Martinique: By land and sea Mar 21-31

Sailboat | Voyages | Log

Our base of Operations was St. Anne Rocher du Diamant - Diamond Rock As we sailed past it I climbed up on the back of the boat to get this photo From the road on Martinique The tiny sailboat puts the size into perspective From our boat anchored in St. Anne On the beach at Anse Arlet Black woman demonstrating push-up to white man > Colombo Cabri at Chez Gaby's We're getting more than a little tired of Creole food Looks like knuckles to me A high risk area near the beach Watch out for falling coconuts Chute is also the word used for water fall This is obviously a trap of some kind But for what? Ground crabs! It is sitting over a hole in the ground Another Creole delicacy We liked Martinique so much that we decided to stop heading south and spend a week here. We will then take our time heading back up to St. Martin, where Karen has a flight scheduled home on April 23rd. We will take a slightly different route home stopping in Antigua and Barbuda for a week or so. Our itinerary in Martinique went something like the following: 21 Sail from Dominica to St. Pierre, Martinique 22 St. Pierre exploring 23 Sail/Motor to Grand Anse d'Arlet 24 Sail/Motor to St. Anne 25 St. Anne, rent car, St. Francois and Rhum factory 26 St. Anne, Anse d'Arlet by land and Salines Beach 27 St. Anne, Kayak Ilets des Fregate 28 St. Anne, Pottery factory and Josephine's home 29 St. Anne, Mountain drive, Village St. Esprit, Trois Ilet, Fort de France 30 St. Anne, return car, laundry, plan trip home, work on web page 31 St. Anne, Relax, dinner with Dick and Liz 1 Sail/Motor to St. Pierre Sunday, 26 March 2006 It’s Sunday in Martinique and we’re off to the beach. As it turns out so is every other tourist and resident of Madinina, the Island of Flowers. Of course, it is unusual to get off a boat, then into a boat to motor to shore, to get in a car, to drive to a beach. But the beach was only a small part of today’s agenda. We wanted to see other fishing villages and anchorages (les mouillages) along the way. This is such a beautiful island, and its nickname, Island of Flowers, is very appropriate. The abundance of bougainvillea, lilies, banana trees, coconut trees, and other exotic palms gives the impression that Martinique is one large botanical garden. We slept in this morning, so our first stop was for lunch at Grand Anse d’Arlet on the west coast, the sunset side of the island as opposed to the east or sunrise side of the island. On our way sailing around the island, after spending two nights in St. Pierre, we spent a night anchored in Anse d’Arlet, but we did not go ashore. Sometimes it is just two much work to do battle with the dinghy. So today, we were curious to see how it looked from the land side, which is always different from the sea side. It was tres charmant (very charming), a beautiful beach lined with seaside restaurants. Tres Charmant is our little sarcastic phrase for every cute village, restaurant, or touristy sight we see. Based on a recommendation in our cruising guide, we wanted to try the local Creole restaurant, Chez Gaby’s. I am now becoming an expert on Colombo style cooking. After my first experiment with Colombo in Guadeloupe, I have had Colombo poulet (chicken) three times and grown accustomed to its green color and curry flavor. It is by far the most pervasive item on the menu. Today, though, it was time to explore deeper into the mysteries of Colombo and Creole cusine. Today it was time to try Colombo cabri (goat). I must say, that after acquiring a taste for Colombo poulet, I was disappointed with my cabri. I thought it might be similar to lamb, but it was a taste all its own. Actually the meat flavor was fine; there just wasn’t much of it. It was more like goat knuckles, all bone and no meat. It was as if someone took the skinny goat legs, ran them back and forth through a table saw, and boiled the pieces in a green Colombo stew. Oh well, it was worth a try. I almost forgot; our first stop was not Anse d’Arlet, but Rocher du Diamant, Diamond Rock. Actually, you can’t stop at Diamond Rock, but you can stop at a scenic overlook and view the rock a half mile off shore. Next to Mount Pelee, it is the most distinctive geologic feature on the island. We sailed between Diamant and the coast as we rounded the south west corner of Martinique on our way to St. Anne. It is a stunning piece of nature, as you will see when I post the photos on the Internet. By mid afternoon, we worked our way to the Plage des Salines (Salt Beach). We had expected the crowds to be heading home by 3:00 PM, but not on this day. It was Sunday; this was Plage des Salines, the king of beaches; and everyone was squeezing this day like a ripe orange. Reluctantly I joined Karen in locating a place to park our towels and go for a swim. The truth is, I am not crazy about beaches: too many people, too much sand, too much mess. I would rather swim off the back of the boat and read a book in the cockpit. I enjoy the swimming, but the mess afterwards distresses me, or should I say stresses me. All in all, it was another wonderful day in paradise. We bought fresh pineapple and some fish pastries (yes, fish pastries) to take back to the boat for dinner. A light meal was in order after my goat knuckles for lunch. We love returning to our nest on the water. Full Circle is our sanctuary. We have made a breakthrough in water conservation: washing dishes in sea water. We can use as much of it as we want, change it as often as we want, and never run out. I don’t know why I didn’t start doing this sooner. This will assuredly extend our supply of fresh water by several days, since next to bathing, washing dishes is the largest use of fresh water. Going into marinas to refill our water tanks is a hassle to be avoided. Diamond Rock - Rocher du Diamant This massive rock, which protrudes like roman nose on a face, is a testament to the determination of the British. At one point in their many wars with France, they occupied this rock with 200 troupes and mounted a cannon on the top of the rock. For a short time they even christened it a ship to give it special status. It is one of the most distinctive geographic features of Martinique. Tomorrow we are renting kayaks and paddling around several reef islands on the sunrise side of the island. We hope to bath in the same spot used by Josephine, the wife of Napoleon Previous | Next