Martinique - French Pearl in the Caribbean | Free Documentary Nature

[Music] in the middle of the caribbean but still part of france taking a stroll along the boulevard and kiskis the volcanic island of martinique rumor has it that the most beautiful beaches of the caribbean are here and the most beautiful women [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] is an extremely wobbly thing maneuvering the boat requires a lot of acrobatic skill but then it's fast but capsizes easily as well now the wind comes from there so we need to slide up and now we are getting slower so we need to slide down again requires discipline team spirit and concentration a school for life that's why instructor max bonnar takes teenagers aboard who have problems at school or at home they are all newcomers over there they have to learn how to master the maneuvers correctly if not they will take a bath almost half of the crew and newcomers will they manage [Music] fort de france the capital everything is very french here [Music] martinique became a french colony in 1635 since 1946 the island has been an overseas departure mall part of the mother country and the european union the euro is its currency france in the middle of the caribbean with a pleasant 27 degrees celsius on average the water temperature never drops below 25 degrees frequently the most beautiful women of the island are visiting a certain part of the beach it's because of him better known as the chef in hot pants at least my butt is firm ghee is the ladies man on martinique i work at the beach where it's hot and in addition to my hair and my beautiful skin color it's these hot pants i discovered them a few years ago and since then i wear nothing else his restaurant in the north of the island is booked out almost every evening and the chef receives his biz the french welcome kisses at least four times per hour these are my favorites this one is for every day that one for sunday and that for saturday which is when very many ladies are here and the ladies are happy when i wear [Laughter] them many islanders consider ferdinand to be mr martinique he never ceases to amaze his clients for example when he puts splendid specimens like this one on his menu it's a marlin the 48 year old was born on martinique but lived in paris for a long time ten years ago he gave up his job as an aircraft mechanic to return to the island to become a chef since then he spent seven days a week in his restaurant 13 hours a day that's why work doesn't tire me we are relaxed from the moment of our birth even after work we still go out to party [Music] martinique is 70 kilometers long and 35 kilometers wide almost 400 000 people live here [Music] the island is located in the east of the caribbean and belongs to the lesser antilles from paris it can be reached via one of the longest domestic flights in the world a distance of almost seven thousand kilometers martinique's north is covered with dense jungle but even here france can be found [Music] sacre coeur of martinique was rebuilt with the famous church in paris as its model the caribbean islands bishop had it built in 1915 after having seen the [Music] original in the middle of the jungle andrei mangata recently started an experiment a french delicacy grows in 20 water basins there blue crayfish a very robust kind andre grows them without using medication with fresh mountain water and food pellets with organic certification this basin contains crayfish that are ready for sale there are only very few organic crayfish farms in the world because it's a lot of work aren't they beautiful clean nice shape they will be very tasty that's what people want i'm really happy with the result andre learned how to breed crayfish all by himself i used to be a but teacher always wanted to become a farmer like my parents as a child i was already interested in crayfish but to afford all this i needed to work for a while if you want to build something you need money the y'all is prepared for a very special tour over to elite madame an offshore island with a magical beach the newcomers haven't done such a long tour before for all of them sailing the yawl is a big opportunity today max bonner wants to introduce a new pupil to the group i have been called by a teacher i am about to visit leila she is supposed to have some problems [Music] no self-confidence lack of concentration no motivation the usual with my project you can give your best and i am sure that you will make progress and quickly be part of the group i would be glad if you could join us for a tour in half an hour and please be on time okay sure breakfast on martinique we have a lot of young people here who don't get anything to eat at home therefore i always bring food so they get something decent welcome to our team here she is supposed to learn about team spirit and discipline i am amongst young people here i'll find my place i hope it will be good [Music] a few minutes before nine much too late we said eight o'clock now it's ten before nine you delay the departure already the preparation of the only works if they all do their best of course scooping the water is the newcomers task the tour to the elect madame takes one hour layla has to work a heavy rudder with three others it's a real adventure for them [Music] and they failed to create a counterbalance that's why they capsized the boat needs to be brought up again that's important and part of the experience that's how you learn now we need to start from the beginning again it's quite difficult [Music] the most beautiful season on martinique is during the european winter there is hardly any rainfall from december to april and temperatures are between 25 and 30 degrees [Music] here in the