17 Martinique

Today we decided to buy a walking tour app through GPSmycity.  We used the app and completed the City Introduction Walk of Fort-de-France in Martinique!  We actually didn't 'buy' the app as they had a 3 day trial for free - so used it very successfully.  This is the summary of the first 7 stops on our tour of 11 sites to see:

The island of Martinique is owned by France.  It is an overseas territorial collectivity, not a separate country or colony.  Residents are French citizens (who speak French!), the currency is the euro and it is part of the European Union.  In 1946 the country voted to become part of the French Republic.

Our first stop was at the Departmental Museum of Archaeology.  Once we had paid our 4 Euros (€) to enter and quickly learned that we would be putting our French to good use to read every single information sign inside the building!  A person shouldn't be surprised - Martinique is owned by France!

This was the coolest mural on the floor.  It showed all the Caribbean islands and how they are positioned on the map.  J is pointing to Martinique with his foot.  You can see Sainte-Lucia is below his foot (and therefore further south) so we know we are heading north now back towards Florida as we make our way to Antiqua tomorrow.

A more complete view of the floor mural.

We made our way across the street to Savannah Park.  A beautiful, vibrant, huge park in the centre of the city.

At each of these stops, we could play a recorded message, telling us more details about the site we were seeing.   We then went to Schoelcher Library.   This is where we ran into a friend we met at the Cruise Critic meeting so she joined us for several stops until we got to the Central Market.

We then went to the Old Courthouse, where the square out front of the courthas has been a focus of discussion.  It formerly featured a statue of Victor Schoelcher, a figure associated with the abolition of slavery in French colonies.  The statue was vandalized in recent years, sparking debates about the role of historical monuments.  Remember Victor Schoelcher was against slavery, not in favour of it.

We then went to Saint Louis Roman Catholic Cathedral - which has a spire 59 metres tall.  The cathedral's framework, is engineered to withstand various natural disasters, including fire, earthquakes and cyclones.  That is quite the feat, given that construction was initiated in 1895 (after a cyclone destroyed the previous cathedral in 1891).

Inside Saint Louise Cathedral

We then went to the Grand Market where spices, fruits, vegetables and souvenirs were sold.

We then made our way to the Theatre Aime Cesaire - which at one time was the Town Hall - and now houses performing arts shows. 

J took this photo from inside looking outside of the Theatre Aime Cesaire.

We then found a traditional French bakery where we bought a sandwich on some lovely bread.  We laughed as we ordered (in French) asking for a jambon et fromage sandwich, to which they replied no fromage.  Okay, then juste jambon!  Then we asked them to cut it in half.  The older woman at the till said, no, and the younger woman, with the sandwich in hand said oui and was cutting it in half.  Then the older woman gave a chuckle.  J in his halting French said, "Nouse aimons les Français!"  The young girl smiled and laughed and we said Merci and bonjournée!  

We walked down the street to our next stop and ate our delicious sandwich and drank our juice before entering in the Regional Muscum of History and Ethnography.  It gave us a glimps of the Creole culture of the late 19th century.  Though it was predominantly French, this museum did have English translations beside the French information.  Again it cost 4 € to enter the museum.

J enjoyed trying to pick a mango from a tree in front of the museum!  He left the fruit on the tree!

While the Fort Saint Louis is a Must-see attraction, it is only to be seen from the outside.  We were advised by somebody who works there that it isn't open to the public.  Though we later met a family that said if you could find where to buy tickets, a tour was being offered at 2 pm.  That was cutting it a bit tight for our all - aboard time of 3:30 pm.

And right across the street from Fort Saint Louis is French Beach.

You can see more of Fort Saint Louis behind French Beach here

We have had glorious weather here in the Caribbean for both of our cruises.  Today it mercifully clouded over as we ended our walking tour.  I was dripping with sweat and looking for shade.

We headed back to the ship about 1:30 pm and ate a little more lunch.  We then went up on deck 17 to have a lukewarm hot tub (perfect) and then sat on a lounger to read under the cloudy skies!

