Surprising St. Lucia

Surprising St. Lucia

Being a little over stuffed with the French goodies, we kind of expected St Lucia to be more like Dominica.  However, it is more like an “American English-speaking” French Island. There is a lot of Caribbean charm here but also the polish we had seen in many parts of the French islands – at least in Rodney Bay. It also helps that St Lucia like Martinique has been spared by the last big hurricanes. Our first stop was Rodney Bay – where we chose to drop the hook below Fort Rodney on Pigeon Island. The Captain reported that check in here was easily taken care of while the crew finished doing a load of laundry. Steve did have a snorkel in the park and was not wowed, but it did cool him off so was worth the effort. In front of us was also the Sandals Resort and their boats occasionally rocked us but otherwise we were mostly on our own compared to the fleet anchored across the bay. Oh, yes there was loud music – some of it jazz but a lot just noise from the local beach. Fortunately, they all went home fairly early – before 2AM anyway!  

However, there is a wonderful grocery store with a very convenient dinghy dock at the end of the lagoon.  We stopped first for lunch at the marina then dinked on over to see what the shops offered.  While we loved shopping in the French groceries, the store here had familiar brands and many, many choices.  It is definitely a place to come and resupply the boat if we ever deplete the stores we have on board. In addition, the shops around the grocery include all sorts of other essentials from clothing and shoes to “stuff”.  On the other side of the marina is a hardware store and Island Water World marine shop.  Altogether Rodney Bay is a great shopping/stock up/restock stop!

Early one morning we tied to the park dock – Pigeon Island is a national trust park – and walked out to have breakfast at Prudy’s Escape while we waited for the park to officially open so we could pay our entry fees. After enjoying Prudy’s feast with excellent homemade bread, we entered legally and climbed up to the fort ruins. (After the park opens there is usually a staff member posted near the dink dock to collect fees.) The island has been a strategic English stronghold since the late 1700s from which the Brits could keep an eagle eye on the French Martinique 25 miles to the north – at least on a clear day. We didn’t hike up to the signal hill that sported communications towers maned by the USA during WWII. Just wasn’t clear enough to warrant the effort? OK maybe lazy???

Off to our next stop a mooring in Marigot Bay. We stopped here to wait for a mail drop from our mail service – we haven’t seen mail in many months and our box was overflowing.  However, since we rarely have been in a marina it has been difficult to organize a drop.  Marigot Bay Resort has beautiful facilities in a protected bay and includes mooring balls.  The plan was to enjoy the resort, catch up on chores while we waited for our mail. Lots of laundry later – and a little snorkel or two (washed all the cushions, pillows and soft stuff!) our mail packet was delivered.  We grabbed it from the FedEx deliveryman and headed on south to Soufriere home to another marine reserve.  Here we got a mooring from Distant Thunder – the local boat-based fruit & veg man.  

helping with the lines

selling fruit

Besides replenishing our fresh fruit, he organized a tour for us of some unique sites.  The first stop was the drive-in volcano.  This is a local hangout with 24 ponds in the volcano crater which bubble and smoke like a scene of mass destruction. Clever folks have also channeled the hot water to mix with a cooler spring and pool in some bathes that are popular with visitors and locals alike.  The “healthy” volcanic mud is also made available to be slathered on the body and then washed off in the pools (or showers for the more fastidious.) We didn’t take time to try the mud bathes but enjoyed the walk into the Sulphur pools and the views surrounding the crater.

Out of town we stopped at a lush waterfall dripping with tropical rainforest vegetation.  As on many of these volcanic islands, roads are full of hairpin curves, narrow, and steep. We did stop at a nice view point overlooking the harbor at Soufriere.  Of course, a lovely St Lucian lady had a stall selling her “local” products.  

Everywhere here in Soufriere we found stalls with eager (OK aggressive) sales men and women. Some chased us down the street dangling and arm full of necklaces – decidedly not locally made. However, the natural beauty of the area made it easy to overlook the hard sell.  There was clearly a double standard as well with fancy, fancy homes on the hills and hovels just below. It was hard not to buy just to “help” those struggling during this low season.

The major attraction here is the diving and the striking drama of the Pitons – the Petite and Gros Piton – very steep and tall cones which drop off into deep water. In addition to mooring in the harbor we also moved over to the bay between the Pitons for a few nights to enjoy the dramatic views. Sadly, these also came with a stiff current and swirling winds that came off the mountains making the anchorage rolly. Fortunately, the flopper stopper helped most of the time. Our stay was extended since we had to wait for yet another FedEx delivery back in Marigot, but lingering gave Steve a chance to dive several times with Perry – his personal guide and clean aquatic growth off the the boat bottom. Diving in St Lucia must be done with a local dive shop or guide.  Since the season is mostly over, it was easy to organize personal trips and Perry turned out to be a most cheerful and easy-going guide.  He and his boat captain would pick Steve up from our boat – they managed to find us where ever we had spent the night – and would speed off for a dive or two. Great service with a smile and hard to beat with spectacular under sea entertainment. 

With last FedEx in hand we finally checked out and prepared to head on south to St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG).

Another stop in the land of croissant - Martinique

Another stop in the land of croissant

Martinique like the other French islands is really French.  They are citizens of France so checking in here is as easy as traveling to France and just as tasty with a little added spice.

