First weeks in Martinique

Discovering our surroundings

The first week was full of emotions and activities.

Finding out that the seawater was at 28°C (about 82°F) in December, was magical! The beach of the Pointe du Marin, just in front of our rental apartment is very nice. So nice that there are a few hundred boats anchored in the bay.

The first sunsets on the beach of the Pointe du Marin and the beach “Les Salines” were amazing! The hot nights full of exotic noises of the cicadas, geckos and other creatures. The fireflies at dusk really surprised us. The abundant vegetation (I could actually say jungle) is omnipresent and shows off flowers radically different from the European mainland.

On the day after our arrival, we visited three boats, and on Saturday morning, we made an offer on one of them. A Lagoon 440.

On Saturday evening, the offer was accepted. Unbelievable! (well, either that or the price was too high – we’ll see during the survey). If all goes well, we will own a boat by the end of January. Just enough time to do the maritime survey, find an insurance, etc… But Paul will tell you more about it.

For our food fanatic friends: we tasted all kinds of accras: haddock, shrimp, and fish from the local market of Sainte Anne, prepared by 3 “vié fanm” (old ladies in Créole). Fat is good!

We also tasted the smoked ribs and the smoked chickens (called “poulet boucané”) with their amazing taste of thick, unrefined smoke.

But our first weekend was mostly resting, grocery shopping to fill the bellies of the whole family, bathing in a warm and transparent sea and relaxing on the beaches around our rented apartment in Sainte Anne.

Adapting

We had planned the trip to Martinique so that the children would still be on vacation the first week of our arrival. But eventually, they had to get back to school. And it was a bit hard.

But they did manage to find their rhythm, which is, it must be said, quite pleasant: school in the morning and early afternoon, then beach in late afternoon to do “sports”. Swimming, of course!

We have also started a regular activity of cultural outings by trying to visit one historical or cultural place per week. This week, we went to visit the Savannah of the Slaves (la Savane des Esclaves), a museum on slavery in Martinique. It’s a place full of history, managed by a colorful character, with a beautiful Creole garden. Go and read the children’s account of that activity on the children’s blog for more details.

For our 2^nd weekend, we went to explore the Atlantic coast, towards the town called Le Vauclin. We had a wonderful 3 hour hike along the coast, with beautiful landscapes going from black pebble beaches, to the savannah, then the mangrove and finally a bay surrounded by mangrove trees.

FYI: this is a walk that we found on visorando (you can find it here) and that we “extended” because the site only shows the “little loop of Vauclin”. The big loop is more interesting, because you walk to the end of the cape and finish by the “Trou du Cochon” (the “Pig’s hole”: an amazing little bay in the mangrove).