middle of the caribbean they have another french passion fashion creta at the beach designed and tailored on martinique it feels wonderful nicole vilor has created clothing out of coconut bark and leaves for two years she is just preparing her latest creations and wants to photograph them at the beach later on i will wash it in sea water now it's the best and it's great for the environment as well it looks all better now in the meantime she sells her collections as far as europe there is even a regular customer in heidelberg the bark needs to dry now those are the leaves and this is coconut fiber a hat that can be worn at festive events the women on the island create special hairdos for it with pigtails and it looks really sophisticated in combination with those hats the first piece of the new collection is almost finished it has always been a dream of mine to do a fashion show at the beach especially because all materials come from there the beach is my world okay hello the rehearsal for the catwalk takes place in nicole's kitchen [Music] nicole's husband is the one-man jury that doesn't work no shall i smile no you need to let go yes that's how it works i still need to work a bit with each of the girls some walk quite good already with a good posture a little training and it will be fine sifu the crayfish farm is in the islands north where the water is exceptionally pure [Music] the big question now for andre mangatal is if his new breed has succeeded there is one person who can judge this best the celebrity chef in hot pants gee ferdinand [Applause] and he has to defend his reputation as a famous chef [Applause] great specimens what beautiful tales they [Applause] they are just the right size for the restaurant they can only be great as martinique is the best place in the world [Applause] the crayfish farmer is also invited to the test dinner gee ferdinand's cuisine is creole caribbean of course with a french influence the meat has just the right texture i will only prepare the tail and use the head for the sauce it's a great produce i can see that's already he serves the crayfish almost uncooked adding pimento leaves this adds a very special aroma hardly anyone knows it on the mainland and the very spicy martinique chilies almost all ingredients are from here martinique is a volcanic island and the montpellier volcano almost sealed the island's fate 110 years ago sao pierre was the capital back then [Music] the town was almost completely buried by the volcano only ruins are left of the former paris of the caribbean the only survivor was saved by a bar fight the evening before he spent the night in this prison and survived badly injured protected by the heavy walls the island madame [Music] destination of the y'all tour [Music] [Applause] the second attempt but there is another interruption woman [Music] overboard come on i'll hold you it's not only from mcdonald's [Music] i am afraid to make a mistake everybody makes mistakes you know i'm not so much of a teacher but more of an animator leila the new girl is now supposed to get out on the poles delivering balance one false move and the boat may capsize again [Music] it's quite difficult i have never done something like this before but it's good i like it in a team effort they reach madame and their reward is spending the afternoon at this beautiful beach problems at school or at home are far far away here folks good job i'm quite exhausted now there was a lot of wind today but everything worked out [Applause] well some were missing today but that's often the case they rather spend their time in town i am proud of them martinique is the wealthiest of the caribbean islands only five percent of its inhabitants are of european origin 95 have african or indian roots almost all of them are descendants of [Music] slaves once in a while there are even traditional slave celebrations on martinique with dancing and drums [Music] was the slave's name for the silent protest against their oppressors officially they weren't allowed to celebrate anything [Music] is one of the best drummers on the [Music] [Music] island [Music] in the evening there is supposed to be a secret ritual the way it was done centuries ago already and of course jean-charles is the drummer [Music] it doesn't sound good at all i need to go to monsieur le park there is something wrong with the drum head that's not good at all has been building drums from old rum casts for five generations uh [Laughter] there are only four families left on martinique who know how to build an original ballet drum my secret is that i know who this drum is for what kind of character he is so i build a totally different drum for jean-charles than for any other client i always go to monsieur there are other drum builders around in the area but it's like with the wine there is good wine and there is bad wine with this drum the resonance down here is very important in the old days when a slave was caught with a drum he got punished drum music was considered devil's work so the slaves took former rum casks that were meant to be discarded as firewood and rebuilt them the song's lyrics are almost always about freedom and resistance against slavery [Applause] [Music] it feels as if i had a new car at sedan beach everything is prepared for the fashion shooting six martinique beauties present couture from coconut bark and palm leaves nicole your spent up to two months with the creation of each dress yes this is basically my family [Music] she's planning to use the photos of the beach shooting for also promoting her fashion in paris but it's not just about successfully exporting something exotic it's about my feelings i give everything when i create such products this is me it's pure