.

Finally, on the morning of May 8, Ascension Day, the inhabitants observed glows on the summit of the volcano.

Monte Pelée, Saint Pierre, Martinique, French Antilles

The mountain volcano Pelée that, in 1900, razed Saint-Pierre.

The telegraph operator transmitted, however, the Fort-de-France a report without any development that ended with “Allez”, with which, at 7:52 am, he gave the floor to the interlocutor. The next moment, the line was cut.

The crew of a telegraph repair boat witnessed what happened. A dense black burning cloud spread horizontally from the base of the volcano.

A second, monstrous, mushroom-shaped and composed of dust, vapors, ash and volcanic gases was visible 100km away. Later, it was calculated that the initial speed of both would have been almost 670 km/hour. The temperature inside rose to 1000º.

Saint-Pierre succumbed to that hell regurgitated from the depths of the Earth. Of the people who were in the city, 28.000, almost all of the inhabitants, perished.

But, as the popular theme sung by the San Chènn recounts, Ludger Cylbaris was not one of them.

Protected by the wide walls of the windowless cell that held him, the prisoner was rescued three days later by a man from Morne-Rouge who heard his screams. He had suffered painful burns on his body but he resisted.

The event quickly traveled the world. Thus also spread the fame of the lucky Cylbaris who, shortly afterwards, would be recruited by the American circus Barnum, to show himself and his burns, on an international tour, as the only miraculous survivor of the catastrophe.

Anchored sailboat, Saint pierre-martinica, French Antilles

Sailboats anchored off Saint Pierre.

At the time, Saint-Pierre was the economic capital of Martinique and the Antilles.

The sugar trade attracted boats from all over the world to its cove, and the proceeds from this financed one of the first electric urban lighting networks in the Americas, a horse-drawn trolleybus, an 800-seat theater, a botanical garden and a hyperactive port.

In a few minutes, the elegant mountain that had long lived in the city reduced it to rubble and coal.

As planned, when the afternoon begins to close, we go back up to the viewpoint and submit ourselves to the haughty supervision of the statue of Notre Dame du Bon Port, which was also knocked down and removed from its original place by the eruption and later placed there. high pedestal as if to preserve the city from a new hecatomb.

statue notre dame bon port, saint pierre, martinique, french antilles

Statue of Notre Dame de Bon Port blesses Saint Pierre and its fishermen and navigators.

A few years after the destruction, absent residents and other outsiders joined forces to recover the first buildings. With the passage of time, the urban structure was effectively restored to the embellished aspect that we can see from there.

We see the sun setting, in a hurry, over the sea. The twilight sets in and the urban lighting gains vigor, reinforced by the light trails left by the vehicles that cross each other in the geometric grid.

panoramica st pierre, saint pierre, martinique, french antilles

Panoramic view of Saint-Pierre at dusk.

Residents and visitors celebrate the end of another welcoming Caribbean day on the esplanades of the coastal street and aboard some sailboats off the coast. Little by little, Saint-Pierre is taken by the ocher of a tenuous fire that is reflected in the adjoining bay and contrasts with the superb blackness of the Pelée mountain.

The image refers to the tragedy that almost erased it from the XNUMXth century, but even without the glow of other times, the Paris of the Caribbean shows signs of life.

Chã das Caldeiras, Fogo Island Cape Verde

A "French" Clan at the Mercy of Fire

In 1870, a Count born in Grenoble on his way to Brazilian exile, made a stopover in Cape Verde where native beauties tied him to the island of Fogo. Two of his children settled in the middle of the volcano's crater and continued to raise offspring there. Not even the destruction caused by the recent eruptions deters the prolific Montrond from the “county” they founded in Chã das Caldeiras.    
Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park Indonesia

The Volcanic Sea of ​​Java

The gigantic Tengger caldera rises 2000m in the heart of a sandy expanse of east Java. From it project the highest mountain of this Indonesian island, the Semeru, and several other volcanoes. From the fertility and clemency of this sublime as well as Dantesque setting, one of the few Hindu communities that resisted the Muslim predominance around, thrives.
Martinique, French Antilles

The Armpit Baguette Caribbean

We move around Martinique as freely as the Euro and the tricolor flags fly supreme. But this piece of France is volcanic and lush. Lies in the insular heart of the Americas and has a delicious taste of Africa.
Cilaos, Reunion Island

Refuge under the roof of the Indian Ocean

Cilaos appears in one of the old green boilers on the island of Réunion. It was initially inhabited by outlaw slaves who believed they were safe at that end of the world. Once made accessible, nor did the remote location of the crater prevent the shelter of a village that is now peculiar and flattered.
Volcanoes

Mountains of Fire

More or less prominent ruptures in the earth's crust, volcanoes can prove to be as exuberant as they are capricious. Some of its eruptions are gentle, others prove annihilating.
La Palma, Canary IslandsSpain (España)

The Most Mediatic of the Cataclysms to Happen

The BBC reported that the collapse of a volcanic slope on the island of La Palma could generate a mega-tsunami. Whenever the area's volcanic activity increases, the media take the opportunity to scare the world.
Sainte-Luce, Martinique

