{"id":5285,"date":"2015-06-04T08:24:15","date_gmt":"2015-06-04T12:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/?p=5285"},"modified":"2015-06-04T08:24:15","modified_gmt":"2015-06-04T12:24:15","slug":"martinique","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/?p=5285","title":{"rendered":"Martinique"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Map<\/a>

Map of Martinique<\/p><\/div>\n

We had considered passing by Martinique since a few people reported not having enjoyed the island. People we met in Dominica spoke highly of it and filled us in on anchorages and places to visit. Based on their recommendation we headed down from Dominica and were glad we did.<\/p>\n

We arrived in St. Pierre midday and took a few hours to get situated. There’s an area near shore with a narrow shelf about 25 feet deep and then a very steep drop off.\u00a0 We lowered our anchor in a few spots before we were happy with how we were situated regarding other boats near by and how the anchor set. \u00a0Sometimes it feels like we’re the only boat dropping our anchor a few times before we’re happy. \u00a0This is an anchorage where just about everyone has to make a few attempts before being settled.<\/p>\n

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\"Beach<\/a>

Beach house in St. Pierre<\/p><\/div>\n

We pulled on the anchor with the engine then dove in to visually confirm it was well set. While in the water I felt stings my arms and legs so quickly swam back to the boat and jumped in the shower. I was left with several small blisters which itched quite a bit for several days, someone suggested it may have been a jellyfish. I guess it’s just one of those things that goes with the life we’ve chosen.<\/p>\n

Martinique has pretty much always been under French rule, that is of course after they chased the last of the Caribs off in the mid 1600’s. It, like many of the islands, has a history of agriculture and slavery. Martinique is currently an overseas department of France, benefiting greatly from the support and investment.<\/p>\n

The island is volcanic in origin. St. Pierre lies at the foot of Mt. Pel\u00e9e<\/a> who’s 1902 eruption killed nearly 30,000 people. According to Chris Doyle, author of our “Windward Islands” sailors guide, St. Pierre was considered the “Paris of the Caribbean” and had a population of 30,000 people. Apparently, minor activity began in early April 1902 then grew in severity leading up to the devastating eruption on May 8th. \u00a0It was a very sad chain of poor decisions and events which prevented a call for evacuation in this heavily populated town.<\/p>\n

There are several ruins around town in addition to a museum dedicated to the 1902 eruption. \u00a0St. Pierre seems very European and is filled with shops, restaurants and markets.<\/p>\n

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\"Willie,<\/a>

Willie, Hugo and Guido<\/p><\/div>\n

We enjoyed our time in St. Pierre. \u00a0 We met Fred and Jo of Caribbean Dream and reconnected with our friends aboard Havkatt.\u00a0 Over the past few weeks we have gotten to know Maartin, Willie, Hugo and Guido, a Dutch family traveling the islands. \u00a0Hugo and Guido seemed happy to see us and came over for a visit. They are bright, inquisitive boys and we enjoy spending time with them, Hugo is 11, Guido 9.\u00a0 They spent the past few years in Carriacou where their mother taught in the Dutch school. \u00a0The boys have\u00a0 learned English just within the past 6 months and are quite capable in their language skills.<\/p>\n

There was a Rasta Market in town on the weekend along with the regular produce market. It was a colorful morning with a variety of aromas in the air.<\/p>\n

\"Jewelry <\/a>
Jewelry Artist <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Rasta <\/a>
Rasta Market <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Saturday <\/a>
Saturday Market <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

Hugo and Willie had planned to hike up Mt. Pel\u00e9e on Sunday and invited us to join them. \u00a0We read everything we could find about the difficulty of the trail and decided to join them. \u00a0Maartin had rented a car and drove us up as far as possible on the north west side. \u00a0He had a stiff knee and was not able to join the hike. \u00a0He and Guido did some other exploration and met us as we arrived\u00a0 7 hours later on the south east side.<\/p>\n

It was a challenging hike! We started walking at an elevation of around 1,500 feet, climbed to the “top”, and then back down to about 2,000′. \u00a0 We were in the clouds about 3\/4 of the day and opted not to go to the highest summit due to the clouds and the wet trail. \u00a0Hugo was disappointed we didn’t make all the way but Was far higher than he had ever been before at 4,500′. \u00a0He and Jeff spent a great deal of time fine tuning exactly what Jeff would be able to claim regarding the hike.\u00a0 We did reach the summit as it existed in 1902 at about 4,500′.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the\u00a0 dome continued to grow and eventually reached it”s current elevation of 4,583′.\u00a0 Jeff saw a sign that said we were at the 1902 summit, so that is his story and he is sticking to it.\u00a0 Hugo felt he should be more precise in his claim.<\/p>\n

It was a great day and we were thankful to Willie and Hugo for including us! \u00a0Also thankful to Maartin for getting us the the trail head and back!<\/p>\n

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We we were a bit stiff Monday morning but said our goodbyes and raised the anchor to move on to Grand Anse D’Arlet just a few miles down the coast. \u00a0It’s a small colorful fishing town with many tourists enjoying the white sand beach. \u00a0White sand is not always the case on volcanic islands, often the beaches are dark brown sand due to volcanic rock.<\/p>\n

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Next anchorage was Ste. \u00a0Anne near the southern end of the island. \u00a0This area has a large open bay and lots of white sandy beaches. \u00a0Nearby is the town of Marin which is further inside the bay with a large marina. \u00a0Marin is a good size town with plenty of resources about 2 miles from our anchorage. \u00a0We rode over in the dinghy a few times for shopping and exploring.<\/p>\n

We had anchored near Barefoot Life who we had met in Dominica. \u00a0Lann and Stan were familiar with the area and invited us to join them for a hike. \u00a0We took a trail along the coastline, stopped at a beautiful beach for a swim, had a nice lunch at a beach restaurant, then back to the dinghy dock. \u00a0It was a great day! \u00a0We joined them for dinner ashore a few nights later and enjoyed the food and conversation. \u00a0Hope to connect again in Grenada.<\/p>\n

\"HMS <\/a>
HMS Diamond Rock <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Shrine <\/a>
Shrine for fishermen <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Lann <\/a>
Lann and Stan, Barefoot Life <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Jeff <\/a>
Jeff and Mary, another hike <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Pretty <\/a>
Pretty beaches in Southern Martinique <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Pretty <\/a>
Pretty beaches in Southern Martinique <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Lunch <\/a>
Lunch mid hike, Lann and Stan <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Ste. <\/a>
Ste. Anne <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Town <\/a>
Town Square <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Catholic <\/a>
Catholic church, Ste. Anne <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Bay <\/a>
Bay at Ste. Anne <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Stopped <\/a>
Stopped for Lunch <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

We certainly enjoyed Martinique and we’re glad we stopped!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

We are now in St. Lucia getting ready to head for Bequia, part of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. \u00a0It’s been difficult to stay on top of writing with all the exploring and traveling we have done in the past several weeks.\u00a0 We have a few more stops en route to Grenada by July 1st and will attempt<\/em> to keep up to date.\u00a0 It is motivating to see the number of views on the blog along with all the comments.\u00a0 Thanks for the support!<\/p>\n

~ Jeff and Mary ~<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We had considered passing by Martinique since a few people reported not having enjoyed the island. People we met in Dominica spoke highly of it and filled us in on anchorages and places to visit. Based on their recommendation we … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Martinique","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2y1a7-1nf","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5285"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5372,"href":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5285\/revisions\/5372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/svecho.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}