Martinique - March 14

Welcome to Martinique! This is one of my favorite islands to visit in the Caribbean, as there is so much to see and do, both in the port and around the island. 

We had a bit of rain, followed by a rainbow, prior to reaching our berth, but the day promised to be hot (95F/35C) and it did reach that temperature. 

Again, I had no excursion planned here, but planned to do a wander around the city and perhaps a little shopping. 

I believe this is the Royal Clipper ship docked next to us. (I neglected to get a photo of the ship's name). It carries 227 passengers and 106 crew. Compare that to the 3080 passengers and 1200 crew on the Ruby Princess.

I was off the ship by 8:30 a.m. My first destination was La Savane Park in Fort-de-France. I was looking for the headless statue of Josephine Bonaparte. I know, I know, I'm weird. The statue was installed in the park in 1859 and in 1991 the statue was "beheaded" and splattered with red paint. Martinique is part of the French Republic and the outermost region of the European Union. Thus, the primary language is French and the currency is euros. I came prepared with some of the euros, though not as prepared with the French language skills. Un petit peu, seulement. 

The park was oceanside and a short walk of ten minutes or so from the downtown. I wasn't successful in finding the statue though as I didn't veture to the far end of the park. 

On my way back to the city center, I decided to stop in at a store and purchase a baseball cap as the heat of the day was ramping up and the sun was hot on my head. In addition, the store offered free WiFi, so I took advantage of that too. D and Eli had an appointment in the city and I wanted to check in with her before she left home. Eli was having some issues with the medication he had been prescribed for the seizures, however the pediatric neurologist in Saskatoon wasn't able to see him yet, so the neuroligist in Regina agreed to see him. This doctor doesn't generally work with children but a med change was indicated. He's now on another prescription and I'm happy to say he's doing much better.

Back to Martinique; I wandered downtown looking for the bookstore where I had purchased a book for Eli on an earlier trip. Like the statue, I couldn't find what I was looking for but there was more to see and do regardless.

This is St. Louis Cathedral (it is featured in the first photo as well). The cathedral was completed in 1895 in the Romanesque Revival style. There was a service being held at this time, so I didn't enter the church.

Across from the cathedral is a small park. This allamanda cathartica or golden trumpet was blooming beautiful! I had to stop and enjoy the beauty. I've since learned that I can purchase this as an annual for my garden containers. I'm sure it won't grow nearly as big and bushy for me here. I'll be looking for it at the nursery later this spring.

Beyond the park is a building that captures the cathedral in its windows. 

I wandered through the market vendors and found a street vendor selling fresh squeezed juice. With a glass of grape, watermelon and mango juice, I settled in at a table and watched people go by. 

I did chuckle at the sight of the KFC store, it seems to be a staple in the islands.

Feeling refreshed and well hydrated, I headed off to walk about more. No luck still in finding the bookstore, but I did find a fabric store.

Oh, if only I were talented enough to sew well. The fabrics were gorgeous - and I ought to have taken a photo of the interior. I was looking for a crochet hook and decided a fabric store might very well carry them - and it did! I had thought, being as port heavy as this cruise was, that I wouldn't have time to work on a small project so hadn't brought yarn or a crochet hook with me. However, the sea days at the beginning of the cruise reminded me I like to have something in my hands to work on. I'd found some cotton yarn in the dollar store in Fort Lauderdale, but no crochet hook. It was in this store that my lack of French was obvious. However, the clerk and I managed through pantomine and a few words to find what I was looking for. 

I took a bit of time to wander through the open air market, but bought nothing there.

Look at the size of the melon slices!

There were tables of souveniers available too, and while I loved the colors, nothing said take me home.

You could not convince me to drive on these streets. They are incredibly narrow and with pedestrians walking about, it would be a nightmare (at least for me)

I much preferred those streets that appeared to limit vehicular traffic. After my walk-about, I decided it was time to head back to the ship for a late lunch, some reading in the shade and a short nap.

From this perspective it appears the clipper ship's masts are almost as tall as the Ruby. 

The clipper left port before we did, and very shortly had its sails up.

If I ever won a lottery, I think I'd really enjoy an opportunity to sail on one of these ships. On the other hand, I've never experienced seasickness on the large ships - I'm not so certain I'd be as lucky on such a small one. 

It was a wonderful day in Martinique. The weather was simply incredible (and hot!). I spent much of the day off ship just enjoying the atmosphere of Fort-de-France. Everyone I met and spoke with were friendly, even when there was some difficulty in understanding one another. 

Next up - Barbados

Magnificent Martinique

Warning - this will be a photo heavy post!

We arrived in Martinique in early morning, shortly after sunrise.  The clouds in the sky were a harbinger for what was to come later, but this early in the day it was just overcast.

This is a brand new port to me, and I was excited to get the opportunity to visit. Martinique is a rugged Caribbean island that’s part of the Lesser Antilles. An overseas region of France, its culture reflects a distinctive blend of French and West Indian influences.

For a change, there was a smaller cruise ship in port with us.  This is the Royal Clipper ship owned by Star Clippers, and yes, one can take a cruise on it...if one has sufficient funds.  I think it would be wonderful but my budget just doesn't cut it.  Plus I would suspect my record of not feeling seasick might be broken.

The port is in the city of Fort-de-France.  It was obviously raining in this photo so my memory of no rain until later in the day is false.  The walkway from the dock took us into a shopping area, (the white tents) and then it was a short walk to the main part of the city.  I did visit there later in the day, but first, a tour to the Balata gardens with a visit to the Balata Cathedral (Sacre-Coeur de Balata), a replica of the church in Montmartre, Paris.  

We met just on the far side of the white tents where there rows of buses waiting.  Our trip took us through the city and out into the countryside and up the hill to the Balata Cathedral.  

It is not a large church but lovely in its construction.  It also provided a viewpoint to see our ship in port.  It looks tiny from this perspective.

I did visit the interior but photo opportunities were limited as there were parishioners as well as tourists visiting.  This is the view of the dome with a bit of light from the windows.  There is some damage apparent but overall it is in good shape.

Next up Balata gardens...and I'll let the photos tell the tale.

 

 The variety of flowers and trees were so incredibly beautiful.  The paths wound around and up and down the hillside.

 As I made my way around the garden, there were short bursts of rain.  Once it started coming down harder, I decided to make my way back to the main buildings.

This photo is of a poinsettia on the front deck area.  At least I recognized it!


Along the side of the building were several hummingbird feeders.  Unfortunately they were all empty but it didn't stop the small birds from trying.  

This isn't a great photo as it was taken from the interior of the bus.  But it does show how the street winds down the hill.  

Once we arrived back in the city, I went for a walk-about.  There was a church spire visible from the ship I wanted to see.

On my walk, I was surprised to see this store!

 This is the St. Louis Cathedral.  I didn't take the time to go indoors as the rain was threatening again (come to think of it, I probably should have).

Just beyond the cathedral were these buildings.  I don't know if the center building was damaged in a hurricane or simply left to deteriorate.  

At this point, it was time to head back to the ship, to change into dry clothing, find something to eat, and relax.  That's just what I did.



Late afternoon as we sailed away the sun was shining, though the clouds in the distance would indicate there was more rain to come.

I had a wonderful day in Martinique and would love to return again one day to see more of this beautiful island!