Yes, but not far. On
Thursday, February 1st, we determined we would start our trip around
the southwest corner of Martinique and head for Dominica. After the morning FOD Net, we hauled up
anchor, rolled out the jib, and gently sailed for about 2.5 hours pretty much
downwind. We passed between the main
island and Diamond Rock, and then carried on, still under jib only, to a little
bay called Anse Chaudiere. With nobody
there, we had a quiet day and night.
Dawn checked for the underwater wildlife while I cleaned the propellers
and boat bottom; both of us happy to be in clean, clear, water after so
long.
 |
| You'll have to look hard to see the octopus here. Dawn just happened to see it moving along and at this point, it has turned the same colour as the rock and never would have been detected (center of the picture). |
Steve and Maria (s/v Aspen) followed the next day, and after
enjoying the water as we had, they climbed on board for one of Dawn’s famous
“one-pot-wonders”; chicken, as is most often the case. The evening was enjoyable, but at first
light, Steve let us know that the snorkeling had aggravated a tooth he was
nursing, and they up-anchored to return to Ste. Anne for dental advice. Dawn and I carried on to Grande Anse d’Arlet,
just a mile away; where we anchored off a beautiful white beach well used by
European tourists. Today marks one week
since we’ve arrived here.
One item on our “do list” was the hike of Morne Larcher, we
went ashore to figure out the bus schedule.
Morne Larcher is the large, dead volcano that overlooks Diamond
Rock. It has a documented hike, but the
hike is too far away to get to without transportation assistance. After figuring the buses out, we returned to
shore to try out a plan. We hopped on a
large bus that actually took us for a two-hour tour of the whole
peninsula. It was a fabulous ride past
anchorages we had tried in the past and areas we had never laid eyes on. We were dropped off at the same bus stop,
only 4 Euros lighter.
 |
| When in the French islands, baguettes are a must! |
After enjoying the rest of the weekend with reading aboard,
swimming, and a very sweet lunch ashore, we set up for a bus trip to the
mountain to get this hike underway. We
arrived at 9:00, and had a great hike, just the two of us. We climbed 410 metres up a drainage swale at
45 degrees, enjoyed the views, talked to people as far away as St. Lucia by
hand-held radio, climbed down the other side, and made it to a lovely place
called “Snack Fredo” for lunch and beer.
Yes, our legs were more than wobbly.
We caught the next bus back to Cat Tales after lunch, and floated around
the end of the boat, exhausted but with a sense of accomplishment.
 |
| Dawn, heading up and up! It was a steady hour and a half to get up to the top of this one! |
 |
| The view was an exceptional reward! Now...for the down, down, down! |
 |
| A view of Diamond Rock taken from our trip around the corner of Martinique. At the right is the mountain we hiked. |
At present, we are sitting through another windy cycle; one
that just seems to have no end. We read,
work through sudoko puzzles, go for short walks while our legs heal, and deal
with the small chores. We’ve also been
working on another article for the Caribbean Compass, and will send it away
today. By the way, we have one article
just published in February’s issue. You
can read it here: http://www.caribbeancompass.com/online.html
Among the pictures, you can see a well camouflaged large
octopus, and a fantastic bit of art on a boat driven ashore by Hurricane Maria;
as well as some hiking pictures. The old
steam-driven cane crusher was in a back yard, just off the road, with no
interpretive plaques. The yard contained
concrete vats, boilers and an old chimney, and a dilapidated building. Dating at least back to 1850, and even if it
is fantastically impressive, it is just a little reminder of what it was all
about, years ago. Funny to see such
large machines looking ready to go, in a back yard.
 |
| Cane crushing equipment we just happened to stumble upon during a walk. There wasn't a sign, but the place was well tended. A nice view into their past! |
 |
| This poor boat landed on the beach during one of the hurricanes. We have no idea who did the artwork, but it's much appreciated! |
TECHNICAL
Amazingly, and scary to declare, we do not seem to have any
issues really dogging us at the moment.
Perhaps polishing some stainless and waxing sections of the boat would
be wise over the next few days while waiting for calmer weather.
