We sailed into St. Pierre, Martinique, at 1500, 6-9-09 and all the boats we have been running with off and on since St. Martin are here. S/V Anthem, S/V Inspiration Lady, S/V Beach House, S/V Night Hawk, S/V Evergreen and M/V Spectrum. The gang’s all here.
Martinique locally named Madenina – Island of Flowers. It was populated some 2,000 years ago like many of the other islands, by Arawak Indians, a peaceful people exterminated about 1,000 years later by the warlike and expansionist Caribs. In 1802, Josepohine de Beauharnais (born in Trois-Ilets), wife of Napaleon Bonaparte, became the French empress. On May 8th, 1902 the eruption of Mount Pelee completely destroyed the town of Saint Pierre, also known as the Little Paris of the West Indies. All of it’s 30,000 inhabitants perished, with the exception of a single prison inmate who was in his stone cell at the time of the eruption. Afterwords Fort de France became the capital of the island. Martinique has some 400,000 inhabitants today, with French the official language and Creole, spoken by almost everyone. Catholicism is the dominant religion and the largest Cathedral, Saint-Louis is in Fort de France. The currency here is Euros, the same as France.
Dungue Fever, a viral disease, transmitted by Aedes Aegypti, a domestic, day-biting mosquito may be caught while you are here as we have found that to be true in most of the Caribbean Islands. Also they have the dreaded Manchineel trees with all parts of this tree dangerous. The fruit resembling small apples, the leaves, the bark, the sap, everything is toxic and can cause severe burns. In Martinique like some of the other islands they are recognizable by a red stripe painted on the trunk. I don’t know if this is true in the interior of the islands but you see this where ever tourists are likely to be.
There are 10 active rum distilleries on Martinique but we didn’t tour any this trip. St. Pierre had the first Catholic church on the island but it was destroyed in the 1902 volcano and has since been rebuilt.
The next day we decided to do some sight seeing and also clear into customs and since this is a French island there is no custom or immigration charges which was O.K. with us.
The interesting places we were going to visit were close by. There are numerous blackened ruins throughout St. Pierre, some of which are little more than foundations, while others are partially intact. One of St. Pierre’s most impressive ruins is that of the old 18th century theater, which once seated 800 and hosted theater troupes from mainland France. On the northeast side of the theater you can go into the tiny, thick walled jail cell that housed Cyparis, one of the towns only survivors from the volcano.. Another area rich in ruins is the Quartier de Figuier directly below the volcano museum. We also visited a small but very interesting museum founded in 1932 and gives a glimpse of the devastating 1902 eruption of Mount Pilee. It hosts items plucked from the rubble and historic photos of the town before and after the volcano. Two sets of steps, one north of the theater and the other south of the museum and these connect Rue Victor Hugo with the bay front road Rue Bouille.
We didn’t do any diving on this island but we were told the diving is great in the deep harbor where many ships sank in the 1902 eruption. On our return trip back to this island we want to drive up to the summit where you can with a mile and a half of it and there is also an observatory there.
We left St. Pierre two days later and headed for Le Marin which is on the south coast of Martinique. S/V Evergreen the boat we had been traveling with couldn’t get their engine started and had to be towed to Le Marin by a 58′ Krogen motor vessel named Specta. When we arrived at the Cul-De-Sac Du Marin anchorage approximately 7 1/2 hours later and we found it to be a sheltered bay with a marina and boating infrastructure. We never saw so many sailboats in one place in our life.
The next day we decided to go into town and look around and see if we could find a place to eat and do internet. On the way to town we passed a McDonalds and decided to see what they had to offer. We were shell shocked at the prices and decided we didn’t want to buy the place just eat there, so we left and continued down the road. Over by the marina we found a local resturant where we were able to purchase two hamburgers, fries and cokes for around $11.50 US. We thought we might just be able to afford this and sat out on the open patio over looking the bay and had a nice lunch. After satisfying our stomachs we went to the marina and found a place to have a beer ($9 US, it was definitely getting more expensive), and do free internet. You got free internet if you buy something to eat or drink. The only power they used there was 220 watts so we worked only a short time until our battery gave out. After we got back to the boat we pulled the anchor and moved closer to the marina with the hopes we could pick up their free WiFi – but no such luck. That night we charged the computer so we could go back the next day and do more internet. The next morning we met the couple who was anchored right next to us in the bay and sat with them discussing ours and their trip so far. We got smart this time and only ordered two coffee’s for $5 US which was a little cheaper than the beer we had yesterday.
