Martinique 8: Iguanas

On Wednesday, we packed up and drove up the unreasonably steep driveway of our airbnb to head south. Our first destination was just outside the town of Le Robert, where we rented a two-person kayak from a tall, lanky young guy with glasses who spoke slowly, calmly, and sweetly, repeating key points to make sure we didn't get lost at sea. We both agreed that we wanted him in our lives to guide us through stressful moments.

We pushed out into the bay against a headwind, with occasional cloudy patches offering a break from the sun. There were big starfish in the shallow waters, a mangrove forest on our left, and Magnificent Frigatebirds overhead. After about an hour of hard paddling, we arrived at Îlet Chancel, which is home to a colony of iguanas. The native species (Lesser Antillean iguana) is rare, partially due to interbreeding with a non-native species. But they seemed pretty content, lounging in the trees by the water while us tourists took their photos from a respectful distance. One startled us by running along the ground a few feet ahead of where we were walking, then stopped in the middle of the path to bob its head a few times before running up a nearby strangler fig tree.

We got back in our kayaks and continued along the shore to a pair of small beaches only a few hundred meters apart, facing each other on two separate islands. One side was the party beach, with a handful of tour boats anchored offshore, dozens of swimmers next to each one, and loud music. On the other side, a family was quietly picnicking in the shade. It was a tough choice.

We had a snack before wading out into the warm, tropical-blue water and floating around a bit. Then we got back into our kayak and headed back, with the wind and waves making this direction easier than on the way out. After returning the boat, we were offered a complimentary planteur, the island's favourite mixed drink, made with rum and fruit juices.

Lunch was tasty poke bowls from a food truck in town. The drive south was slowed down by packs of cyclists and another grocery stop, but we made it to our airbnb, a lovely open little house up on the hill. Our hosts used to use it as a vacation home, and they gave us an extremely in-depth tour before promising us that they'd see us before we left and ask to see all our photos.