(I did not have internet to get it uploaded until we got to Dominica)

We made passage from St Lucia to Martinique w/o incident the Friday after Thanksgiving. We anchored off of St Anne for a couple nights. Our friends, Larry and Kathy on Nuveau Jour, were on our starboard side and George and Joanne on RomantaSea were to port. We had met both these couples in Guadaloupe on the trip south and it was pretty cool to be with both boats again. St Anne is a pretty town but the weather and one very aggressive panhandler discouraged our sight seeing. There is a fish market and when they blow the conch shell, you know to go in to get your fresh fish. We got some mahi and Kevin made his famous fish chowder and we entertained everyone on Chameleon. We had several wine bottles ready for re-cycling the next day.

The weather was very rainy with squalls and we ended up moving into Marin harbor to get out of the swell. Marin is a sailors town with more boats in one harbor than I have ever seen. There are over 20 charter companies based there and it is a popular stop for cruising boats as well. There are marines services and stores available right on the waterfront.

We departed Marin and went further up the coast towards Fort de France and did some shopping at River Salee. We took at taxi from Tres Ilets and it came to 50 Euros for the round trip and wait time and we split this with George and Joanne. It was a very large store but the prices were a little large as well. We did manage to get a case of French wine and some good cheeses. Before our shopping trip, the two couples rode the ferry over to Fort de France, did some exploring and had a wonderful lunch at a French restaurant called "The Crew". It was packed and we were lucky to get a table. George and Joanne helped us with the menu so we did not mistakenly order horse meat. Yes - it was on the menu. I will say going from the Eastern Caribbean dollar to euros is quite a shock to the wallet but we will probably never be back again so hey, you only live once and we had fun! Coming up - Dominica