Beautiful Martinique

With this poem, the movie Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara ends!

The film is about three friends Kabir, Iman and Arjun who go on vacation to Spain, before Kabir gets married. The journey turns into an opportunity to mend bonds, heal wounds, fall in love with life and overcome their worst fears. Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara makes you understand that given the unpredictable nature of life, it is important to live in the moment rather than worrying about the future or regretting the past. Make the most of today. There is no point in holding a grudge as it will hinder your peace of mind. We enjoyed the film and I couldn’t have described the message better. Rajesh recognized a lot of how Jeroen and I are standing in life. We couldn’t get a nicer compliment in my opinion.

The options for making healthy and varied meals have been limited in recent months. The choices of fresh vegetables available were; white cabbage, okra, carrots and the occasional cauliflower (if affordable!). Now I make the tastiest curries out of this and I also cook a lot of vegetarian dishes with lentils, chickpeas, green peas and chili beans. Still, it’s nice to know when you arrive in Martinique that there are well-stocked supermarkets with a greater variety of fresh fruit and vegetables. Also, the baguette crossed the ocean from France and is therefore not missing in the street scene here, as well as the croissants and the wine. It really feels like a luxury.

We sailed to Martinique because of an appointment Jeroen has for the manufacture of a new diesel tank. We don’t know why the old owner removed the original diesel tank and replaced it with a much smaller 180 liters, but a small diesel tank is not useful for our longer crossings. With Amel’s original drawings under his arm, Jeroen set off early this morning to Carrib Metal, where he has an appointment with mr. Pillów. For two days, he and Pillów discussed all scenarios, made drawings and discussed them here on board the boat in the technical room where the diesel tank is to be installed. They came together with the final drawing and the new diesel tank will be ready around 5 December. The new diesel tank that will be installed will have a volume of 540 liters. In addition, Jeroen spent five days collecting spare parts and did the initial maintenance on the generator and diesel engine. After five days in the bay of Le Marin, we all long for some more exercise. The bay of Le Marin is not clean enough, therefore swimming is not an option here. We are planning to sail to Saint Martin and be back in Martinique on December 5th for the installation of the diesel tank. My sister Hanneke has been so kind to send our last items, which we still had in the Netherlands, to Saint Martin, together with a box full of Dutch goodies and a new controller for our drone! Rajesh can’t wait to make beautiful recordings again. The weather forecasts indicate that a depression is coming with wind speeds over 40 knots, around and above Saint Martin. Not a wise time to sail that way directly. A great opportunity to discover some more bays here on Martinique.

The first bay we sail to is Grande Anse d’Arlet, where we sail to in four hours. Grande Anse is located north of the town of Anses d’Arlet. It is a beautiful and large beach of fine sand that extends in an arc between two rocky points. Very lively thanks to the many bars and small restaurants that border it, it is also known for the beauty of its underwater world and to protect that underwater world, it has recently been forbidden to anchor and anchor buoys have been placed for the passing boats that want to enjoy it here. It is a charming little town with rather modest houses along the waterfront, facing a bay well protected by the green hills of Morne Réduit to the north and Morne Champagne to the south. The long stretch of fine sand dotted with a few coconut palms and numerous terraces is very popular with Martinicans who like to come here for a weekend family picnic, or have a ti-punch with friends while watching the sunset. Grande Anse is a well-protected bay from the prevailing winds, the anchorage is secure and a large pontoon makes it easy to disembark for a drink, or to buy groceries from the small grocery shop in the village. You can snorkel along the cliffs of Cap Salomon to the north of the beach, or to the south, at the foot of the Morne Champagne. In some places, there are drop-offs where you can descend up to 20 meters. Perfect for ‘freediving’, diving under water without using breathing equipment. We’re not getting that deep yet, but we’re practicing hard.

The next day we took a walk to the bay next door called Anse d’Arlet. Among the surrounding hills, the small town of Anses d’Arlet with its old Creole houses is located along a beautiful bay of fine sand. Opposite the church, a large wooden jetty divides the beach into two parts. On the right a long strip of sand in full sun, where many fishing boats are anchored. On the left, a majestic tree a few meters from the water provides welcome shade, while a little further on, small beach restaurants, open only during the day, offer some food and drink on their shaded terraces. One of the great assets of Anses d’Arlet beach is this curious boulder that rises about twenty meters from the shore. A lonely rock, planted there on a bottom of 3 meters, which the local fish particularly appreciate, when the beach is not too crowded. Otherwise, the fish will seek refuge at the foot of the Champagne and Bellevue hills bordering the beach. At the end of the day we walk back with a beautiful rainbow in the background.

The next day we sail a little further around the corner to Anse Noire. The only black sand beach in southern Martinique. A strip of volcanic black sand overlooked by the steep slopes of the adjacent hills, drowned in vegetation, the small cove of Anse Noire offers a landscape very different from the beaches of the south of the island. Wilder and more intense. Here too we snorkel along the rocks. The Navionics app told us that Anse Noire is a less crowded beaches than the others in the town of Anses d’Arlet. Could this be due to the 136 steps of the staircase? However, we found it very busy at the end of the day. 10 boats were anchored in the relatively small bay, and all boats had just enough room to turn 360 degrees around their anchor. Have you ever heard of the legend of the Caribbean green flash? Well, the banana on the cream pie (no cherries here) is a beautiful sunset. Keep scanning the horizon carefully, as the sun disappears into the back of the sea, if you’re lucky… you’ll catch a glimpse of an emerald green flash. The sparkle will disappear as quickly as it appeared. Jeroen has been the lucky one of us who truly experienced it. Unfortunately for Rajesh and I this remains a legend for now.

The next morning, we walked to Anse Dufour. Anse Dufour, the tanned twin of Anse Noire, has the lightest sand on the island! At the foot of the rock where the road ends, hidden by a screen of trees, you can see through the branches a small cove of golden sand in front of which a few fishing boats are anchored. A staircase and a ramp for people in wheelchairs provide access. This small fishing village nestled in the hollow of a bay offers a journey back in time. Everything seems to have stopped forty years ago. Down on the left a few fishermen’s huts, on the right two cafe-restaurants with an old-fashioned atmosphere, and then the beach. Here we snorkelled for hours and watched the pelicans that dive, into the water next to the people in the water, for a nice meal.

The next morning, we motor half an hour to Fort de France. Here we do some shopping and Jeroen goes to immigration and customs to check us out. Saturday morning, we will sail to Saint Martin. A trip of 249 NM.