Fort de France 7th-8th March 2018

Fort de France   7^th-8^th March 2018

First thing in the morning on Wednesday, Mike went to shore to bring the car back to the rental place.  It was a very showery day, I’m sure he got more than a bit wet on the cycle back from Anse Mitan.  I, on the other hand, did some sewing on my project. While it wasn’t a lot of progress, it was progress.  I also did a bit of cleaning of the inside of the boat (so as not to feel too guilty). When Mike got back we had early lunch before setting off for the other side of the bay.

After lunch, we motored over to Fort de France from Trois Islets.  Although it’s only a couple of miles in a straight line, that route would take you across some very shoal areas.  So we moved across in a very stylish S-curve path.  The anchorage at ‘FdeF’ seems to be wedged between the ferry path and Fort St. Louis.  At first glance there seemed an overabundance of boats as well.  We picked a spot and dropped the hook.  Either our markers have worn off or they were so coated in mud that I couldn’t see the early ones.  We got into a bit of debate about how much chain was down.  [In the end we weren’t fully happy with our position, at times we seemed a bit too close to the boat on our starboard side.  We put out our fenders and tied the dinghy along side overnight—just in case.  Thankful in the morning that boat departed!]

After a short rest, we got the engine on the dinghy and puttered off to shore.  A long dinghy dock lines a portion of the waterfront.  It’s actually pretty nice but needs some maintenance, in my opinion.  We set off in search of ice cream.  When you come to civilization, it seems like you should eat ice cream.... A place on the pedestrian area seemed just the ticket.  Mike went for two boules (being a guy)—Kiwi and raspberry, I went for the Cassis (as you don’t get that just anywhere).  It was terrific (if wildly expensive). On our way back to the dinghy dock, we bumped into a couple that we had met on the dock at Trois Islet.  We had a nice chat and got their boat card.  They are from Michigan and still headed south, planning to cross to St. Lucia sometime soon.  Then it was back to the boat for dinner. Soon it was boater’s midnight...

Thursday morning we walked around the town looking at the sights: the library that was designed by Eiffel, built in France  (out of metal ) and shipped here, the cathedral of St. Louis (that somewhat oddly seems to close for lunch), a cultural center with a terrific display of masks, the chandlery and the fish market.  At that point we found ourselves hot, tired and hungry.  Also we seemed to be in the least salubrious part of town we had yet encountered.  We could see a “chapel” on the to of a hill, Mike was keen to walk up there and take the view.  I was more keen to sit down and cool off.  Finally, we found the tourist bureau and got some idea of where there might be a cafe.  Lina’s was air conditioned, had wifi and made a very tasty sandwich.  Sadly, lunch was quite costly—at least they had a bathroom!  Our good humor was largely restored after lunch and we set off to climb the hill to the “chapel”.  I might have suspected something based on fact that it seemed to be called Cavalry.  The ‘stations of the cross’ lined the walkway up the steep hill.  Arriving at the top the chapel turned out to be a slightly overgrown niche with a crucifix.  The view was worth it though.  We trekked back to the boat, Mike grabbed the dirty laundry and detergent and set off to the laundrette we had spotted on our travels.  I worked on trying to cool down—lying on the floor under the hatch in the v-berth with a wet wash-cloth around my neck.  Once I started to revive, I did a bit more guilt-cleaning....

Gloria

Fort de France - note anchorage on the edge of downtown

Fort de France - a mixture of old and new - a colorful city

Fort de France - a mixture of old and new - a colorful city

The cathedral reflected in the glass of an adjacent mall

Calvary Chapel above Fort de France

Calvary Chapel above Fort de France

The Schoelcher library - designed by Eifel and shipped from France

The Schoelcher library - designed by Eifel and shipped from France