Puerto Rico and Southern Caribbean Cruise Jan 2020 - Day 5 - Martinique
Martinique
I set my alarm correctly! Yay! We got up, got ready and ate breakfast before meeting up with another family from our Facebook meet group. I had put out the call on the group that we were looking for another family to split a private tour with us in Martinique and so we all set off from the town of Fort-de-France for our tour with our guide, Meri.
We all piled into Meri’s tour van and set off for Sacre-Coeur de Balata (Balata Cathedral). This church was a smaller direct copy of the big Sacre-Coeur in Paris. It was built in the 20’s and had an art deco theme going on in the inside which was sort of unique. The setting was also beautiful with an amazing view.
The Disney Wonder is in this picture on the water just left of center.
We climbed back into the van and Meri drove us through the beautiful and lush rainforest on the way to a beautiful little waterfall. We had to hike down a little ways and across some slippery rocks to get there. Once we arrived, there were some picnic tables with covers and we stopped for a brief downpour (maybe a minute or two long). We hiked back up and into the van, winding back through the rainforest. We were headed for Mount Pelee, but it was socked in with fog so she said it wasn’t really worth heading up there so we moved on to our next stop at Depaz Distillery.
At Depaz we walked the beautiful grounds and gardens before visiting the distillery and where the rum is made. The manor house was beautiful and the grounds had a variety of different fruit trees on property (Emmaline plucked a mandarin off the ground and enjoyed it). Roger tasted and purchased some rum before we were on our way again.
Around noon we made our way into Saint-Pierre, formerly the capital. However, the city was destroyed by the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelee and thousands of remaining inhabitants fled for Fort-de-France. The city has rebuilt over the years but ruins of the former city remain as well as a museum (more on that later). For now, we parked and found our way into a french bakery for lunch. Being in France (Martinique is not independent and fully a part of France), how could we not experience some delicious French bread and pastries. We all had sandwiches and some delicious dessert (Meri helped us order because many in Martinique only speak French).
Some ruins of the old city we saw on the way into Saint-Pierre.
After lunch, we did a little shopping in a shop Meri recommended with handicrafts and items made on the island (vs. made in China) then we got back in the van and made the short drive to the 1902 Museum which told the story of the eruption of the volcano in 1902. We received audio guides and listened to what life life was like before, during and after the eruption. The museum had a lot of items from the time period, some that were completely unaffected (I loved the bottle of Grey Poupon mustard) and also some that were completely changed by the heat (the bell and piles of nails and scissors were really intriguing). We left the museum and walked a short ways to the site of the former theatre and a prison, marveling at a cell that contained a prisoner that survived the eruption and went on to tour with the circus as a survivor of the catastrophe.
The black beach of Saint-Pierre.
Late in the afternoon, we settled in for the drive back to Fort-de-France as it began to rain. We traveled back along the shoreline, taking a different route for a different view. We arrived back at the port and Emmaline and Roger got back onboard while I ran to an ATM to get some Euros to buy a magnet (we collect a magnet from each port and endeavor to find locally crafted souvenirs).
Once back onboard, Emmaline changed into her swimsuit and I took her up to Deck 9 to swim while I had a snack. Roger had a rest in the room and then joined me on Deck 9 where we snacked and watched a movie on Funnel vision. As the ship sailed away, Roger and I went up to Deck 10 to wave goodbye to Martinique after a really lovely day.
The volcano is on the left. Still socked in by clouds.
I went back to the room to do some ironing to prepare for semi-formal night and eventually Emmaline made her way back from the pools/slide and took a shower while I worked on my trip report and Roger lazed around and we all watched a little TV before getting dressed in our semi-formal attire and taking some photos before dinner.
After dinner, Emmaline went to Edge and Roger and I went to go see Maryellen Hooper who is a comic. Her main schtick is the perils of parenthood/marriage and she’s quite funny, however, there wasn’t room for us in Azure so they sent us across the hall to Crown and Fin Pub and piped it on the TVs in there, but it was hard to hear and people were socializing and such and after awhile we sort of gave up and left. We were tired anyway. Emmaline came back to the room around the same time and we all went to bed.
