Forgive the nerdiness of this post, but I'm a pretty big Google advocate and thought this was exciting.  Last night they announced "SearchWiki", a new feature that allows you to edit your search results when logged into your Google account.   If you like a result, you can set it so it shows up first every time.  If you don't like a result, you can remove it permanently.  The new function also allows you to leave comments on results that everyone will be able to see.   As an SEO, it's hard to tell what the impact will be, but I think this could possibly cause some headaches.  As a user, I think it's a good thing.  What it should do is force those publishing on the web to try even harder to make their content valuable.  Spammy sites will suddenly lose a lot of their punch because people will remove them from their results or warn others not to visit.

Of course I expect that you'll all give me positive feedback when leaving comments.  Also noticed that I'm showing up in Google Suggest.  Small stuff, I know.

One last post about my recent trip to Martinique - a quick video tour of the island.

For more information on Martinique, visit France Guide.

A short recap of the end of week long vacation to Martinique, as well as some photos:

The island, Club Med, and the trip as a whole far exceeded my expectations.   I know my Dad enjoyed it as well.  Martinique is a beautiful and unique island, and I think that there's something for everyone who'd ever want to visit. 

That being said, I was never an "island" kind of person.  The sort of places that usually attract me are cities with a rich history and culture, or the "outdoors" type of destinations - mountains, hiking trials, national parks, and so on.  The idea of sitting around and doing nothing on an island for a week never really appealed to me that much.

But my assumption about whether or not I would enjoy a week at one of these "all inclusive" island resorts turned out to be wrong.  Sure, there was plenty of time to relax and "do nothing", but a trip to Martinique can offer much more than that.  You can explore the rain forest, hike to the peak of Mount Pelée visit the rum distilleries and museums, and get a feel for daily life the island by going into the cities and villages and seeing the different crops that help support the island's economic health.

As for Club Med Buccaneers Creek - if you're ever going to visit Martinique, it's an ideal place to stay.  All the meals and drinks where included and unlimited, with snacks in between.  The resort offered free snorkeling, kayaking, water skiing, tennis, and other sports into the package.  There was a gym, a spa (which cost extra), and free nightly entertainment.  The staff there go out of there way to keep you socializing with the other people staying there.  Of course this was a bit difficult for me being one of the few people there who couldn't speak French, but at least I had the staff to talk to.  The crowd was a bit older than I was, and mostly couples.  It wasn't until the last night that I met a single girl who was age.  The beach was the nicest one I had ever been on, and from what I've heard it was one of the nicest beaches on the island.  The rooms were nice, although a bit warm.  Overall, I'd give Buccaneers Creek Club Med an 8 out of 10.  Had they offered internet in the rooms and better transportation to and from the airport, it would have definitely been a ten.

The trip back home was long, but not bad.  We had another long layover in Puerto Rico which just gave another excuse to explore San Juan.  You'll find a few photos of that towards the bottom of this post.

A few weeks later, I think I may want to visit a second time to dig a little deeper into what the island has to offer.  But with so many other places to see, only time will tell if that ever happens.  One thing I found to be unfortunate was that most of the visitors staying at Club Med knew very little about the island they were on.  I bet that many of them never even stepped foot off the resort.  I could go on a rant about this, but I'll save that for another day.

Our tour around the island in a rental car gave us a good glimpse of the volcano and the freedom to explore areas we wouldn't have been able to visit otherwise.  But we thought a second round would be worthwhile, so we went along on a guided jeep tour with other people who were staying at Club Med.

There was a caravan of 4 jeeps, each with its own tour guide.  Our tour guide (who reminded me a bit of Morgan Freeman), was the only one out of the group who could speak English, so we had two other non-French speaking visitors ride with us.

The tour initially took us through flooded roads and banana fields, where we stopped for a bit and got a lesson on how the crops are managed and how important it is to the economy of Martinique.

We gradually took a turn towards the north, where we once again found ourselves driving through a rain forest.  But this time we took a different route, allowing us to see few places that we hadn't before. 

We stopped for lunch at a traditional creole restaurant somewhere in the middle of the island.  It turned into an international talk about the US election - with Germans, French, and French Canadians all asking us questions. We sampled the rum and tried some local food - which was all in all not that bad, but definitely not my favorite.

As we left the restaurant the clouds lifted from the top of Mount Pelée, giving us a rare glimpse at the peak of the volcano.  We stopped for a short break at Morne-Rouge for an opportunity to snap photos, the same place we had visited a day earlier, only this time we could see more than a few feet in front of our faces.

We made a short stop at the Saint James Distillery & Rum Museum before making our way south down along the Atlantic Coast.  I was half asleep at this point, (having stayed out pretty late at the bar the night before), so I was eager to make it back to the club to relax.

Lounging around at Club Med has it's perks - unlimited food during your meals, snacks available in between, beautiful beaches, a swimming pool, water sports... it's all very relaxing. 

But it's a bit like being in a bubble.  Just like anywhere one might visit, you have to leave the resort to get a feel for what a place is really like.  So to break away from the routine of simple relaxation, we picked up a rental car for a drive to the north of the island to Mount Pelée.

Mount Pelée is a dormant volcano that has an elevation of about 4,583 feet, making it the highest point on the island.  What really makes this volcano interesting is that it was the source of the worst volcanic eruption of the 20th century.  In May of 1902, after several days of increasing activity, the volcano erupted killing about 30,000 people, most of whom resided in the town of St. Pierre.  Only two people in the direct path of the volcano survived, one of which was a prisoner in a poorly ventilated dungeon-like cell.

