Le Marin,
Martinique
14.27.688N
60.52.108W


Thank heavens this morning I was able to sleep in. At 8 am, Dale started the genset and took off for the town to check us into customs with Gerry. Then they were off shopping for guy things.

While they were gone I was in charge of running the refrigerator and making water, which of course I did. I was also able to take a leisurely shower and wash my hair. Then I brought out the guide books and figured out where the botanical gardens were that Nicky and I wanted to go see.

When the guys came back, they had the usual assortment of oil, wire and various metal things but Gerry came back with a bright yellow dinghy as well. It seems, he’s tired of getting wet on his dinghy rides and decided to buy another one with a higher bow. Nicky immediately dubbed it the Custard Bullet.

So we left the men behind playing with their new toys while we went in search of a rental car and map. After 3 tries, we found one that was fairly reasonable and off we went. I had asked Nicky to drive figuring that on a French island they would drive on the left hand side of the road but when we picked up the car we discovered that no, they drove on the right hand side of the road. It didn’t matter, we were off on our own and having a blast. There were several round abouts along the way and the car couldn’t get out of its own way if it had to but the hardest part was getting onto the freeway from all of the little one way roads. Once found, it was rather simple to make our way to the Jardin de Balata.

We took a leisurely stroll through the gardens, starting with the hummingbird feeders that lined the porch of the reception area. Then through the gardens filled with bromeliads, palm trees, ferns, water gardens, gingers, haliconias and orchids. We should have picked up some lunch before hand but ended up having some ice cream to tide us over until dinner time.

On our way back down the mountain, we stopped at the Eglise de Balata, the twin to the famous Basilica de Sacre Cour located in Paris. Nicky had been to the original church and said that this one was just like it only smaller. A wedding was being prepared for and we caught a glimpse of the bride before we left.

On the way back, we noticed that there was a pottery village that was just a little off our route on the way back to the boats, so . . . Of course, we sought it out. It ended up being down a dirt road but was a great find. True to it’s name, it was a collection of artisians in separate little shops all located in the same area. We wandered through each one and found a couple of little pieces that caught our eye.

Back at LeMarin, we found the guys patiently waiting for us at the local pub. We teased Dale for the better part of the evening that I was having a delivery made to the marina tomorrow with all of my purchases from the pottery village. He went along with it but I don’t think that he actually believed that I’d order something that had to be delivered by a truck.

Earlier in the day Nicky had loaned me her washing machine (a diaper pail that sits on a motorized agitator) so that I could do all of my delicates. While we were gone, Dale had been kind enough to wash them for me (I think that he just wanted to play with a new machine) and they were soaking in rinse water when I got back to the boat this evening. So in the dark of the night, I hung up all of my delicates to greet the morning’s sun. Nothing like a 21 panty salute first thing in the morning.

Tomorrow we’re off for St. Lucia after we drop off the rental car and make a quick stop at the local grocery. If the Cooper factor is in effect tomorrow, we’ll have to do something drastic like offer a rum drink to King Neptune or something. These nasty transits are for the birds.