Supper was lovely (if slower than usual tonight - and I was hungry!)  Tonight's entertainment was Jassen (sounds like JAYson) Allen who performed Lionel Richie music.  He was a Las Vegas calibre entertainer.

One more port tomorrow - and then two sea days before our lovely vacation is over!

Day 16 St. Lucia

We pulled into Castries, St Lucia early this morning. As we were nearing the island, I slipped up on deck 16 at about 5:30 am. The educational lecturer Lance Schuler had suggested it was a great opportunity to see the two pitons as you approach the island. Though it was a lowly quiet experience in the morning, the light really didn't hit the two mountains to show off their glorious beauty. 

The pitons are the two mountains evident on the right.  We would get to see this UNESCO World Heritage site up close and personal today!

J tried to catch up with me but I had returned to the room by the time he got up high on deck. We ate breakfast on the Lido and ran into our dinner assistant server Definate. She advised us that they held our table for us in the Island dining room. She said they are more forgiving when the all aboard call in port was later (6:30 pm last night). So our table was empty and waiting for us last night. I must have seen the table in front of ours when I took a peak in the dining room. And now we know!

We met up with our driver Vergel at 8:45 am this morning. We booked a private car to take us exactly where we wanted to go. It was a stellar day, just like in 2012 when we last visited!  Vergel was an excellent driver (very safe) and tour guide.

We drove south from the city of Castries along the west coast towards the Pitons. 

We the got to stop at a bakery that makes cassava bread. 

This is Cassava root - like a potato.

Grinding the cassava root into a flour (after peeling and soaking)

Cooling racks on the wall.

Baking the bread on banana leaves.

This is cherry flavoured bread that I couldn't resist biting into because it was warm and delicious!!

Marigot Bay

That is the Caribbean Princess in port behind us!

After cassava bread we stoped at Cacao Sainte Lucie - a French chocolate shop that gave free samples of a high end chocolate - like Bernard Callebaut chocolates (now Master Chocolat) in Canada!  We bought a teeny tiny four pack of chocolates and consumed them at this lookout:

After this stop we headed to do the Tet Paul hike that would get us closer to the Pitons.

This was about the steepness of the path for the first 2/3 of the hike.  (It was only about one hour round trip)

And the views were magnificent!

Our guide, Fabio, led our group of eight and was a stellar photographer!

Some enterprising individual carries cold drinks, snacks and souvenirs up to the top of this hike every day!

Our group at the top of the hike with the 360 degree view!

While we worked to get up to the top - it really was a spectacular way to view the pitons up close and personal.  This hike cost $10 US and the profits went to the local village of about 400 people (Fabio's village!)

After our hike, our driver Vergel, took us to the Regional area of Soufriere, where we went to see the Sulphur Springs and Black Water Hot pools.  St. Lucia feature's the Caribbean's only Drive In Volcano.  J and I chose to walk so we could see the bubbling lava up close!

After we learned that we were IN a volcano, I was reassured to hear that before a volcano erupts all the birds and animals will go eerily silent for a few weeks.  All is well, because I hear the birds singing!

We then went to have some fun in the Black Water Pools - with temperatures of 38 C or 100 F.

The closer pools are hotter than the ones further in the distance.

You put the grey mud on first, let it dry and then the black

Clearly I wasn't as skilled as the tour guide who did the artwork on the Newlyweds above!

After the mud dried, you went inside the pools and worked it off your skin and provided your skin with a wonderful facial for the whole body!  There are cold freshwater showers offered once you get out - and four simple change rooms!

We then made our way back to the ship as our seven hour tour had come to an end.  What a marvelous day!

Supper was delicious ( and we were hungry as we had skipped lunch).  I then watched a quirky movie on MUTS and then came in to write my blog - more than 2 full hours of effort to get things in place tonight.  Somehow the tool has become incredibly frustrating.  If you don't see a post written by me tomorrow - you'll know why!

