Once we reached the town of Sainte-Marie, the landscape began to change..white sandbeaches and round and grassy Mornes (hills) yielding to a more rugged coastline and increasingly tropical vegetation. Ths area, by the way, was a very prosperous one in the 18th and 19th century thanks to rum and sugar plantations. With the end of slavery, this industry slowed down considerably and East Indians were imported (as cheap labor, with very poor working conditions) to these regions. As a consequence, the population of northern towns such as Basse-Pointe and Macouba has a significant percentage of people with East Indian descent. Here is a glimpse of the most renowned rum distilleries of Martinique (Rhum JM) owning its fame to its Vieux Rhum.

En arrivant a Sainte-Marie, les paysages commencent a changer…la « gentille » nature du sud cede sa place a des pointes escarpees, des plages de sable noir, et un vegetation de plus en plus tropicale. Les plantations de rhum et les usines de fabrication du sucre ont ete a l’origine de l’essor de la Martinique..La distillerie JM est une des plus renommee de l'ile, ce renom etant du en grande partie a son Rhum Vieux...