Our first stop in Martinique was St Pierre in the shadow of Mount Pelée. This volcano erupted with devastating result on May 8^th 1902.  The town at that time was the capitol of the island with impressive wealth and commerce.  Today a few ruins tell the story of the nearly 30,000 people who died in this disaster. Photo of museum interior - bell salvaged and wall engraved with names of those who died

The newly renovated and most impressive Monument Museum next to the ruins of the theater displays artifacts and photos of the eruption accompanied by audio recordings of post cards and histories of the event. Although there were a few survivors, Cyparis who was in jail for murder and lived through the fire, mud and ash in his cell, was paraded by the circus as the only man to live through the eruption. We also walked through the remains of the massive theatre built in the mid-1700s. It sits next to the jail cell bunker where “the survivor” was sheltered by the thick concrete walls.

bunker JAIL

We also walked out of town to the Depaz Distillery built on the remnants of the family estate – the founder of the distillery, Victor Depaz, lost his entire family in the eruption of 1902 while he was in Paris studying.  Although he intended to move to Canada, his ship had to make an emergency stop in Martinique which he took as a sign he should remain in his native island.  His “rhum” has endured and this family business frequently wins awards for traditional rhum agricol – made directly from the sugar cane harvested on the island.  They have a convenient and -marked tour of the distillery and the processes plus a stop at the family chateau sitting on the hill above the factory. 

mixing a Ti Punch

The 45-minute uphill walk was worth the effort and helped justify all the treats from our favorite boulangerie – The Baguet Shop. Returning to town we wandered though the Rasta Marche (Market) being held in the city center.  The stalls were selling all things Rastafarian from good eats to head dresses and assorted other fashion items. It wasn’t necessary to indulge in consumption of herbal substances – just breathing probably gave us some of the “angels share”.

Steve joined the local dive group for a morning outing which he said was okay – but still not up to Saba standard.

Mt Pelee with his head in the clouds

In transit to the capitol city of Fort de France, we spent a quiet night (after the bars with loud music closed) off Le Carbet just a few miles south of St Pierre.  This made our run into the spacious anchorage off Fort St Louis a short, short day.  We used the leisure to catch up on laundry although Steve did manage to hunt down a boulangerie for our morning treats. During our time here, we took advantage of the local tourist office’s audio tour – available in English to visit most of the historic sights in town. This is a self-guided tour with a “smart” wand that when touched to the sight on the map provided, educated us on the history of the building and its architecture. We stopped at the most “grand” Schoelcher Library and the St Louis church both metal structures – a response to the fires that destroyed the town. The intricacy of these buildings and the decorative details were impressive.  The library was created by Gustave Eiffel of the tower fame. It was first displayed at an exhibition in France, then disassembled and shipped to Martinique, and finally re-constructed in its present home. It is a credit to the French government and the people of Martinique that these 19^th century treasures have been preserved. 

We also were lucky to get a guided personal tour of fort St Louis.  Since it is an active French Navy base our tour was limited to outer areas of the old walls but we definitely got a feel for life as the soldiers lived from its earliest occupation in the 1600s. It was impressive to look down on our tiny boat from the walls of the fortress and contemplate the lives of the many who occupied this strategic point over the years. 

A welcome to arriving French ship!

In one museum  we learned about the Ameri-Indians (Caribs) who lived here before the arrival of Europeans. For a little over 20 years between 1634 and 1658 the two groups actually divided the island of Martinique and managed to live somewhat peacefully together.  However, in the end the superior weapons and desire for the rich land, resulted in decisive victories over the Caribs –  those not killed retreated to Dominica and St Vincent where remnants still survive today. The sophistication of their cultural artifacts as represented in the museum testify to our loss. Although they did not have the weapons of the Europeans, they cleverly used all the local products to fashion useful as well as decorative items for their daily lives. Also, many words and agriculture products from the Caribs are still a part of the French and English lexicon today. It is sobering to imagine what they could have taught us if we had approached them with more mutual respect.

We took a break in the charming lobby café of the Hotel L’Imperatrice an Art Deco style 1950’s building – just one of many casual and relaxing places in Fort de France for the hard-working tourist or local.

Another excursion took us out to the Galleria on the new TCSP tram – a $3 round trip took us from the exotic to the “anywhere in the world MALL” experience. We had a strange feeling that we could be in almost any big city in the world – only a few signs in French located us, but not much made it Caribbean. The French fashions did catch Admiral’s eye and although tempting most would sadly not be useful on a boat.

Seeking a quiet day, we stopped at Anse Noir but were joined by several boats in party mode on this May 22^nd holiday – Abolition Day.  The cozy anchorage was still charming with crystal clear water.  Although not the quiet day we expected, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves – including the folks jumping from the cliffs.

We did have to move before sunset to the larger open area at Grand Anse d’Arlet so we did not disturb the fish in the morning when the fishermen were coming to catch them.  The local fisherman came with his cute your female translator to ask us politely to move. Never hurts to have a bikini clad assistant make this kind of request! The move made for a shorter run to our next stop at Sainte Anne at the south end of Martinique, so it wasn’t really any problem.  

Passing the famous SHIP ROCK - disguised to be a ship to attack the enemy:

Another wide open and expansive anchorage just packed with boats – fortunately not too close so everyone had some privacy.  The town has a beautiful dock for dinghy access to this cute little village. One of the “activities” here is a walk/hike up the hill on the path that is marked with the stages of the cross.  

The steep path is well worth the climb for the view and the breeze.  Busses run from here to the larger commercial center of Le Marin – we could have moved the boat into this very protected harbor, but since the weather was fine, we opted to stay at St Anne and bus in to visit the chandleries and shops. In the end we made two trips. The second because the local shop with the customs computer was taking a vacation, so we had to clear out at the marina in Le Marin. No worries -  this gave us one more chance to visit the big grocery stores and stock up on French goodies before heading on south.

cute St Anne

Friday drinks with other cruisers