We said “au revoir” to Molly’s mom and sister in The Saintes and then
headed south towards Martinique.
Mt Pelee volcano in St Pierre, Martinique is the most deadly mountain in the world –
not K2 or Everest as most suspect.
The reason is because of the eruption in 1902 which killed 30,000 people
in St Pierre (the only survivor was a prisoner who was in jail for drunk &
disorderly conduct). When we were
here in 2014, we didn’t have time for the hike, but now, it was top of
the list. Before we left the
Saintes, we mentioned our plans to our friends Tess and Al on Ingomar and they
were interested in hiking the volcano as well.
The sail from The Saintes to Martinique, with an overnight
(just dropped the anchor, but didn’t go ashore) stop in Dominica, was brisk to
say the least. At one point, as we
passed the end of Dominica and expected the winds and waves to increase, we saw
a gust up to 47 kts. Thankfully our sails were already reefed as we have learned to be wary in the Caribbean. The waves were higher than forecasted and
since we were close hauled, the sail was definitely salty. Once we were in the lee of
Martinique (about 6 hours later), we enjoyed beautiful rainbows and calm
anchorages. The next day we set
out to do research on the hike and made plans to meet Ingomar and head to the
trailhead.
Logistics of traveling by anything other than foot in St
Pierre wasn’t simple, but we made it work. We made arrangements with our cab driver to pick us up at the trailhead in
three hours and we set out to see as much as we could in that timeframe. It was a great workout and though
we were surrounded by clouds most of the day, there were times that they would
break and we could see the bay where Terrapin and Ingomar were anchored and the
amazing views of Martinique. The
habitat that has been created since the eruption is so lush and unique – it is truly
amazing. The birds, flora and
fauna are gorgeous and we feel privileged to be here as not everyone is able
to see these things - sometimes the effort can be prohibitive.
After the hike, we headed back to St Pierre and had a great
lunch with Tess and Al. Baxter and
I made plans to leave the next day for St Anne at the southern end of Martinique. The first day we stopped in Grand Anse D’arlet and then
planned to head to St Anne the next day.
Once again, our sail was “brisk” with the wind and waves more than
forecasted. At one point, as we
rounded Diamond Rock, the waves were approximately 15 feet, curling into the
cockpit and the winds were 40+ kts, right on the nose. Alas, by noon, we were enjoying a tasty cold beverage at a French café
and laughing about the weather.
St Anne was the furthest south in the Caribbean we would be
going this winter as we have plans in March and April and needed to start
heading north. We also had friends
flying into Dominica in a week or so.
Before we left, we had a great day with Sabrina and Tom on Honey Ryder –
who we have been friends with since we had Stella Blue. It was great to see them and catch up
on past adventures and future plans.
The next day, we pulled up the anchor and headed north. Admittedly, I love French islands and
was a bit sad taking down our country flag but knowing that we’ll be back or
can return anytime makes me feel better.
Au Revoir Martinique – A bien tot!
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| Great to catch up with Tom and Sabrina on SV Honey Ryder are 2+ years away! |
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| Mt Pelee in a momentary clearing |
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| Just above the hike down into the caldera and back up to the "1902 Cone" |
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| Homage to the victims of the eruption |
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| Just the beginning... |
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| As the clouds cleared and the lush mountainsides came into view |
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| The hike up from the caldera is so steep there is one section with an actual ladder |