A few days later we thought it might be time to do the laundry since we were sorta running out of clothes. We found a place that had commercial washers and dryers where we could do it ourselves. When we found out the price we only washed the clothes and took them back and hung them on the lifelines on the boat. To do three loads of wash it cost us $40.60 US. We heard on the cruisers net that morning that it was cheaper to burn your dirty clothes and buy new ones than it was to wash and dry them. Our cruising budget was getting all out of whack and we couldn’t afford to stay in this place for long. We found the only good buy while on this island in the grocery store and that was chocolate bars. We stocked up on what we thought would be enough but ran out soon a few weeks later.
Stay tuned for more adventures from John & Carol aboard the S/V Sweet Caroline
We arrived in Bourg des Saintes, Terre De Haut, lying 10 km off Guadeloupe 1143, Tuesday May 26th, 2009. Terre De Haut is the largest of the eight islands that make up Les Saintes. Terre de Haut is unhurried and feels like a small slice of southern France transported to the Caribbean. It’s definitely the most cosmopolitan of Guadeloupe’s outlying islands and is only 5 km long and about half as wide. Bourge des Saintes is the only village on the island. Euro’s is the currency here and since it’s French there is no customs or immigration charges here. All you have to do to check in and out is to fill out paperwork.
Since the island was to hilly and dry for sugar plantations, slavery never took hold here. The older islanders still trace their roots to the early seafaring Norman and Breton colonists and many of the locals have light skin and blond or red hair. Bourg des Saintes is a picturesque village with narrow streets lined with gingerbread Caribbean buildings that are all balconied with red roofs, shuttered windows and yards filled with flowering hibiscus. There are restaurants, ice cream shops & many boutiques clustered along the main road which is pedestrian only during the day.
Several days later we walked up to Fort Napoleon, built 1867, stands on a hill to the north of town, with a commanding view of the harbor. The fort has been magnificently restored with the whole top of the hill a well tended garden and cactus’s and succulents, which are labeled so you can identify. Inside the museum there is early furniture and a section on the famous battle of the Saintes, when England’s Admiral Rodney demolished the French fleet under DeGrasse in 1782. Also there are lovely examples of the old Saintois fishing boats which are becoming very rare. Fort Napoleon was built in the mid 19th century but never used in battle and affords a fine hill top view of Bourg des Saintes and you can look across the channel to Fort Josephine, a small fortification on Ilet a Cabrit and on a clear day you can also see Marie Galante and La Desirade.
We left the Saintes four days later and headed for Dominica and arrived in Portsmouth, Prince Rupert Bay at 0930, four hours after we left the Saintes. This is a magnificent protected bay over two miles long and a mile wide. You can consider the area as real healthy whereas Elizabeth Pampo Israel, the oldest person in the world lived here till her death at the age of 128. As we came into the harbor a 20′ open wood boat came out to meet us and offer us his services for our duration here. They are called “boat boys” and they are professional Indian River guides and water taxi’s. They have been well trained in the natural history of the island. They provide such services as laundry, land tours, yacht services, technical assistance, clearing customs assistance, deliveries of ice, water, fresh bread, fruits and vegetables. Our guide for our stay here was Martin and his VHF call sign was “Providence”.
Dominica we were told has seven active volcanoes with one being under water. None were ready to blow anytime soon, at least that is what they told us. They have a Carib Reservation on the island and the only one left in the Caribbean. Portsmouth has a association called Portsmouth Association of Yacht Security (PAYS) and runs regular patrols at night in the anchoring area where we were anchored off the Purple Turtle Restaurant.
After getting anchored Martin (Boat Boy), came and picked us up in his boat and took us to customs. Being a Saturday we had to pay overtime fees and the total only came to $24 US, which was a lot less that I had thought it would be. Mark up one for our side.
After customs Martin took us and two other boaters on the Indian River tour which is an amazing experience unlike anything I have seen so far. No engines are allowed in the river and only oars are permitted with only the certified Indian River Guides allowed in boats past the bridge. The river quickly narrows and is completely overhung by huge Swamp Bloodwood trees on both sides forming a complete canopy so it’s dark and cathedral like. Martin cut a slice in a thick branch and when we came back later is was bleeding red ooze, so that is how it got it’s name. We saw all kinds of fish, crabs, birds, trees and flowers. Martin showed us where the Swamp scene in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” was made. We came to a shore and were able to walk a ways through the forrest and one place we ventured out into the river to a pool and went for a swim which was nice and cool and very clean. The trip lasted about three hours and was well worth the money.