Click here for Day 6.
We all piled into Meri’s tour van and set off for Sacre-Coeur de Balata (Balata Cathedral). This church was a smaller direct copy of the big Sacre-Coeur in Paris. It was built in the 20’s and had an art deco theme going on in the inside which was sort of unique. The setting was also beautiful with an amazing view.
The Disney Wonder is in this picture on the water just left of center.
We climbed back into the van and Meri drove us through the beautiful and lush rainforest on the way to a beautiful little waterfall. We had to hike down a little ways and across some slippery rocks to get there. Once we arrived, there were some picnic tables with covers and we stopped for a brief downpour (maybe a minute or two long). We hiked back up and into the van, winding back through the rainforest. We were headed for Mount Pelee, but it was socked in with fog so she said it wasn’t really worth heading up there so we moved on to our next stop at Depaz Distillery.
At Depaz we walked the beautiful grounds and gardens before visiting the distillery and where the rum is made. The manor house was beautiful and the grounds had a variety of different fruit trees on property (Emmaline plucked a mandarin off the ground and enjoyed it). Roger tasted and purchased some rum before we were on our way again.
Around noon we made our way into Saint-Pierre, formerly the capital. However, the city was destroyed by the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelee and thousands of remaining inhabitants fled for Fort-de-France. The city has rebuilt over the years but ruins of the former city remain as well as a museum (more on that later). For now, we parked and found our way into a french bakery for lunch. Being in France (Martinique is not independent and fully a part of France), how could we not experience some delicious French bread and pastries. We all had sandwiches and some delicious dessert (Meri helped us order because many in Martinique only speak French).
Some ruins of the old city we saw on the way into Saint-Pierre.
After lunch, we did a little shopping in a shop Meri recommended with handicrafts and items made on the island (vs. made in China) then we got back in the van and made the short drive to the 1902 Museum which told the story of the eruption of the volcano in 1902. We received audio guides and listened to what life life was like before, during and after the eruption. The museum had a lot of items from the time period, some that were completely unaffected (I loved the bottle of Grey Poupon mustard) and also some that were completely changed by the heat (the bell and piles of nails and scissors were really intriguing). We left the museum and walked a short ways to the site of the former theatre and a prison, marveling at a cell that contained a prisoner that survived the eruption and went on to tour with the circus as a survivor of the catastrophe.
The black beach of Saint-Pierre.
Late in the afternoon, we settled in for the drive back to Fort-de-France as it began to rain. We traveled back along the shoreline, taking a different route for a different view. We arrived back at the port and Emmaline and Roger got back onboard while I ran to an ATM to get some Euros to buy a magnet (we collect a magnet from each port and endeavor to find locally crafted souvenirs).
Once back onboard, Emmaline changed into her swimsuit and I took her up to Deck 9 to swim while I had a snack. Roger had a rest in the room and then joined me on Deck 9 where we snacked and watched a movie on Funnel vision. As the ship sailed away, Roger and I went up to Deck 10 to wave goodbye to Martinique after a really lovely day.
The volcano is on the left. Still socked in by clouds.
I went back to the room to do some ironing to prepare for semi-formal night and eventually Emmaline made her way back from the pools/slide and took a shower while I worked on my trip report and Roger lazed around and we all watched a little TV before getting dressed in our semi-formal attire and taking some photos before dinner.
After dinner, Emmaline went to Edge and Roger and I went to go see Maryellen Hooper who is a comic. Her main schtick is the perils of parenthood/marriage and she’s quite funny, however, there wasn’t room for us in Azure so they sent us across the hall to Crown and Fin Pub and piped it on the TVs in there, but it was hard to hear and people were socializing and such and after awhile we sort of gave up and left. We were tired anyway. Emmaline came back to the room around the same time and we all went to bed.
Click here for Day 6.
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