Martinique

Church in Anse d'arlet

Since arriving in Martinique, we have anchored in 5 different bays. The port of clearance was St. Pierre, which is a small town on the northern part of Martinique. The tourist office has computers for checking in and it was free! We love free! The anchorage in St. Pierre is deep and you have to go a few hundred yards from shore to anchor in 15-20 ft of water. There were northerly swells the night we were there which made it a bit uncomfortable!
The second anchorage was in Fort De France. It’s a relatively small place to anchor and it’s busy with ferry traffic. One night when we came back to take the dinghy back to the boat, we saw the crew of a Danish boat stranded without their dinghy. It was stolen from the dock, so we rowed them to their boat and showed empathy. Fortunately, I don’t really have to worry about Earthling 8.8, since most of the time there is no outboard on it and if somebody took it, they wouldn’t get far! Based on experience, there is more crime in big cities than small towns! I made a rule after our experience in Ponce, that anytime we anchor in an urban area, we have to lock up everything!  
Our friend on “Margaret” recommended a visit to Anse d’Arlet. There is a Grande and Petite Anse d’Arlet and we anchored in the small one since the Grande was too busy! However, there was a reason that one was busier than the other! Petite Anse d’Arlet is not as protected and can become very rolly. We could not wait to wake up in the morning and sail to the next place! There is a trail from petite to grande over the hill, but you might get lost and end up on the cliffs and rocks on the other side, which almost happen to us! Easier route is to take the major road and walk 20 minutes on the flat surface. 
The easter weekend, we were anchored in Ste. Anne, which is a small touristy town, with many small restaurants, bars, and a beautiful long beach. Ste. Anne was packed during that weekend with families camping, barbecuing, and partying on the beach. This anchorage was calm and comfortable. 
Our last stop was in Marin and it is crazy how many boat are anchored here! Marin is definitely the yachting center of Martinique and the windwards! There are boat yards and chandeliers, but the prices are based on the European standards! I was looking for a small o-ring for the sink and it cost €2.50, forget about it! Furthermore, Marin is a hurricane hole and no matter how windy it is, you don’t move much. We checked out here a few minutes ago without being charged. The French Islands are great to check in and out of! You put all your info in a computer and nobody asks to look at any paperwork, passports or boat documents! With the exception of St. Barts, the French islands have the cheapest custom and immigration fees! It’s expensive to stay in St. Barts, the charge is based on the size of the boat per day, it cost us €8.5 per day!   

The highlight of the visit in Martinique was the Easter weekend and Des Accras (Crab festival) traditional ceremony. The street stands serving fried crabs and other fried sea food have valuable deals; I bought 6 pieces of fried crabs in dough for 2 Euros outside the church in Fort de France and in Ste. Anne. Unfortunately Nico can not have any fried food because of his stomach issues (hernia)! On the other side, Nico is a great cook and since he joined Earthling, it’s been easier for me to give up the cooking responsibilities to him. I have to admit that the food served aboard is more healthy now! Some of the beautiful architectures in Martinique are the Catholic churches. During the Easter weekend, the bells were heard more often than ever, it is after all a peak season for the churches! 
“Zero to Cruising” posted a great update about the Easter crab festivities in Martinique, check it out here!

I finally found time to finish installing the AIS unit purchased a few months ago. AIS stands for Automatic Identification System and it works like a digital radar! It’s required by law for all large commercial vessels. It simply identifies and communicates with other vessels by name, speed, heading, GPS location, destination, classification, call sign, etc. There are receivers and transceivers. The unit installed on Earthling is a West Marine AIS 1000 transceiver and it’s connected to the Garmin Chart plotter. It has only one button, which is the silent mode, where you can receive and not transmit! In some waters in the world it’s necessarily to utilize that button to avoid piracy!
A common collision scenario is between commercial and pleasure craft at night or in bad weather conditions. AIS definitely minimizes that risk!
It’s important that large vessels see a small sailboat like Earthling, and if I’m single handing and asleep, it will beep till I wake up! The alarm can be set based on time or distance. Pleasure craft are not required by law to have this unit but I would recommend it to cruising boats that make long and overnight passages. In addition, it is fun to use it in busy ports or anchorages. This little project was accomplished with the help of Mike Sweeny! 

The Island of St. Lucia is awaiting our arrival tomorrow. 

Love from Martinique

View the photo album of Martinique here!

Another French Island

Fort de France

Sometimes we forget where we come from! A few days ago, we sailed to Martinique from Dominica and the difference bewildered us. The slight culture shock was unavoidable. During the stay in Dominica, the world changed its concept in our minds. It was a place without banks or expressways. It had roads that you could walk or bike on, and people were not in a hurry! Martinique is a reality check and a reminder of the urban social structure.

The second day in Martinique we found Wifi and worked on the blog while people passing by looked at us suspiciously for sitting on the ground! At the grocery store in St. Pierre, I was asked by the security guard to open the back pack so he could inspect it as he showed me a sign in French that apparently said “No back packs in the store”! You automatically feel insulted when accused of something you haven’t done! Furthermore, the ambulance and police sirens are unnecessarily loud and you get the fear factor from them right away! It makes one wonder if there is more crime here or in Dominica?

When we started walking around the small streets in Fort de France, the banks more than anything else captured our attention. They are everywhere! Why do we have so many and what is their actual purpose? There are two sides of the coin! One major role is to keep the citizens of the planet in control. Banks are tyranny and work as an autocracy, all managed by the same individuals. In the modern society we all are slaves to the banking world as our lives and the incentives we procure are controlled by them. Almost all the citizens of the world are connected to the banking structure with a credit/ATM/Visa card and it would be impossible to live without it. We are so attached and programmed by this that it’s unfeasible to imagine it any other way. It’s time for a change and to improve the current monetary system. On the flip side, the banking infrastructure today could be the base for a better needed system in the future! This topic is broad and can not be discussed in one paragraph!    

Waterfall in Didier

All that aside, I like the French Islands! They are European and more developed than the other West Indies. The roads are more solid and you don’t see many potholes in the middle of major streets. Cars are newer and public transportation vehicles are air-conditioned and have timetables! Foremost, I like the French Islands for their great food; cheese, sausage, wine, baguettes, and pastries. The French culture is close to the Persian and Swedish. The Persians were under the influence of the French for a period of time, therefore there are French words in the Farsi vocabulary such as “Merci” which is commonly carried. Contrary, the language barrier challenges me and I wish I could speak French.

Fort de France is the biggest city in the windward Islands. Petite storefronts are all over downtown and we are only 3 minutes rowing distance to shore. The view of homes build on the hill side is eye catching. In the last couple of days, we got the chance to hike in the nature of Martinique to the waterfalls in Didier. The hike was different as we had to walk through a couple of tunnels. The second one was tricky, dark, and needed a flashlight. We walked on a large pipe to the other side. It was wet and slippery in places and the hand rail was missing, if you fell down, you would be in deep mud! We have been to many water falls along the Earthling journey. All waterfalls are different and unique. They are breathtaking and a perfect place for soothing the spirit. The Cascade in Didier is one of the tallest and definitely worth the visit. 

Houses on the Hill, Fort de France

In a few minutes, we will be sailing to Anse D’ Arlet, which is famous for its turtles.

Love from Martinique
View the Martinique photo Album here!