There are so many different coves in Martinique and we wanted to explore some more of the island.  So, we sailed north to Trois Ilets.  Our guidebook indicated that it would be a calm anchorage without swells.  This area is tucked way back in the Forte de France Bay, which was huge.  We anchored in the bay off of a golf course.  The guidebook was correct in that we didn’t get swells there.  However, the waves were two feet high or so because the wind had the whole bay to kick them up.  The water in this bay was cloudy, so we didn’t want to go in the water.

This town was definitely local and didn’t really cater to yachters.  The first day that we arrived was the end of Carnival.  So, many of the businesses were closed.  Garbage was strewn along the streets and the entire area looked neglected.  We did meet a nice man at the dinghy dock who understood my broken French enough to tell us it was OK to tie up our dinghy.  I felt a little guarded walking around this area.  We walked up the hill towards the church and then went in search of the best patisserie on the island, according to Doyle’s guidebook.  We found it and the patisseries were beautiful.  We also found where the laundrett was located as well as the gas station and the grocery store. 

Along this walk we came to a round-about.  There were 15 to 20 foot high statues in the round-about that seemed to depict slavery.  We had seen signs to a slave memorial as well.  So, I believe this is a strong part of the culture in Trois Ilets. 

After completing our laundry and going grocery shopping, we were back on the boat.  A small tender with “Douane” marked on the side and several authoritative men dressed in black came up close to the back of our boat.  They peered in at us, through the laundry that I had hung to finish drying.  They kept going, however, and we definitely kept an eye on them.  Later I read that they were customs.  I’m guessing that we were so far tucked away in the bay that they get ne’er-do-wells in there.  Because we didn’t love the anchorage, we decided to move our boat to Pointe de Bout.

With few exceptions, we haven’t found the meat in the Caribbean to be as tasty as at home. On most of the islands that we have visited we have seen goats roaming freely. Martinique is the first island on which we saw with a healthy herd of cows grazing.

We had great timing on Martinique because our visit coincided with Carnival. In Sainte Anne we heard music playing in town. At Anse D’Arlet, a band was playing on the beach. And, both towns were decorated colorfully. These are pictures of two different posters that lined the street between Anse D’Arlet and Grande Anse D’Arlet.

After spending a couple of days in Sainte Anne on Martinique, we decided to sail north to Anse D’arlet. This is a small seaside town that appears to be family oriented. We arrived during the Carnival festival and a band playing on the beach. (We could hear the music easily from our boat.) Families were there enjoying the water, dancing to the music, and socializing with friends on the promenade. Everything seems to center around the chiming of the bells from the centrally-located church. Of course, we found the local patisserie and tried some of their goods.

One day we walked around the point to Grand Anse D’Arlet. This town was set up more for tourists in that it had a pedestrian-only promenade along the waterfront. This was lined with dive shops, restaurants, and souvenir stalls. And, there was a pier there.

Thursday was a calm weather day which meant it was a good day to travel. While we stayed in the Rodney Bay marina longer than we had originally planned, we had a great time there. Our boat was tied up on the end of “G” dock. This meant we had a great view of the channel, super yacht dock, and the many restaurants in the marina. We met some great new friends and reconnected with people we had met last year.

Monday through Saturday a couple runs a cruiser’s net at 8a. We tried to listen in on our vhf radio every day to see what was happening on the island as well as in the marina.

After roughly three weeks in St. Lucia, it was time to move on to the next island in the chain, Martinique. Every time we enter a new country, we need to clear customs. The restaurant in this picture had a customs computer in a side room and we cleared in there. Fun Fact: Before sailing, we never knew that the French have a different placement of letters on their keyboards. It makes typing a challenge.

There is a superyacht called St. David in the Rodney Bay marina. They are filming “Below Deck” on this superyacht. There was a videographer shooting B role of boats going into the channel. Who knows, our boat may show up in the background of one of their episodes.

Many of the bays that we have visited have local vendors who stop by the boat to sell souvenirs, bread, or fruits and vegetables. This is a picture of Gregory’s boat, which visited us several times in Rodney Bay as well as in the marina. His boat is more colorful than most.

In Rodney Bay we like to anchor off of Pigeon Island. Pigeon Island is a park which contains an old British fort. It has many walking trails on it, a beach, and snorkeling. When anchored there, we get into a routine whereby we walk on the trails and up to the lookouts in the mornings. It is really important to us to get off of our boat, and onto land, to exercise and stretch our legs. There are a couple of different restaurants onsite or just outside of the gate and one day we met friends for lunch.

Marigot Bay is probably the calmest bay that we have ever stayed in. It is no wonder that it is used as a hurricane hole. We ended up staying on the marina’s mooring ball, which was about thirty feet from the dock. We went to the lovely pool one afternoon to cool off since there wasn’t much wind throughout the bay. And, we went to the Hurricane Hole restaurant to watch part of the Super Bowl. It just wasn’t the same watching the game without our home team or TB12 playing in it.

We also took a nice walk to the ridge that overlooked the bay. Part of it was quite steep and we had to hold onto ropes to ensure that we didn’t fall.

Here is a fun fact about Marigot Bay. The movie, Dr. Doolittle, was filmed here. So, every day tour boats sailed into the bay to look around. Someone even had a drone flying above us, though I’m sure they were more interested in looking at the super yachts.

After two nights, we decided to head back up to Rodney Bay.

After three nights, we left the beautiful Pitons and sailed north to Marigot Bay, St. Lucia. The bay is cute, with palm trees, mangroves, and several restaurants. We are tied up to a mooring ball and have access to all amenities in the marina, including their beautiful pool, spa, and internet. We are going to spend three nights here before heading north to Rodney Bay.