Martinique






 Martinique 

It’s been a while since our last blog….

We’ve been chilling in Martinique since the end of October, spending time between Sainte Anne and St Pierre, our two favorite towns on the island.

Of course, one of our best sail ever was between the two towns. Unfortunately when we were about to turn to the anchorage, our motor wouldn’t start. Drifted for almost an hour before  Mike was able to jump start the motor with the house battery bank. Then our navigation system shuts down. Luckily we were familiar with the area and our friends were already anchored so we knew where to go.

We haven’t done much sailing since our return to the boat which is fine. We’re  happy to be in one or two places for extended periods of time. It’s great to experience the island vibe, meet the locals and other boaters,  shop at weekend markets and eat at the small cafes.

We’ve really gotten to know the island pretty well , either by sailing from when we were here in June, by bus (know most schedules by now) by car and walking.

Most of ours days are spent sipping coffee and reading in the morning, going for a walk or to the beach in the afternoon ….found a great beach shower…yippee fresh water showers, then having nice sundowners in the cockpit. Ah the leisure life of the boater. 😊 

But then chores….

Getting water is an all morning event…. We bring our 4 jerrycans to our friends boat, tie our dingy and their kayak to their anchor to keep their spot and we sail/motor sail to the next town where there is a marina with easy access to water. It’s fun to do this together and less tedious than hand carrying 23 kilos of water per jug. Mikes arms are getting longer and longer every time lol 😂 

Gave Mike a haircut yesterday. Might have taken a little too much off on one side 😳 oh well…it will grow back (hopefully)🤣

Martinique has  become one of our favorite islands , not just for the great wine and cheese, but for the residents. The people are super friendly and very welcoming. The island is so lush and green with beautiful mountains and flowers everywhere.

I must say that Mike and our Danish friends have it easy with my being the language interpreter. The main languages spoken are French and Creole. I don’t understand Creole when it’s spoken but can figure it out when I read it. 

We had hoped to be in St Vincent and the Grenadines for Christmas but our friends had engine troubles and by the time it was fixed, we had missed our weather window. It will take us approximately 24 hours, 90 nautical miles to get to our destination so we don’t want heavy winds and rough seas. We’ve had our share and don’t care for more if we can avoid it.

We’ll be bypassing St Lucia and heading straight to St Vincent, actually further south to the island of Bequia which is part of the Grenadines chain. It’s unfortunate that we won’t visit St Lucia. It’s a beautiful island but has become very dangerous for sailors. In the last several months, boats have been boarded by pirates, held at knife point and robbed. The government/police aren’t doing much in trying to address this situation so we just prefer to skip the island. Really don’t need this kind of experience on our journey 

Christmas will be spent in Sainte Anne with 3 or 4 friends, nice appetizers, dinner and drinks. Looking forward to that.

It looks like we might have a weather window sometime next week so hopefully we’ll ring in the new year in another country.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. ☃️🎄🇨🇦

All the best for 2023

Cheers 

Mike and Pierrette



Fantastic coast 


World Cup soccer match…England versus Wales


Anchorage in St Pierre


Anchorage in St Pierre


Sunset Saint Pierre…from our favorite bar


Market day


Beach Picnic


Our tuna dinner 


Washing our hair - in the ditch- fresh mountain water 😳


Small squall coming


Iguana in the tree


View of the anchorage in Le Marin


Mike and me


Sunset in Sainte Anne
 

Our car rental


Full moon in Sainte Anne


Famous Diamond rock Saint Anne


Great beach during our car trip


Mabel resting


Volcano - Pelee Sainte Pierre (erupted in 1902)


My Danish friend Anita and I



Beautiful mountains of Martinique 


Pelee Volcano 

Christmas in Martinique 

Comments

  1. MarieDecember 23, 2022 at 3:27 PM

    Great pics and blog. What a beautiful island you are so lucky, the weather here is awful we are in the middle of a blizzard it;s -25 with wind chill factor here. Enjoy your lovely island and temperature you lucky guy;s I envy you.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousDecember 24, 2022 at 1:25 PM

    joyeux Noël à vous deux et profitez bien de toute cette beauté.Marie et Denis

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJanuary 3, 2023 at 2:18 PM

    Great blog and super nice photos. Enjoy your new year travelling.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousFebruary 12, 2023 at 10:52 AM

    I can't wait to show the kids ghd iguana picture. They are big time lizard hunters in Rome. The photos are so wonderful. We love following your adventures xox

    ReplyDelete

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