WTFR WE? : Ooh La La Martinique!

Jeff had some concerns about our cutlass bearing not fitting as snugly as it should. If not addressed, this could lead to some bigger engine problems down the road. Martinique was the next island that had a Beneteau dealership, several marine parts stores as well as a haul out. Plus we had never been there. Decision made (see how easy that is?!!!) It was an overnight beat to Martinique from Bequia. We were heading Northeast almost directly into the winds and waves except for the first 12 coastal miles of the 93 mile trip. This will be the last island we have to beat into as Martinique is the most easterly elbow of the Caribbean island chain. Going forward we will be heading northwest! YES!!!!!

Land Ho! Diamond Rock on our port.

Looks a bit like Darth Vader... not intimidating at all;)

Unlike the other Caribbean islands we’ve been to, where the predominant language is English, French is the predominant language spoken in Martinique. Whereas, in France, English is a strong second language, that is not the case here. The English spoken here is as about as good as my French which is very basic, at best “un peu”. Needless to say, the effort to speak their language combined with lots of gesticulating and a big smile goes along way here.

We checked into customs and scheduled our cutlass bearing repair in Port de Plaisance, Marin Martinique. The check in process was electronic and took all of five minutes! Plus the customs fee was a total of $10 euros (approx $11 usd). Such a welcome change of pace. Merveilleux!

Our repair was scheduled for several days out so we took this opportunity to explore various locales within a day sail from Port de Plaisance harbor.

Trois Ilets

We found a quiet little anchorage near the village of Trois Ilets, the birthplace of Josephine, Napoleon Bonaparte's wife.

We walked through the village up to the birth home of Josephine.

On the way there we came across this curious sight. What is going on here? I think the poor lil' baby cow is asking the same question!!!....

Home of Josephine Tascher de La Pagerie

Port de France

We took a ferry across the bay from Trois Ilets to Port de France, the capital of Martinique. It is a pretty bustling and sophisticated town... hey it has a McDonald's (which, I admit, we bought coffee at)!

The town library holds some pretty rare books

There is so much I like about Martinique...

The Bakery...luscious custards and fresh out of the oven baguettes.

The sparkling white cemeteries overlooking the harbor

The free mooring balls

The good anchoring

The quiet at night even in a crowed harbor… No blasting music all night long.

No boat boys constantly soliciting

The very professional boatyard and workmanship where we had our cutlass bearing replaced. We were hauled out on time. When Jeff went to look for the marine tech he was already out the door along with his boss heading to our boat. SWEET!!! No island time here! “OUI OUI” !!!!!!

The diversity in land mass – from low hills to sheer cliffs leading to an active volcano

The clothing and hairstyles. I love the “laissez-faire” French style. The clothing is simple yet chic. The women’s hairstyles are carefree. Kinda’ like mine. I must have been French in another life…Je pense.

Saint Pierre - Locale of singular distinction on the Northwest side of Martinque

Saint Pierre was once the capital of Martinique with a thriving bustling seaport and known as the Paris of the Caribbean. In May of 1902 the volcano Morne or Mount Pelee erupted killing 30,000 inhabitants.Yes 30,000!

It has since been called the Pompeii of the western hemisphere.

To this day, the city of Saint Pierre stands as a testament to the devastation wreaked over one hundred and thirteen years ago. The capital moved to Port de France and there has been no renovation of substance since. Today it is little more than a shanty town built around the ruins that still stand amidst extremely lush vegetation.

Legend has it that the gentleman below was the only survivor of the volcano.

He survived because he was imprisoned at the time in the dungeon shown below.

See how thick the walls are!

While Mount Pelee has been dormant since the late 30’s, it is still considered an active volcano. There are no resorts here, no fancy hotels, no beautiful vacation homes.

I speculate that it would probably be like building in a flood zone, hard to get insurance… In the meantime, the volcanic lava must have been very nutrient rich because the vegetation on and around the volcano is nothing less than spectacular.

We walked to the The Depaz Rhum Plantation near St Pierre. Apparently the Depaz family estate and rum distillery was around since 1651. It was established by the islands first French governor. The estate was destroyed during the 1902 volcanic eruption. The story goes that nearly all of the Depaz family was killed. The only surviving member was a young son who returned to the estate 15 years late and rebuilt, planting blue sugar cane, the distillery's signature ingredient. How did he survicve? Don't know. Maybe he wasn't in the vicinty at the time. We thought the prisoner was the sole St Pierre survivor. Another mystery to pursue....