photo: Mango Bay on the waterfront is the local sailors' hang-out.

We've been at anchor here in Martinique for a week now, adjusting to the warm, humid climate while finding our way around Ste-Anne and nearby Le Marin, a yachting center with well-stocked chandleries and boat services. On our first day in Le Marin, I found the hair salon and the laundromat while Burger shopped for spare parts, then we dinghied over to Leader Price, a large supermarket with its own dinghy dock!

CLICK FOR PHOTOS OF LE MARIN

We were planning on renting a car and sightseeing around the island for a day or two, but cars are hard to come by in high season, and we just learned that the gas stations are on strike! Bus service appears meager and irregular for such a sophisticated French island.

But we have plenty to keep us busy on board for another several days, and there's good shopping, cafes and walking ashore. I love photographing the colorful Caribbean houses. Frequent tropical rain showers keep everything lush and green and blooming, a pleasant change from the arid Canaries and Cape Verde.