{"id":66,"date":"2007-01-15T00:20:08","date_gmt":"2007-01-15T00:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sabbatical3.net\/blog\/2007\/01\/15\/naomi-visits-us-in-martinique\/"},"modified":"2025-10-01T17:03:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T17:03:14","slug":"naomi-visits-us-in-martinique","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sabbatical3.net\/blog\/?p=66","title":{"rendered":"Naomi visits us in Martinique"},"content":{"rendered":"

More fun in Martinique<\/p>\n

We left Grande Anse d’Arlet early on Friday morning headed for St. Anne
\non the SE edge of Martinique. It is only a 16 nm sail, but for most of
\nthe trip you have to head directly into the wind. The winds were
\nstrong, but luckily, the seas were not terribly rough, and we had a
\nbeautiful “motor” into St. Anne’s anchorage. This is apparently a very
\npopular spot in Martinique, and we can see why. The anchorage is huge,
\nand reasonably protected from any swell. It has mountains around it,
\nbut they are not terribly high, so they allow for a nice breeze to blow
\nthrough the anchorage. The town is an adorable little tourist town with
\na good patisserie, several restaurants, well stocked grocery stores, a
\ncouple of fruit stores, plus a daily market where they vend all sorts of
\nfruits and vegetables, plus a huge variety of spices and flavored rums.
\nVery friendly and clean and French ( garbage cans everywhere and
\npublic toilets – both important things in the scheme of things). We had
\nto check in to Martinique as we had already been in the country for a
\ncouple of days without checking in at either St. Pierre or Grand Anse,
\nso as soon as we anchored we jumped in the dinghy and headed across the
\nbay to the town of Le Marin where the customs office is. It was a 3
\nmile dinghy ride, and much to our chagrin, the wind was so strong and
\nthe seas so choppy that it was a pretty uncomfortable ride. Marin is a
\nhuge yachting center as well as the major yacht chartering marina around
\nhere and there were literally hundreds of boats in the harbor and at the
\ndocks. We managed to find the customs office at 12:20, just 10 minutes
\nbefore they closed for the day. They checked us in incredibly quickly
\nand efficiently – and we were done before 12:30. Starving, hot and
\nthirsty, we stopped at the big local seaside restaurant there – and had
\na bad, slow, but otherwise enjoyable lunch. Sometimes the French style
\nof serving can be frustrating – talk about taking it easy – they are so
\nleisurely – I don’t think you can have a lunch in less than 2 hours
\nanywhere. Interesting. We spent 90 minutes in an internet cafe trying
\nto catch up on communications, and then headed back to the boat in
\ncalmer winds and seas than when we arrived.<\/p>\n

\"Naomi<\/a>Mark’s sister Naomi arrived at the square in front of the church in St.
\nAnne at the appointed time yesterday, along with some incredibly heavy
\nbags filled mostly with gifts for Bernita’s family in St. Lucia.
\nBernita has provided loving care to Mark’s mother in New York City for
\nthe past four years. We had to use a halyard and winch to bring the
\nbags onto the boat. That evening we returned to St. Anne to walk
\naround, tried to make some phone calls, and had a lengthy dinner. This
\nmorning we checked out the open air market in St. Anne before hiking
\nalong a trail that paralleled the coast with the goal of visiting the
\nbeach at Anse Salines. It was a bit more of a walk then we bargained for
\nso we headed back after crossing Pointe Dunkerque with a view to St.
\nLucia. It started to rain hard just as we approached the Restaurant
\nOuai Ouai adjacent to the Hotel Caritan. Rain squalls this time of year
\nusually last all of ten minutes (except in the mountains), but this one
\nlasted all afternoon. We had a 2 1\/2 lunch overlooking the beach as the
\nrain beat down on the roof. When we left it was still raining although
\nnot as hard. We picked up two of these great rotisserie chickens and a
\ncouple cases of Didier, our favorite sparkling water, and returned to
\nthe dinghy which had a 6 inches of water in the bottom. We left the
\ndinghy pump on “Sabbatical III” and could not bail it out. It did not
\nmatter since we were wet from the rain and it was raining still. Upon
\narrival at the boat, Laura and Naomi skinny-dipped while Mark kept his
\nnose strategically in a book. Tomorrow morning we have to go to Marin
\nto perform the required check-out before sailing off to Rodney Bay, St.
\nLucia, weather permitting.<\/p>\n

L. & M.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More fun in Martinique We left Grande Anse d’Arlet early on Friday morning headed for St. Anne on the SE edge of Martinique. It is only a 16 nm sail, but for most of the trip you have to head directly into the wind. The winds were strong, but luckily, the seas were not terribly … <\/p>\n

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