Day 15 Dominica

Today we were in Dominica (pronounced Dom-in-EEK-a).  Known as the Nature Island of the Caribbean, it’s all about waterfalls, rainforests, and mountains wrapped in mist. We last visited here in 2012 when J and JG went on a private family tour with H.O.T. Pepper Tours and we were trying to repeat that.  But things have changed a bit since then.  Hurricane Maria struck the island in 2017 and devastated many businesses.  Pepper is still in business, but he doesn't offer private tours any more, only 'smaller' group tours.  We ended up having a group of 14 being packed in tightly in his Nissan van.  A group of eight people had been picked up from a Royal Caribbean Ship and then he picked up six of us from the Caribbean Princess.  I was in the middle in the back (fourth) row in the van on some very windy, steep roads.  It took lots of concentration to face forward and not think about the turbulence in my stomach!

Some 30 minutes later we were at the Emerald Pool.  At the top of the list of places to see in Dominica is the Emerald Pool — one of the island’s most visited attractions. (Read very, very busy). Emerald Pool is located within Morne Trois Pitons National Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Pepper tells us this flower captures rain water, and the birds drink from it like a water fountain!

Pepper drove fast to get us to the Emerald Pool as soon as possible, but we did encounter loads of group tours from the ship as we were leaving the Emerald Pool, after a refreshing dip in the water.

We then went to a Black Sand Beach which we think is called Mero Beach for 45 minutes. Some folks rented loungers under a shade canopy for $5, some folks swam, some folks ate. J and I walked down the beach to explore. J explained white sand beaches are made from coral, and black sand beaches are made from volcanic debris.

We then made a trip in town to return the eight guests to the other ship. That became much more comfortable in the car with just six of us, plus Pepper. We then went to Trafalgar Falls. The Father and Mother Falls that make up the Trafalgar Falls are separated by a steep cliff face. The distance between the two falls is approximately 200 - 250 feet. Both falls are located on the upper course of the tributaries of the Roseau River.

The source of the larger fall, called the Father Fall (125 feet tall) comes from the Freshwater Lake through Ti-tou Gorge. The Mother Fall (75 feet tall) comes from the Breakfast River which flows from the Trois Biton Forest. The water from both falls join and end up meeting River Blanc (Wotten Waven). The vegetation around is a secondary rain forest.

We then went to the River Rock Cafe & Bar - where we had pre-ordered our meal of shrimp, veggies and rice. I was starving by 3 pm when we ate this - so really appreciated the meal.

After lunch we went to Ti Kwen Glo Cho Hot Water Spa (not a clean and shiny spa, rather an earthy sulphur fed spa). There were two pools - a warm pool (like a bath tub temperature) and a hot pool (too hot for me, but not too hot for J!)

As we were about to leave Ti Kwen Glo hot pools, Pepper got a flat tire! We were now about 4:45 pm and knew we wouldn't make our assigned dining time of 5 pm. Luckily another driver had a tire inflator to resolve the situation in a matter of 15 minutes - and shockingly, the tire held the air! Pepper says he gets about 12,000 km on a set of tires in Dominica!

Once we got back into the city, Pepper drove us through the Botanical Gardens and pointed out a lasting testament to the damage from the hurricane. The school got a brand new school bus in August of 2017 and the hurricane hit in September 18, 2017.

This was the damage inflicted by a tree on that brand new school bus!

Then we returned to the ship about 5:25 pm. We showered and headed up to the Lido Deck for our first dinner at the buffet. It was really tasty. It was a German theme and we got to eat spaetzle! And for dessert we had delicious vanilla ice cream with bananas Foster. We had a most interesting conversation with some seasoned cruisers at a table beside us. They got tired of packing dress clothes for cruises so they dress casually and always eat in the buffet!

We watched the Theatrical Production Show, Bravo, put on by a new set of singers and dancers and they did a solid job! It was a great show!

Tomorrow we visit St. Lucia! Thanks for reading along!

Day 14 St Thomas, US Virgin IIslands

Since I read a blog about 10 years ago I have wanted to visit Honeymoon Beach on Water Island. Today we did that!

