Norwegian Air, Le Black Pearl, Bod Lanmé

My journey started with a 4am wake up alarm for a 5:30am Amtrak departure from NY Penn Station to Baltimore Penn Station arriving at 8am. I then had to take Uber for 20 minutes to a nearby hotel to meet my friends so we can board a 1pm flight on Norwegian Air bound for Martinique, a Caribbean island in the French West Indies. Prior to going to Martinique, I'd never even heard of it or known where it is on the map and I never heard of Norwegian Air, but I'm glad I went.

While our initial plan was to eat breakfast at Miss Shirley's Cafe to kill some time, we ended up losing track of time and ordered take out. We picked up the food and headed straight to the airport. It's a bummer because the menu looked awesome to collect and the food, which we ate at the airport before boarding, was delicious! I ordered a Cuban huevos sandwich and we shared the funky monkey bread.

Norwegian Air is definitely a no frills airline, and to be fair, I'm only commenting on my very first round trip experience from Baltimore to Martinique. I don't know what their fleet is like in Europe. There was no priority boarding (except for passengers needing assistance) or first class seats. The price ticket is low, but it starts adding up if you want to reserve a seat in advance, check baggage and/or order food. And speaking of the food, the menu on board was for Winter 2015. I liked that some of their selection items catered to Caribbean locals because they had guava juice, plantain chips, carib beer and local rum. I thought it was strange they had soup noodles similar to cup noodles. I love that they had Milka and Kit Kat, of course. Oh, and champagne!

Norwegian Air
Website

Norwegian Air

After checking in to the Simon Hotel Friday night and during its grand opening weekend in Fort-de-France, we wanted to shop at Carrefour Market, my favorite grocery store in France to purchase essentials such as water, rose, champagne and snacks, but sadly, everything closes early in Martinique no matter what day of the week. We did, however, find a place to have drinks then dinner.

The first thing we noticed about Le Black Pearl is the bright rotating disco lights that came from the second floor. We entered through the first floor, which was the main restaurant and above it was the bar. We ordered a round of local flavored drinks, including the island rum, which seemed like it was in every drink we ordered and was quite strong. My throat was burning with every sip. We met an interesting native, Dave, that came up to us and told us about island life. He was nice and willing to take us to another club later, but we declined. He did manage to take a group selfie with us and leave us his gigantic business card.

  

After drinks we headed downstairs to the restaurant. The menu cover didn't match the the name of the restaurant. I Googled the menu cover with the name "Kressmann" and it belongs to Edouard Kressmann, a German who founded the House of Kressman in Bordeaux, France in 1871. Not really clear on how it's associated with Le Black Pearl, but they both definitely have the French thing going on. The menu is not in English--at all! Thankfully, my friend, Becky, speaks and reads French and was able to order for us. I liked the black skull and crossbones printed on the top of every page and how they tried to keep the menu pirate themed. The food was abundant and pretty good for late night eats. My friend, Maria, managed to shove the menu in her bag when no one was looking. Merci, Maria!
 

Le Black Pearl, 36 Rue Ernest Deproges
Fort-de-France, Martinique
Website

Le Black Pearl

Our Saturday afternoon adventure took us to the beach of Anse Mitan located in Trois-Ilets via short ferry ride from Fort-de-France. This is how I imagined our day would be spent laying on the beach, swimming in the blue waters to cool off and sipping rose and champagne. Pretty much how it went with a bit of American craziness.

For a late lunch, we went to Bod Lanmé, a restaurant on the beach. The restaurant is part of Hotel Bambou. Thankfully, the menu was both in French and English and the food and drinks were delicious. I liked that the menu suggested wine/drink pairings for food items. Maria, once again, was able to collect the menu by stuffing it in her bag. Merci, Maria!

Bod Lanmé, Plage du Anse Mitan
Trois Ilets, Martinique
Website

Bod Lanmé

After touring most of the island on Sunday, we stopped at a notable beach restaurant, Le Petibonum located in Le Carbet, before heading back to Fort-de-France. I wasn't able to collect the menu because it was written on a giant chalkboard. The place was lively, the people were great looking and the food was good. It had such a fun vibe, but the service was a little spotty. It would have been funny to see Maria trying to collect this menu, but I doubt that even if she had it wouldn't go through customs-haha! Would have made a great addition to my collection and story.

Le Petibonum, Plage du Coin, Le Carbet, Martinique Website

Lastly, I leave you with a few of my favorite pictures from the beautiful French Caribbean island of magnifique Martinique. I would come back to you in a heartbeat.

Au revoir!

El Peñascal

Earlier this month, Mark shot video for Trickle Up, a US based nonprofit that works with the poorest and most vulnerable populations (women, people with disabilities, refugees, indigenous people) and helps them achieve financial independence. They do this by providing seed capital for microenterprises as opposed to loans. They also provide ongoing support, training and help participants connect with savings and loan groups.

I interned at Trickle Up in 2004 and have continued to remain in touch with many past and current employees. It is through my work and connections, Mark has been shooting, editing and presenting the video at their annual fundraising gala in NYC. His work has taken him to some of the most poorest regions in Burkina Faso, India and just recently, Guatemala.

I was a lot worried about him traveling to Guatemala, especially since the outbreak of the Zika virus has been confirmed in the region, but thankfully, he returned fine.

While in Guatemala, Mark was able to collect a menu from El Peñascal, a restaurant located in Cobán. He snuck it in his jacket like a pro. When I Googled the restaurant, Trip Advisor had surprisingly good reviews and is the #3 restaurant in Cobán. El Peñascal means "rocky place" or "rocky hill", and Mark was saying that the region was very hilly and having to trek up the hills with all their equipment made it very challenging, especially in the heat, but they finished. Job well done!

The menu is in Spanish, obvi. The prices such as Q. 67.75, Q. 55.00 and Q. 95.00 are in Guatemalan Quetzal. Imagine if these were US prices? Sheesh! The conversion rates for the above mentioned are: US 8.84, US 7.18 and US 12.40, so it's actually inexpensive. If I was there I would probably get some kind of traditional dish like tamales, guacamole, and tortillas, but apparently, there really isn't a national dish according to the website Food by Country. The food is greatly influenced by the Mayan Empire, Spanish rule and the modern republic.

I'm also grateful because Mark brought back coffee! Coffee from Central and South America is the real deal, yo! The coffee he brought back is from the mountains of Guatemala and the brand is Dieseldorff Kaffee, which is widely known in the area and they offer tours. He also brought back a small bottle of cardamom, which he says I'm supposed to put it in the kaffee.  You can read about how this German kaffee brand came to be in Guatemala here.

El Peñascal, 5a avenida 2-61 zona 1, 5a Avenida 5

Cobán, Guatemala

Website

El Peñascal