Martinique: St. Pierre and Fort-De-France

St. Pierre with Mont Pelee in the clouds

St. Pierre
We set off for Martinique on the morning of April 26.  For the first three hours, the winds in the lee of Dominica were light and we needed to motorsail.  Once we reached the channel between the islands, however, the wind picked up and we were able to shut down the engine and sail until we were in the lee of Martinique.  Our first stop was St. Pierre, the town that was known as the ‘Paris of the Caribbean’ until Mont Pelee erupted in 1902.  As we turned toward St. Pierre, we had beautiful views of the volcano and the town.  For the next two nights, we were anchored just south of town at Anse Turin.  While in St. Pierre, we visited the volcano museum, saw the ruins, did some boat school, and swam and snorkeled off the boat. 

View of Mont Pelee from theater ruins

Kids in the theater ruins

 Fort-de-France
On April 28 after a two-hour motor into the wind (and after having to change the fuel filter in the starboard engine since it stalled repeatedly just as we entered the tight anchorage - quick change of course back to the bay!!), we anchored below Fort St. Louis on the Fort-de-France waterfront.  We hadn’t been to a city in a while, so we made sure to do plenty of shopping, visit a restaurant or two (yum - crepes!), replenish our provisions at a large, modern grocery store, and enjoy croissants and other treats from the patisseries.  One afternoon, we took a ferry across the bay to Trois Ilets to visit the beaches there.  We also caught up briefly with Mike and Eva on SV Tell Tales Again.  A large park on the waterfront hosted a gospel festival over the weekend we were anchored there.  On Saturday night, the soldiers stationed at the fort held an 80s party – you can imagine how those two music genres sounded when played loudly at the same time!

View of Fort-de-France from ferry