Friday 14 January 2011

Marie-Galante: the Caribbean sugar cane island...


There are several nicknames for the small Caribbean island between Guadeloupe and Dominique called Marie-Galante. Some people call it the island of the 100 windmills (" l'île aux cent moulins "), from which only 77 are left nowadays here. Others refer to it as "la Galette" (a round and flat French cake), having in mind its round shape of 15 km diameter.
The name Marie-Galante was given to it from Christophe Columbus in 1493, it was the name of his ship. This green piece of nature is known not only for having the best beaches of Guadeloupe-archipelago but also (on top of that) also for having the best rum-distilleries in the area. The huge fields of sugar cane are used for the production of sugar, rum and the famous local product called "sirop de batterie", a very thick concentrated extract of sugar cane juice.
 
One of the most common landscapes while driving around the island is the one below: cows and bulls with wide sugar cane fields behind or next to them. The island exports 13 tonnes sugar every year for further treating and it uses 1 tonne..












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