Martinique

We were supposed to visit the tiny island of Dominica, but the Captain discovered that we would encounter, upon arrival, a Parking Problem of Grand Proportions.

                        You see, we weren’t going to be the only act in town.

            When the Captain arrived on board in November shortly before we embarked on this Voyage, he did what he always does. He went through the Itinerary with that fine-toothed comb that usually turns up the negatives and this time was no different.

            Ship’s itineraries are conjured up at Headquarters almost two years in advance and then arrangements start to be made with the different Port Authorities for all of the reasons that we have previously discussed. This usually works out just fine but every now and then a glitch develops, not necessarily one that HQ would think is a big issue, but it was one that an experienced Captain could have problems with.

                        Ours did.

                        Apparently, there is enough room for several ships to be in Port at the same time if….

                        If one of those someone’s would like to be at anchor and tender the passengers back and forth from the ship.

                        Ours did not!

                        Apparently when that “apparently” is left in the hands of the Desk Jockey, some “good enoughs” make their way into an Itinerary. According to the Captain, this “good enough” was far from that. Apparently, this anchorage is not an ideal situation and somewhat sketchy when it comes to an example of being a model anchorage.

                        In other words, he didn’t like it….. at all!

And….. there was an alternative just one itty-bitty Island away…. Martinique!

                        So, the Captain tugged his Captain’s Hat down snug, picked up the various phones on the Bridge and waved his Twenty-six years of experience magic wand and poof! we appeared in Martinique….. all by ourselves! No other Cruise Ships in sight!

                        It’s nice to have an experienced Captain.

                        Martinique is a French Overseas Department meaning that it is a wholly owned and governed by territory of France. It is part of the European Union, uses the Euro, and the folks here speak French and a local dialect of Creole. They cannot pass their own laws but there is a procedure that regularly takes the local wants, needs, and customs into account when laws specifically for the Island are considered.

                        Martinique is also volcanic, and it was not too long ago that Mt. Pelée erupted. The year was 1902 and that eruption killed 30,000 residents of St. Pierre the former capital, situated on the other side of the island. Since then, the capital has been moved to Fort-de-France where it remains today and that is where we docked.

                        The weather was forecast to be as sketchy as our original itinerary, so we did not make any hard and fast plans for exploring. Besides, making decisions about utilizing Excursions, either by Princess or TBL, sooner or later the “Budget” comes into play. So, when this very nicely situated, able to walk off directly into the Town Center, became available we did not go crazy looking for things to do. Make no mistake here, this Island is gorgeous, the waters fantastic for snorkeling and swimming, and you can travel to the other side of the Island and throw yourself into Mt. Pelée, but this is no longer any fun because this volcano is dormant. Martinique is the perfect example of getting a taste of a place on a Cruise and then putting it on your “Places to Return To” list, next time for a longer stay.

            We disembarked onto their very nice Cruise Port Pier (as opposed to some of the Container Ports that we’ve been in lately) and there we came upon one of our new Cruise Friends, Ina. Ina is from California and up until a few years ago lived on her 35’ sailboat.

                        And loved it!

            Ina was by herself, so we invited her to accompany us as we had the same thoughts for the day…. just walk around and get a feel for this area. We found everyone very welcoming and nice. We all know that the French can have a ‘tude when it comes to just about anyone else on the planet but down here in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, they could care less what their distant relatives think in France. We wandered around the downtown area, just meandering and we found the Cathedral, which in its island simplicity still positioned itself nicely among the Beautiful Churches of the area.

We then decided that we would like to take the ferry that goes across the bay to an area that has some reportedly nice beaches. So back towards the ship we went, needing to get back to the harbor. The line was fairly long to get the needed tickets and even longer to board the every forty-five minutes or so departures. While waiting on line for tickets a lady came stomping towards us and announced that “the ferry was on strike” and the next one wasn’t going for a while. This is all well and good if you want to take some chances, but for us, who needed to have firm “return” commitment, having the possibility of the guys on the ferry walking off for good and leaving us miles away was a deal-breaking finality. Off the line I came, and we found a little beach up the road that the girls could wade in for a bit.

                        The walk back across the boulevard and past the Park brought us down a small street with a local market on it. This was a “finer” things market, but still a retail-type store. The guys were super friendly, and we had a good time with the four phrases that I know in French and the conversational English that they enjoyed. We bought some cool beverages and some European Chocolate Cookies in case one of us needed a chocolate fix. They graciously cleared a small hi-top table in the back that obviously served as a desk of sorts when I asked if we could sit there for a while. There, amongst the strange items that seem to be only available in Europe, we sat and snacked. As it turned out, more than one of us needed some chocolate!

“Au revoiring” and “merci beaucouping” our way out of the store we asked where we might get an “authentic” local lunch. Directions in hand for reference when we got hungry, we went down the Rue looking for the Library which comes with a nifty note of distinction. The Bibliothèque Schoelcher was built and designed in France, displayed for while in Paris, and then shipped down here and re-assembled. The year was 1887, the designer was Pierre-Henri Picq, and his vision was one of mixed styles including Byzantine, Moorish, Art Nouveau, and both Egyptian and Neo-Egyptian. One look at this building confirms that it is indeed a building of mixed-breed heritage!  Mr. Picq also designed the church that we visited up the street, Cathédrale Saint-Louis. The Library was the brainchild of Monsieur Schoelcher, the most prominent person behind the abolitionist movement in France and Martinique. His 10,000-book donation is what was originally housed in this Library that he had designed and built. It was originally for the education of freed slaves.

            We had our lunch in a small spot that had great reviews. They were most welcoming and explained the way that their food was served. We all got the same thing, a more-than-adequate portion of a roasted chicken dish with rice and veggies. None of this is “ethnic”, but the flavors were! And again, we had fun working our parlez-vous Frenchglish into the conversation.

            As full as we were, we rolled ourselves back towards the Ship and were quite satisfied to allow the elevators to raise us up to Deck 9 and our stateroom where we collapsed, full and sweaty! (It is sunny, warm, and humid down here!) The Weather Idiots were wrong….. again, as the forecast was for mostly rain and clouds and we received mostly sun and clouds, hence Paula’s slight sunburn and our somewhat sweaty clothing.

            Sail Away is always fun and by now you know how much we get a kick out of our Horn that plays the Love Boat Theme. Luckily the Captain likes it too because he lets it roll several times as we cast off our lines and bid a Port farewell.

Today was no different. 😎