On Thursday morning, I’m heading to the Jardin des Saveurs et des Épices. It’s about 40 kilometers to the garden, and I’m trying to get there quickly so I’ll be on time for the guided tour.
The tour has just started, so I join in along the way. This garden is an agroforestry project, with plantations in the middle of the forest designed to preserve the ecosystem’s balance.
The guide introduces a wide variety of plants along two or three paths around the shop. She mixes Creole into her explanations : “si zot bon, nous avance” [1]
Useful explanations for introducing plant species I wasn’t familiar with, though the explanation about vanilla wasn’t very helpful since I’d already received more detailed information during the tour of the vanilla plantation.
What I enjoyed most was the display of the turmeric root, the mother plant, and the “fingers” sprouting from that central root. Very informative for a novice like me 🙂
The shop offers tiny samples, and they’re a bit pricey, so I’ll pass...

Saturday morning, another stroll through the Saint-Pierre market, where this time I’ll stock up on souvenirs.