The Nostalgic Projectionist

From 1954 to 1983, Gérard Pierre screened many of the famous films arriving in Martinique. 30 years after the closing of the room in which he worked, it was still difficult for this nostalgic native to change his reel.
Big Island, Hawaii

Searching for Rivers of Lava

There are five volcanoes that make the big island of Hawaii grow day by day. Kilauea, the most active on Earth, is constantly releasing lava. Despite this, we live a kind of epic to envision it.
Guadalupe, French Antilles

Guadeloupe: a Delicious Caribbean, in a Counter Butterfly-Effect

Guadeloupe is shaped like a moth. A trip around this Antille is enough to understand why the population is governed by the motto Pas Ni Problem and raises the minimum of waves, despite the many setbacks.
Fort-de-France, Martinique

Freedom, Bipolarity and Tropicality

The capital of Martinique confirms a fascinating Caribbean extension of French territory. There, the relations between the colonists and the natives descended from slaves still give rise to small revolutions.
Masai Mara Reservation, Masai Land Travel, Kenya, Masai Convivial
Safari
Masai Mara, Kenya

A Journey Through the Masai Lands

The Mara savannah became famous for the confrontation between millions of herbivores and their predators. But, in a reckless communion with wildlife, it is the Masai humans who stand out there.
Thorong La, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal, photo for posterity
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 13th - High camp a Thorong La to Muktinath, Nepal

At the height of the Annapurnas Circuit

At 5416m of altitude, the Thorong La Gorge is the great challenge and the main cause of anxiety on the itinerary. After having killed 2014 climbers in October 29, crossing it safely generates a relief worthy of double celebration.
Mother Armenia Statue, Yerevan, Armenia
Architecture & Design
Yerevan, Armenia

A Capital between East and West

Heiress of the Soviet civilization, aligned with the great Russia, Armenia allows itself to be seduced by the most democratic and sophisticated ways of Western Europe. In recent times, the two worlds have collided in the streets of your capital. From popular and political dispute, Yerevan will dictate the new course of the nation.
lagoons and fumaroles, volcanoes, PN tongariro, new zealand
Adventure
Tongariro, New Zealand

The Volcanoes of All Discords

In the late XNUMXth century, an indigenous chief ceded the PN Tongariro volcanoes to the British crown. Today, a significant part of the Maori people claim their mountains of fire from European settlers.
Kente Festival Agotime, Ghana, gold
Ceremonies and Festivities
Kumasi to Kpetoe, Ghana

A Celebration-Trip of the Ghanian Fashion

After some time in the great Ghanaian capital ashanti we crossed the country to the border with Togo. The reasons for this long journey were the kente, a fabric so revered in Ghana that several tribal chiefs dedicate a sumptuous festival to it every year.
Fremantle port and city in Western Australia, female friends in pose
Cities
Fremantle, Australia

The Bohemian Harbor of Western Australia

Once the main destination for British convicts banished to Australia, Fremantle evolved into the great port of the Big Island West. And at the same time, into a haven for artists aussies and expatriates in search of lives outside the box.
Obese resident of Tupola Tapaau, a small island in Western Samoa.
Meal
Tonga, Western Samoa, Polynesia

XXL Pacific

For centuries, the natives of the Polynesian islands subsisted on land and sea. Until the intrusion of colonial powers and the subsequent introduction of fatty pieces of meat, fast food and sugary drinks have spawned a plague of diabetes and obesity. Today, while much of Tonga's national GDP, Western Samoa and neighbors is wasted on these “western poisons”, fishermen barely manage to sell their fish.
Parra Sea
Culture
Mendoza, Argentina

Journey through Mendoza, the Great Argentine Winemaking Province

In the XNUMXth century, Spanish missionaries realized that the area was designed for the production of the “Blood of Christ”. Today, the province of Mendoza is at the center of the largest winemaking region in Latin America.
combat arbiter, cockfighting, philippines
Sport
Philippines

When Only Cock Fights Wake Up the Philippines

Banned in much of the First World, cockfighting thrives in the Philippines where they move millions of people and pesos. Despite its eternal problems, it is the sabong that most stimulates the nation.
Ross Bridge, Tasmania, Australia
Traveling
Discovering tassie, Part 3, Tasmania, Australia

Tasmania from Top to Bottom

The favorite victim of Australian anecdotes has long been the Tasmania never lost the pride in the way aussie ruder to be. Tassie remains shrouded in mystery and mysticism in a kind of hindquarters of the antipodes. In this article, we narrate the peculiar route from Hobart, the capital located in the unlikely south of the island to the north coast, the turn to the Australian continent.
View from John Ford Point, Monument Valley, Nacao Navajo, United States
Ethnic
Monument Valley, USA

Indians or Cowboys?

