Since our last blog we have enjoyed the challenges of living in French-speaking Martinique which is a blend of France and the Caribbean. The French/European influence is extremely evident, if only by the large hoardings displaying the European funding for another redevelopment project! Having got the schoolboy French going again the delights of freshly baked baguette and croissant along with camembert, saucisson and pate with the odd glass of French wine has made for an enjoyable few days.
Our sail up from Rodney Bay took us some 25 miles to the South Eastern corner of Martinique. The winds were kind and we made this passage in just over 4 hours. Saint Anne was a bustling tourist centre on the outskirts of Martinique's largest yachting centre - Le Marin. We were able to anchor off the town. On our first trip ashore we realised Saint Anne's 'hey-days' were now long over - sadly along with much of the Caribbean, the economy seems to have been hit hard. In fact this time last year there was a general strike across the whole of Martinique with businesses closing in protest at the cost of living and many of the smaller businesses never survived this general strike. Despite Air France landing several large planes each day, the number of visitors appears minimal too, clearly tourism has also been hit hard. Nevertheless, we had an enjoyable few days and some adventures as we made the 6 mile journey by dinghy to the port of Le Marin in order to clear customs. This proved to be a "suicidal" mission and ended with us having to paddle our way out of a coral reef. Our 3 days included the daily routine of maintenance on board Oceans Dream. Not a day goes by without something needing a polish or clean. Up top, it's the ever encroaching rust caused by sea-spray on the stainless steel and below the waterline, despite the antifoul, keeping the marine growth of weed and barnacles a bay - this involves donning a mask and snorkel and a variety of instruments to rub off the fine growth and hack at the occasional barnacle that have made their temporary home on one of our hulls.
Our next port of call in Martinique was to the capital, Fort-de-France (FdF). Fort Louis is a prominent 17th century fort and we were able to anchor close-in underneath the western wall. This afforded us protection from the wind but not from the swell caused by the many ferries heading across the bay - every 30 minutes!
The anchorage, Fort de France
FdF has been a joy to walk around, to embrace the open-air veg markets, the historic buildings including the library, an all metal building shipped in from France and some very modern shopping mall developments.
Public library
In the Caribbean there is a theme of having local restaurants in the vicinity of the large open-air markets and FdF was no exception. Having made our way through the numerous vegetable stalls we were confronted by at least a dozen small food stalls each selling very sophisticated meals for lunch. In the end we opted for 'Carole's Creole' if only because she was the less demanding of our presence! We enjoyed the 'plat du jour' not knowing this also included a free local aperitif of 'ti-punch', an appetising salad, followed by main course, dessert and coffee. The aperitif could best be described as rocket fuel. A small glass, a bottle of rum, a bowl of brown sugar and three slices of lime were presented at our table. To make the 'ti-punch', place 2 spoonfuls of brown sugar in the bottom of the glass, squeeze and crush the lime and then fill the glass with the white rum. An acquired taste - certainly in the middle of the day!! The starter comprised of a fresh green salad with 3 deep fried 'fish balls' and a bright red wobbly sausages! These sausages are the French equivalent of 'black pudding' but with a much runnier consistency. Whilst they didn't look particularly appetising, the taste was fantastic (says Adrian who ate both!) as the congealed blood mixed with copious amounts of garlic and fresh baguette made for a delicious appetiser. Tackling the sausages involved piercing them to allow the cooked ox blood, onion and garlic to ooze forth! We now understand why the ti-punch were offered ... to settle the stomach in preparation! Our main course was langoustine for Jackie and Adrian had (not surprisingly), Colombo chicken. The meal was certainly both memorable and enjoyable.
One of the down-sides of the sophistication of Martinique is that all wifi internet connections seem to be encrypted so we have been unable to hook into the web for the last week or so. We have heard of the terrible tragedy in Haiti and this has clearly impacted heavily on the islands with food collections being made at every supermarket.
Having spent 3 nights in FdF, we shall head off tomorrow to St Pierre, just 12 miles north along the coast. We'll let you know how we get on.
Wishing everyone well.
Jackie & Adrian