Martinique!

We sailed into St Pierre, Martinque on a misty morning after the 35 mile sail from Dominica. St Pierre is a French provincial town that was once considered the Paris of the Caribbean. In its day, great ships ladened with sugar and rum filled the harbor and the town itself was a bustling, cultural centre. That was until May 8th 1902 when the entire town and all but 2 of it’s residents were obliterated in one fatal eruption of Mount Pelée, a 1400m volcano that looms over the town. Pelée had been dormant for half a century until it grumbled awake a week or so before the final blow. It ranks as the deadliest volcanic disaster of the 20th century and apparently there are no less than 10 sunken ships still sitting on the harbour seabed from that fateful day.

Colonized by France in 1635, Martinique has subsequently remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign occupation. Napoleon Bonaparte’s first wife Joséphine de Beauharnais was a native of Martinique and today, it oozes with a unique fusion of French and West Indian cultures. 

It was a flying visit but we accomplished a lot- A walk through the sleepy village where buildings were constructed atop the old ruins and surviving stone foundations of pre 1902.  A wander passed the Fort Cemetery and a hike up into the hills for a view of the harbour and rooftops. A late lunch at a French restaurant followed by a little shopping and later, we watched the carnival parade shimmy along the main, waterfront street from the comfort of Tika’s foredeck… And as the light started to fade we took off on another overnight sail to The Grenadines. We were still all a little traumatised from our dragging experience in Dominica and had our sights set on a chilled week or two in the clear waters and white, sandy (as opposed to black, volcanic) beaches of the Grenadines. We didn’t even spend one night in the bay at Saint Pierre….The Grenadines and beyond- here we come!

Next Post: The Grenadines; A Turtle Sanctuary and one of our Favourite Anchorages of the Trip…