We stuck to the coast on our way up north, traveling through Marin,  Fort-de-France, and St. Pierre before we took our turn inland towards the mountains.  In the pic above you can see me standing on one of the black sand beaches just to the south of St. Pierre.

Quickly after the turn inland, the landscape changed from sunny fields, beaches and palm trees to a thick, wet rain forest.  To get to Mount Pelée we had to drive through a village called le Mourne-Rouge to a steep, narrow road  that takes you up the mountain side to the beginning of the hiking trail.  We hadn't exactly planned on taking the hike to the top, and it was rainy, so we paused for lunch at a tiny restaurant that was at the end of the road while debating whether or not to give it a try (we were advised not to without a guide).

While we were eating lunch there was this ratty looking dog wandering around the parking lot that kept following us around looking for attention.  He didn't look like he was very well taken care of at all.   We felt bad for poor guy but there wasn't much we could do.

By the time we had finished our lunch, the clouds had cleared a bit and we decided to try hiking up towards the top.  Unfortunately we only got about a half hour in before the thick clouds returned and we decided we should go back.  But it was still a great experience, and something I'd definitely do again.

Late Tuesday my Dad and I decided to take a hike to the nearby village of Sainte Anne.  There wasn't much too it aside from a few bars, cafe's, souvenir shops, and a beach, but the buildings and views made the trek well worth it.

This was a cemetary along the coast.  It overlooks the bay our resort is on, and if you walked towards the ledge you could see exactly where we're staying.  You see a lot of these around the island.  The graves are very ornate and are usually either in a pure white tile or a light blue.

My Dad in Sainte Anne.  Behind him you can see Club Med about to receive a downpour.

A typical building in Martinique.  Below you'll see the bull that greets visitors near the entrance to the resort.

Late Sunday night we finally arrived in Martinique's capital, Fort de France.  Club Med had arranged for a taxi to drive us to the resort, which was about 45 kilometers to the south in Sainte Anne.  Not a bad ride, but the price-tag was a bit of a shock - 75 Euros.  Convert that to American dollars, and you'll  see it's quite a bit.

Club Med has turned out to be quite impressive.  The beach here is amazing - everything you'd imagine from an island in the Caribbean.  The food and drinks fantastic, and readily available.  If you're looking to relax, this is the place to do it.

If you know me well, you'll know that sitting around being lazy is a hard thing for me to do.   And it's been an adjustment.  But I'm beginning to think I could get used to this. 

A few early thoughts:

• I'm the whitest person on the island
• I really wish I spoke French
• I'm probably the only person to ever visit Martinique with a laptop
• If you come here, don't arrive on a Sunday.  Transportation is rough.
• I should have gotten a tan before I arrived.  Sunburn sucks.

More to come.  Below is a pic of a thunderstorm forming to the north from the beach here at Club Med.

Remember that trip I won earlier this year?   Round trip airfare for two and reservations an all-inclusive resort on the French Caribbean island of Martinique.  Well I finally went, and I brought my Dad along. 

It's not every day you win a trip, so at first I was a bit skeptical.  In fact, I remained skeptical up until I received the plane tickets and hotel reservations in the mail.  But it turned out to be legit, and now I'm sitting on a deck surrounded by palm trees, sun-burnt from head to toe.

The trip from Hartford to Martinique was a long one. Out flight left the airport at 730 in the morning and landed in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  We had about 7 hours to kill before our transfer left the airport so we decided to take a taxi into old San Juan, where we checked out a few shops and the Fort San Felipe del Morro, walked around, and visited some shops.

Then it was back to the airport where we boarded our rickety two-propeller flight bound for Martinique.    I'll post more later as I'm tight on time at the moment, but for now here's a few pics from San Juan.

It's quite possible that my yearbook photo would have looked like one of these if I had grown up during a different decade.  If you care to try for yourself, click here.

Two weeks ago I asked for some tips on how to cope with the commute to work.  I received some really great advice, some of which I decided I'd try.  Here's what worked and what didn't:

• Avoid highways; take local roads - I took a look at Google Maps and decided I'd take the only alternate route I could.   I love it.   About half of the route is hilly and tree covered with very little traffic and only a few stops.  Once I approach the city things get a bit worse, but even that stretch of the new route is better than the old.  I now pass a post office, a park, two Dunkin Donuts, several delis & cafes, as well as my bank - none of which I passed on my old route.   It's a slightly longer distance but without all the traffic it takes just as long to get to work.  Great choice... and probably the best advice given to me.
• Listen to podcasts or audiobooks - This might be good advice for some, but not for me.  I already suffer from information overload.  I have 4 email accounts linked up to my iPhone, RSS feeds to read on Google Reader, Twitter, 2 phone lines.. I need my driving time to be a time to turn off my brain and relax.
• Have an alternate route in case of traffic - Great advice.  Fortunately I know the roads in my area very well, so I always know a few quick detours in case of severe traffic.
• Listen to Classical Music - I tried it, and it can work, but not always.  Classical music is something I that I do enjoy, but have to be in the mood for it.   I find that listening to music I enjoy is relaxing no matter what the genre.
• Jelly Bellies - Delicious.
• Ride the Bus - This is the one tip I haven't tried yet, but will.  I think taking the bus one or two days a week could be interesting.
• Leave earlier - I've begun waking up an hour earlier, around 630 AM.  This leaves me time to cook breakfast, go for a walk or a run, bike, pay bills, do some reading or even go out for coffee if I want to.  With the extra time I've allowed myself I've found that I'm usually able to leave for work about ten minutes earlier every day.. making run-ins with traffic less of a hassle. 

Overall, with all the minor changes I've made I'm feeling much better about my drive to and from work.  It's still not perfect, but a huge improvement.  If you have any other great advice about improving the commute, please share.