Day 6: Selfies by the Bay

Today started off gray and rainy, putting a potential damper on my plan to view a very outdoor fort, but luckily it cleared up! So I headed out to Fort Fleur d'Epee- a remnant from the colonial era and France and Britain's legendary rivalry.  The site was featured in the region's "la Route de l'Esclavage" (the route of slavery).  This collection of sites and ruines is designed to highlight the region's heritage, which is in many cases inexplicably linked to slavery.  I hope to contact some of the people who made this happen, as their motives and what they chose to include could be very interesting for my project.

The fort offered beautiful views of the bay:

And the perfect opportunity to take my first selfie:

Nothing says "American tourist" like running shoes and selfies

But the link to "Route de l'Esclavage" was not evident: the limited information available at the site only briefly mentioned the role of slaves in holding the fort against the British.  Another nearby fort- Fort de l'Union- is still in ruins.  Why hasn't this fort been restored? Especially considering that Fort Louis Delgres (another fort from the era) is a major tourist attraction.  I'm planning to head over to Fort Delgres on Saturday-- I will let you know what I find :)

Afterwards, I went over to the Musee de Costumes et de Traditions (Museum of Costumes/ Dress and Traditions) in nearby Gosier.  I really enjoyed this museum because it was not an official, departmental museum.  Instead, a couple who made their living as a cobbler and a dressmaker decided to share their knowledge of clothing customs and their obvious love of the island through this attraction.  The owner highlighted how clothing can reveal social status and social realities-- very interesting!  I was not expecting to find such an interesting example of "local culture" in a museum--- I'd assumed museums would be institutionalized, kind of like our Smithsonian system in DC. 

Musee de Costumes et de Tradition au Gosier

Tomorrow's day will most likely be less exciting: I am hoping to check out old textbooks as a way to investigate France's singular cultural vision for its citizens and later compare this to what I find in music, literature, even museums! I am excited even if you are not:) I'll be sure to let you know what I find!