First of all we needed to visit St. Thomas. This independent excursion is easier to do if you dock at the Crown Bat Marina as it is walking distance to the Ferry Island Ferry. Our ship was docked at Havensight - a distance of 5 km by taxi. Taxi rates are set by the government so they are a fixed rate to travel certain distances. 

The taxi rate from our pier to Crown Bay Marina costs $9 US per person. We loaded onto a Safari taxi that seats about 25 people and Crown Bay Marina was the first stop - about 15 minutes away. 

We knew the water taxi to Water Island left at the top of the hour so we would be catching the 11 am ferry as we just docked at 10 am. A person needed to go into the Marina office to purchase our round trip tickets for $20 US pp. 

While waiting we visited with two couples from the USA who were very friendly. They were travelling on one of the Royal Caribbean ships docked a stones throw away from the dock to catch the Water Island ferry. 

The biggest fish I have seen on this trip - it was about 3.5 feet long. We saw it from the Water Island Ferry dock.  We also saw a turtle in the distance. 

The ferry ride is a short 10 minutes over to Water Island. Generally there are golf carts (or bicycles I have been told) or feet to move around Water Island. 

We bypassed the golf carts as we knew it was a short steep walk for 3 to 5 minutes up a hill - then down to Honeymoon Beach. 

Our first glimpse of Honeymoon Beach as we walked with the four Americans. 

There were three large cruise ship excursions that had already arrived by boat when we arrived, so it was about three hours later when the crowds cleared enough for me to want to take pictures. 

The water was a beautiful blue and the white sand was comfortable underfoot. The waves were small so it was without effort to swim and snorkel.   Not much to spot for snorkelling so it was about spending time in the warmth of a beautiful Caribbean Island beach with a population of 116 people. 

We stayed for almost four hours and then decided to catch the 2:15 pm ferry back to the mainland. While walking up the steep hill, two girls driving a golf cart were kind enough to offer us a ride back to the ferry!  We gratefully accepted (though perhaps I was more excited than J). We had a friendly conversation with Rachel and Ashley. When we told them we were Canadians they said "Oh our neighbours to the North."  I told them offering two strangers a ride in a golf cart would be a very Canadian thing to do. And they replied, "That's the nicest thing anyone has said to us on this trip!"

So thank you Rachel and Ashley for being thoughtful humans!!

We stayed in the shade of the library / post office shelter while waiting for the ferry to return. 

And then all of a sudden there was a herd of people walking down the road, so we walked right down to the dock where we would dock the ferry. We knew the first 42 would get on the boat - and then we saw the smaller ferry boat arrive - and that count would cap out at 32!  And so a line of people were left at the dock as we pulled away.  The Captain said she would immediately return to Phillip's Landing on Water Island to pick up the remaining passengers. Given that there were four cruise ships in port today ( one of only 2 days in April where there were that many ships) I would have thought they would have the foresight to use only the larger size ferry!

But thanks need to got to the amazing blogger pescadoamarillo who posted her detailed instructions on how to visit Water Island independently for a very affordable price!!  Thank you J!! You set the standard on how to write an inspiring travel blog.  I can only hope to emulate you a teeny tiny bit in my efforts!

Once back at the Crown Bay Marina we hopped in a very lovely taxi van with two Australians who were also heading back to the Caribbean Princess at Havensight dock. We each paid $9 for the ride. The Aussies gave us some great insight on what to do when visiting Sydney in 2027. 

I went straight up to The World Fresh Marketplace (the buffet) on the Lido deck for a salad and bowl of miso soup. J changed his clothes in our cabin before joining me. I knew they changed the buffet offerings at 3 pm so wanted to ensure I got lunch!

We showered up for dinner and enjoyed our window while eating our meal!

The Norwegian Luna holds about the same number of passengers as our ship - about 3100 guests.

We both went to the show in the Princess Theatre featuring singer Trenyce. This time it was called Dancing to Disco. A very professional show and once again entertaining!!

Another great day!!