After nearly two weeks in Le Marin and Sainte-Anne’s hoping to get our battery issues sorted out, we realized we’d have wait nearly a month for replacement batteries to be shipped from the States to Sint Maarten. With that decided, we sailed north from Le Marin to the capital town of Fort-de-France, about 20 miles north. The easterly wind was brisk and with a reefed main and reefed genoa we scooted along the coast past Diamond Rock towards Fort-de-France.
We arrived in mid-afternoon and took a long time trying to find a spot to anchor in the very limited and crowded anchorage near Fort St. Louis. Ironically we anchored too close to a French-Canadian boat who came out on deck and said it was OK and that he was leaving early in the morning.
The weather was still very boisterous and alternated between blue sky and rain squalls followed by beautiful sunsets. As always following a tough passage we had a quick dinner and just chilled out down below, hoping the anchor was securely set before we went to bed.
The town features a rectangular grid of streets, and we began at one end and went back and forth from street to street. What surprised us the most was that Fort-de-France is a fashion center of sorts in the Caribbean, with hundreds of small shops selling fabrics, findings, lingerie, and clothing. Meryl had a great time looking for the ubiquitous French bikini and other fashions in the various stores.
Like all of Martinique, Fort-de-France has a strong French influence, including the famous Schoelcher Library that was constructed in France and then completely disassembled and shipped to Fort-de-France where it was reconstructed. The architectural detail is incredible.
We saw a large crowd of French tourists in front of a store and joined the crowd who was watching a local lady grind up sugar cane stalks into the most sugary drink I’ve ever had. Still not sure what it’s called but I’m sure it had a zillion calories.
The town features a huge vegetable/fruit market with hundreds of vendor stalls selling about any type of veggie you could desire, along with folk art and handicrafts.
We had a wonderful lunch of ham & cheese pannini's at a sidewalk cafe (of which the French do such a great job) and then straggled back to the boat for an afternoon nap.
We arrived in mid-afternoon and took a long time trying to find a spot to anchor in the very limited and crowded anchorage near Fort St. Louis. Ironically we anchored too close to a French-Canadian boat who came out on deck and said it was OK and that he was leaving early in the morning.
The weather was still very boisterous and alternated between blue sky and rain squalls followed by beautiful sunsets. As always following a tough passage we had a quick dinner and just chilled out down below, hoping the anchor was securely set before we went to bed.
The town features a rectangular grid of streets, and we began at one end and went back and forth from street to street. What surprised us the most was that Fort-de-France is a fashion center of sorts in the Caribbean, with hundreds of small shops selling fabrics, findings, lingerie, and clothing. Meryl had a great time looking for the ubiquitous French bikini and other fashions in the various stores.
Like all of Martinique, Fort-de-France has a strong French influence, including the famous Schoelcher Library that was constructed in France and then completely disassembled and shipped to Fort-de-France where it was reconstructed. The architectural detail is incredible.
We saw a large crowd of French tourists in front of a store and joined the crowd who was watching a local lady grind up sugar cane stalks into the most sugary drink I’ve ever had. Still not sure what it’s called but I’m sure it had a zillion calories.
The town features a huge vegetable/fruit market with hundreds of vendor stalls selling about any type of veggie you could desire, along with folk art and handicrafts.
We had a wonderful lunch of ham & cheese pannini's at a sidewalk cafe (of which the French do such a great job) and then straggled back to the boat for an afternoon nap.
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