The next day we went to Fort Shirley, an old British fort dating from the 18th century and it has been partially restored. It is in the Cabrits National Park and the Cabrits Peninsula is formed by two extinct volcanoes, and separates Prince Rupert Bay from Douglas Bay. There was a trail to the top of East Cabrit and we were rewarded with a splendid view of the harbor and surrounding swamp. We also hiked to the top of West Cabrit and had a magnificent view overlooking Douglas Bay and we could see the Saintes and Guadeloupe in the distance. Along the way up we passed by the Commandant’s Quarters which looked to be almost falling down. That day we walked a total of 4.7 miles – WOW!!!
The next day John, (Brain Surgeon), was deep in thought devising ways to catch water for our water tanks. It had been raining a lot because a tropical wave was coming through. After the rain stopped, John took off in our dinghy with a native delivering bread, vegetables and fruits to other boaters and now has another new name “Boat Boy”.
A few days later with twelve other boaters we took another trip with Martin and this time it was the Northeast side of the island. The roads wind through lush areas with many crops including dasheen, ( purple root vegetable), tania, (white root vegetable, bananas, pineapples, coconuts and many more that I can’t remember all their names. There were little side roads that took you up to remote villages such as Paix, Bouche, Vienille Case, Thibaud, Pennville and Blenkeim where there are fabalous views inland and out to sea. The Northern Tourism Link Route from Douglas Bay to Pennville passes through the Soufriere volcanic crater where we saw the volcano actually bubbling. “Cold Soufriere” is a bubbling pool of cold sulphuric water from a volcanic vent. There are seventeen natural pools of cold sulfuric water and you could smell the sulphur in the air. We then hiked down to Hampstead Beach which is a magnificient wild beach with a big fresh water river at one end. The river is one of the sites for Pirates Of The Caribbean part two. Seven different scenes in all were made here in Dominica for the three Pirates Of The Caribbean. We all had our bathing suits so we jumped in the fresh river and it was cool and refreshing. This river emptied into the ocean but there was a lot of surf at the ocean so we didn’t venture over there. After our hike back up to the van everyone was hungry so we stopped at a local restaurant and had Maui Maui & Kubuli the local beer. After lunch we hiked down to the sea to a place call Red Rocks. These are rusty red compacted mud that has been etched into strange gullies and shapes jutting out to the sea. Along the way throughout the trip Martin stopped and explained all the spices (which everyone got samples_, fruits, trees and birds. He once cracked open a coconut and we drank the juice and ate the meat. Another time he picked a pineapple, several bananas and gave us samples of them also. He was so knowledgeable about the area and what everthing was I don’t know how he remembered it all.
A few days later we got one of the locals who wanted to buy our 4hp and 15hp outboard engines. Boy were we lucky to get rid of them and we surely didn’t need three outboard engines with two of them not working properly. The 4hp and 15hp engines were over twenty years old so we got our money’s worth out of them but they were starting to cost money to repair them all the time.
One day while still in Portsmouth, we went walking through town and would you believe John found a Kentucky Fried Chicken. We left him there to feast and the rest of our group went to a local resturant to eat.
A few days later we hopped a bus (cheap, about $2 US), and went to Roseau, the capitol of Dominica which is on the south west side of the island. The bus took us up and down mountain roads with hairpin curves with one spped fast. When we arrived we walked around town which took us through a hugh open market where you could buy any kind of fruit, vegetable or fish you wanted and all quite reasonable. After lunch at a chinese resturant we hiked through the Botanical Gardens where they had beautiful trees and flowers. We came upon a sign and would you believe it was donated by Brevard County Zoo in Florida where we live. After a nice hike through the Botanical Gardens we hiked back to town and boarded a bus headed back to Portsmouth. We walked in total today 4.3 miles. It would be good if we did that every day but sometimes you don’t get off the boat for one reason or another.
We departed Portsmouth, Dominica the next day, Saturday, June 6th 2009 and headed for Roseau, Dominica where we were yesterday to stage for our crossing to Martinique. It took us three tries before we finally left Roseau for good bound for Martinique. The first try we got out just at the end of Dominica and we hit 10′ to 12′ seas and the winds were picking up to 30 knots and decided this was a bit much for us so we turned around and went back to Roseau. The next try we didn’t get too far away and the boat we have been traveling with had engines overheat problems again so we turned back to the Roseau anchorage. The third time we made it and what is the saying “3rd time is a charm”.
Stay tuned for more adventures from John & Carol aboard the S/V Sweet Caroline.