Oceans Dream

02 August 2014 | ENGLAND
15 March 2014 | Malaysia
29 January 2014 | Thailand
26 December 2013 | Phuket, Thailand
30 November 2013 | Langkawi, Malaysia
03 November 2013 | Puteri Harbour Marina, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
04 October 2013 | Indonesian Borneo
22 September 2013 | Lovina, Bali
05 September 2013 | Komodo Island, Indonesia
18 August 2013 | Flores Island, East Nusa Tengarra, Indonesia
06 August 2013 | Kupang, Timor island
26 July 2013 | Northern Territory, Australia
21 July 2013 | Uluru, Australia
29 June 2013 | Fannie Bay, Darwin
17 June 2013 | Shelburne Bay, Cape Grenville, Australia
08 June 2013 | Carins, QLD
29 May 2013 | Townsville
12 May 2013 | Queensland
26 April 2013 | Mooloolaba, QLD
24 March 2013 | Mooloolaba, Queensland

Two mis-adventures!

19 January 2010 | St Pierre, Martinique
Admiral 40 catamaran
Theatre - St Pierre

Whilst we have access to wifi, we thought we'd post a second blog of the week before heading off for the island of Dominica (some 40 miles north) tomorrow.

With the amazing history and beautiful scenery that surrounds St Pierre here on Martinque, they was no way we were going to stay boat-bound for the time we were here. We revisited the ruins within the town of St Pierre that survived the 1902 volcano eruption. Whilst there are only a few easily identifiable sights - such as the theatre and prison cell, most buildings have some part of their structure made from the original pre-eruption foundations.

Theatre

Theatre

Prison cell
Prison cell providing a safe-haven from the volcanic eruption for an inmate

It's somewhat bizarre to see concrete blocks laid upon stone walls which must have been built at the latest in the late 1800's.

St Pierre has a charm of its own with a volcanic sand beach forming the back garden of many of the houses.

Back garden

Our couple of adventures were to walk firstly to the statue high up on the hills that overlooks the bay.

Statue overlooking the bay

This walk was well described in our cruising guide book with a return journey through part of the rain forest where many species butterflies and insects thrive. We set off early afternoon and followed the road that climbs steeply out of the town past the cemetery. Shortly, a turn to the right and followed a track that wound its way to the top of the hill some 300 metres up. To confirm we were on the right track, we stopped at a house and enquired as to the location of the statue. Madame confirmed we were heading in the right direction. As the track gently descended, we could hear a noise that sounded like a herd of goats running towards us! Undeterred we carried on but as the noise grew closer we realised there was more to these goats than we thought! Coming towards us, at great speed driven by a hard wind was a raging hillside fire. At this point we could just see the statue but the flames were leaping across the road. We quickly retraced our steps and tried to explain to 'Madame' there was a fire only a few hundred metres from her house - clearly the schoolboy French was now lacking clarity but eventually the smell of the smoke and sight of the flames encouraged her to call the 'Pompier'! We cut our losses and headed back towards St Pierre and eventually, the fire engines passed us on the way to the scene of the fire.

Disappointed at having not accomplished our first expedition, we set off the next day to conquer Mount Pelee.

Before the hike!
Mount Pelee taken day before our attempted hike

With rucksacks, emergency rations, maps and waterproofs we caught the bus at 09:45 for the 20 minute journey to base-camp (AKA the town of Morne Rouge). Our journey took us past the extensive fields of sugar cane which are used to make the rum. We knew we'd not picked the best of days as the mountain was shrouded in cloud and it had rained earlier in the day. Our plan was to visit the Tourist Office in Morne Rouge, to then get further transport to L'Aileron from there it was a 7km hike (round-trip). On arrival in Morne Rouge, we were dismayed to see the Tourist Office under reconstruction but soon discovered a little further on the 'Musee des Volcanos'. Here, the Curator (having understood our wishes) called for a taxi to take us to L'Aileron. She said it would be 4 minutes. 40 minutes later with the mountain always clouded over and with rain falling in Morne Rouge, our enthusiasm began to wane.

Cloudy Mt Pelee
Mt Pelee the day of our attempted hike!

We decided to cut our losses and whilst there was still a bus returning to St Pierre, we'd hop on it! Next time we're passing and Mount Pelee is cloud-free, we'll definitely be on a mission to make it to the top.
Comments
Vessel Name: Oceans Dream
Vessel Make/Model: Admiral 40 catamaran
Hailing Port: Plymouth, UK
Crew: Adrian & Jackie
About:
Having both worked hard we decided we should enjoy an exciting and challenging retirement whilst we were young enough and fit enough. To realise this dream, we replaced our monohull with an ocean-going liveaboard catamaran. [...]

About Us

Who: Adrian & Jackie
Port: Plymouth, UK