joy [Applause] there's nature the girls they are happy what else do you need isn't life beautiful el [Laughter] yes in the tropics the weather often changes by the minute a thunderstorm is moving over martinique the forecast predicts 150 liters of rain per square meter andre magatal's crayfish are in danger there's a weather warning orange which is one step above red which means rain all over the island the river will overflow and a stand full of leaves and debris this could clog the water supply for my basins and my crayfish could die the farm is located in a valley i always tell my fellow workers if you hear a noise a long rumbling noise leave everything be and flee to the mountain indeed his crayfish are already running dry there's no water left at all the water supply must be clogged somewhere in the mountains [Music] it's all clogged here now i must get it out by hand and i need to hurry so that the water can flow into the canal again working under time pressure right beside the torrential river after 10 minutes the canal is open again settlers who emigrated from portugal to brazil and were evicted from there built this canal system they then settled in french martinique they were great engineers having built such a complex canal system back in the day everything's safe again now you need to be prepared each and every day [Music] remains of a plantation from the days of slavery [Music] in the 18th century 60 000 africans worked on the island in cane sugar plantations and rum distilleries for the riches of their owners josephine napoleon's wife also was a plantation owner on martinique and a supporter of slavery [Music] her statue was decapitated right after its erection late revenge of the slaves descendants [Music] he gets the pig from his neighbor out of his jada resistance the garden of resistance in the old days many slaves had such secret gardens for self-supply still today almost everyone grows his own fruit and vegetables and even some pigs we have everything here coconuts bananas roots nature all around this already gave our ancestors a feeling of okay pork is only eaten on special occasions for martinique's inhabitants it is still the traditional festive food it's tradition for everyone to have his own pig we will make it black pudding of course after a french recipe another very french thing's been happening on the eastern coast for three years in these tents in the middle of the jungle [Music] grows button mushrooms the only ones in the whole caribbean in the beginning we had our difficulties nobody had any experience with mushrooms on martinique the people were even afraid afraid of what they didn't know jackie's mushrooms even bear the french organic certificate mostly mushrooms are grown on a culture medium from chemical fertilizers and poultry dung jackie's secrets are the scraps from sugarcane that remain after sugar production as he discovered they are the perfect culture ground for his mushrooms he immediately patented the process i have done so many things in my life so far i have been a teacher for 11 years and worked in a sugar factory for 14 years and was the manager of a distillery for 18 years this is my fourth profession now now the pensioner manages the mushroom farm together with his son the sugarcane scraps are boiled to get rid of microbes and seeds martinique is perfect for growing mushrooms we have natural warmth humidity and those sugarcane scraps our mushrooms are artisan mushrooms not industrial ones and that's how it shall be a production with a lot of love lime is added to the cooked sugar cane and finally the mushroom spores in other farms in france the cultures need to be watered and heated extensively here a simple tent construction is enough and sugarcane in a rubbish bag first people said this will never work but i always say if you want to do something and are passionate about it you will manage you can do it if you want it if you don't you won't [Music] celebrity chef gui ferdinand will serve fire fish this evening a fish that is considered a pest in the caribbean nowadays you can die if you're stung by it but it's very very tasty of course today ghee was the host of the most beautiful women of the island again okay the pants are my secret the hot pants she was really beautiful wasn't she martinique has many beautiful things to offer it must be the hot pants it cannot be my body alone [Laughter] [Music] crayfish are ready now for a very special guest [Music] i think andre has really done good work here let's eat [Music] and here are your crawfish [Music] i feel like a father who has disposed of his daughter in a very good marriage i am very proud fantastic before his show with his freshly tuned [Applause] drum [Music] only initiates know the location and the time [Music] [Music] together they evoke their ancestors resistance against slavery [Music] [Music] luckily the drum is in tune again as only the drum can make the connection between the singers and the gods [Music] resistance is simply the best and then there is the feast with sausages and pork meat a la francaise of course here on martinique the beautiful patch of france in the middle of the caribbean [Music] foreign bye

Channel: Free Documentary - Nature

Views: 411,928

Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), nature documentary, Free Documentary Nature, Martinique, french overseas departments, French Caribbean, Caribbean, Beach, Sand, Palm Trees, Island Paradise, Pearl in the Caribbean, Pirates, pirates of the caribbean, Travel to Martinique, Martinique Vacation, holiday in the caribbean, Rum, Vacation, caribbean vacation, Paradise

Id: MLAso2Up3bs

Length: 43min 16sec (2596 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 02 2020