Iconic Western filmmakers like John Ford immortalized what is the largest Indian territory in the United States. Today, in the Navajo Nation, the Navajo also live in the shoes of their old enemies.
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Got2Globe Portfolio

life outside

Bridgetown, City of Bridge and capital of Barbados, beach
History
Bridgetown, Barbados

Barbados' "The City" of the Bridge

Originally founded and named "Indian Bridge" beside a foul-smelling swamp, the capital of Barbados has evolved into the capital of the British Windward Isles. Barbadians call it “The City”. It is the hometown of the far more famous Rihanna.
Alcatraz Island, California, United States
Islands
Alcatraz, San Francisco, USA

Back to the Rock

Forty years after his sentence ended, the former Alcatraz prison receives more visitors than ever. A few minutes of his seclusion explain why The Rock's imagination made the worst criminals shiver.
Correspondence verification
Winter White
Rovaniemi, Finland

From the Finnish Lapland to the Arctic. A Visit to the Land of Santa

Fed up with waiting for the bearded old man to descend down the chimney, we reverse the story. We took advantage of a trip to Finnish Lapland and passed through its furtive home.
Lake Manyara, National Park, Ernest Hemingway, Giraffes
Literature
Lake Manyara NP, Tanzania

Hemingway's Favorite Africa

Situated on the western edge of the Rift Valley, Lake Manyara National Park is one of the smallest but charming and richest in Europe. wild life of Tanzania. In 1933, between hunting and literary discussions, Ernest Hemingway dedicated a month of his troubled life to him. He narrated those adventurous safari days in “The Green Hills of Africa".
Okavango Delta, Not all rivers reach the sea, Mokoros
Nature
Okavango Delta, Botswana

Not all rivers reach the sea

Third longest river in southern Africa, the Okavango rises in the Angolan Bié plateau and runs 1600km to the southeast. It gets lost in the Kalahari Desert where it irrigates a dazzling wetland teeming with wildlife.
Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
Natural Parks
Nelson to Wharariki, Abel Tasman NP, New Zealand

The Maori coastline on which Europeans landed

Abel Janszoon Tasman explored more of the newly mapped and mythical "Terra australis" when a mistake soured the contact with natives of an unknown island. The episode inaugurated the colonial history of the New Zealand. Today, both the divine coast on which the episode took place and the surrounding seas evoke the Dutch navigator.
Ruins, Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia
UNESCO World Heritage
Discovering Tassie, Part 2 - Hobart to Port Arthur, Australia

An Island Doomed to Crime

The prison complex at Port Arthur has always frightened the British outcasts. 90 years after its closure, a heinous crime committed there forced Tasmania to return to its darkest times.
now from above ladder, sorcerer of new zealand, Christchurch, new zealand
Characters
Christchurch, New Zealand

New Zealand's Cursed Wizard

Despite his notoriety in the antipodes, Ian Channell, the New Zealand sorcerer, failed to predict or prevent several earthquakes that struck Christchurch. At the age of 88, after 23 years of contract with the city, he made very controversial statements and ended up fired.
amazing
Beaches

Amberris Caye, Belize

Belize's Playground

Madonna sang it as La Isla Bonita and reinforced the motto. Today, neither hurricanes nor political strife discourage VIP and wealthy vacationers from enjoying this tropical getaway.

Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem, Christian churches, priest with insensate
Religion
Holy Sepulcher Basilica, Jerusalem, Israel

The Supreme Temple of the Old Christian Churches

It was built by Emperor Constantine, on the site of Jesus' Crucifixion and Resurrection and an ancient temple of Venus. In its genesis, a Byzantine work, the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher is, today, shared and disputed by various Christian denominations as the great unifying building of Christianity.
white pass yukon train, Skagway, Gold Route, Alaska, USA
On Rails
Skagway, Alaska

A Klondike's Gold Fever Variant

The last great American gold rush is long over. These days, hundreds of cruise ships each summer pour thousands of well-heeled visitors into the shop-lined streets of Skagway.
Society
Cemeteries

the last address

From the grandiose tombs of Novodevichy, in Moscow, to the boxed Mayan bones of Pomuch, in the Mexican province of Campeche, each people flaunts its own way of life. Even in death.
herd, foot-and-mouth disease, weak meat, colonia pellegrini, argentina
Daily life
Colónia Pellegrini, Argentina

When the Meat is Weak

The unmistakable flavor of Argentine beef is well known. But this wealth is more vulnerable than you think. The threat of foot-and-mouth disease, in particular, keeps authorities and growers afloat.
Bwabwata National Park, Namibia, giraffes
Wildlife
PN Bwabwata, Namíbia

A Namibian Park Worth Three

Once Namibia's independence was consolidated in 1990, to simplify its management, the authorities grouped together a trio of parks and reserves on the Caprivi strip. The resulting PN Bwabwata hosts a stunning immensity of ecosystems and wildlife, on the banks of the Cubango (Okavango) and Cuando rivers.
Passengers, scenic flights-Southern Alps, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Aoraki / Mount Cook, New Zealand

The Aeronautical Conquest of the Southern Alps

In 1955, pilot Harry Wigley created a system for taking off and landing on asphalt or snow. Since then, his company has unveiled, from the air, some of the greatest scenery in Oceania.