Martinique – Our First French Island Experience

When setting sail for Martinique, we had no idea just how different the French Caribbean Islands were  from the English islands.  We had heard from other people who had been there that Martinique was supposed to have a good selection for shopping, it had cheap food and wine and beer and it had a wonderful store called Decathlon which is the equivalent of, but less expensive than, Mountain Equipment Co-op.  This was all good because we had Christmas shopping to do.

As we approached the island, a white man-made structure came into view.  As we got closer and peered through our binoculars we were able to make out cars zooming along this structure – it was a raised highway!!  A proper highway with cars on it driving in a straight line and fast!  Excitement rushed through me and it wasn’t until then that it hit me how long and far removed from so called “civilization” we had been for the last six months.

Our first stop was in the small town of St. Anne on the south coast of the island.  It has a huge bay with lots and lots and lots of boats at anchor, we had never seen so many boats in one place before

Being our first stop in a Department of France, it is here that we had to start brushing the rust off of our French.  It seems that after twenty years of not speaking the language, we are no longer as bilingual as we thought we were!  Also, we had never used boat jargon before so that was a major stumbling block in the beginning.  We now know how to say essential boating phases such as our/your anchor is dragging…we have a broken drive shaft…our diesel is leaking…do you have these parts to fix our head, etc.

One major difference between the English and French Caribbean Islands is in the customs and immigration procedures.  Every time we get to a new country, once we have dove the anchor to make sure it is set properly, the kids and I have to wait on the boat while Neil goes to customs to clear us all in.  So far, in the English Caribbean Islands, this has been a very formal process with proper customs and immigration offices and officers fully clad in heavily starched whiter than white shirts and shiny black shoes.  In Martinique, however, this process is a lot more laid back.  In St. Anne, it all takes place at a happening little cafe called Snack Boubou.  Yes, a cafe where you can get some lunch, a beer some ice cream and check in!  Furthermore, it is all done on a computer!  No white shirts or shiny black shoes, just the owner of the cafe who is busy running around bussing tables and serving up food.  Once again, vive la France!

St. Anne was a long stop encompassing Christmas shopping, Christmas decorating, Christmas, New Year’s celebrations and a few days at the dock getting the sail drive fixed.  We also finally caught up with several friends that we had met along the way and the holiday season provided many opportunities for happy gatherings.

After St. Anne, we headed around Diamond Rock to Anse d’Arlet for some snorkeling.  It was a cute little town with a lovely church right at the end of the dinghy dock (see photo).  We did some snorkeling here with some friends on Lauridae who showed us our first octopus.  They found him tucked away in a hole but knew he was there by the shells he had left in a pile outside of his hole.

The next sailing day was possibly the best sailing day we have had yet.  To leave Anse d’Arlet, Millie helped haul in the mooring lines for the first time with the Lauridae crew cheering her on from their boat.  From there we sailed a short distance to another tiny little bay called Anse Noir which is known for its snorkeling.  Since we wanted to get to St. Pierre that day, on the northern tip of the island, to catch another weather window to Dominica, this was only a short lunch stop.  We dropped anchor with only one other boat in the bay and jumped overboard.  Within no time we were swimming through a thick river of hundreds and hundreds of small fish moving about in similar directions.  It was amazing.

‘Till next time!!!