Cultivating connection, community and centeredness in Martinique

Can you hold two feelings-especially conflicting ones- at the same time?

It’s hard to believe the picture above is already just a memory. We said our good-byes to Dustin, Alexandra and little Ryland- more often known as Loafie-on Saturday after a week that sped right by, each of us soaking in as many baby kisses, laughs and heart-to-hearts as possible. The weeks before have flown by. We toured Dominica with the Salty Dawgs and our friends Sue and John, who flew in to be with us. I have a partially finished “catch-up” post about that amazing experience.

Family! Also: trees at the Jardin de Balara and dinner at le Case 31.

Yesterday, we anchored in Grand Anse d’Arlet, a location known for its excellent snorkeling. We haven’t snorkeled because the squalls rolling through are making the water choppy and obscuring the sunlight needed for good visibility. Joe is on the mend from a vague but worrisome illness that included a high fever.

I feel reflective in this quiet moment, a lull before my friend Patty arrives from NYC on Thursday. I’ve been thinking a lot about connection over these last weeks. When we sailed into Martinique, Carnival was in full swing. We texted with multiple friends who were ahead of us, looking forward to seeing some we’d not seen in months as well as others with whom we’d been together. As always and especially in the cruising world- there were friends we hadn’t met yet!

We left Roseau, Dominica at 530 am on February 11 on a SE course and dropped the hook in Anse Mitan, Martinique at 3:30 pm (48 nm reach, then close-hauled in 14-30 knots of wind). We were grateful to be in an anchorage that was NOT rocking violently or in danger of dragging into another boat or rocks(Roseau, Dominica) and toasted our safe arrival with cocktails made with passion fruit juice I extracted during our sail. Our friend, Brian, on SV Pangolin, invited us to his boat for Super Bowl Sunday. Brian, his family, Robbie and Denise, Joe and I enjoyed watching the close game, eating delicious food, sharing libations and trading stories. Joe brought over the venison kabobs that Claire gifted us back in Barbuda, as meat was declared “football food.” They were outstanding.

Who wore it better?, a few of us at Carnjval, those mojitos, day 2, the start of the parade, just a few costumes

After a long sleep, we pulled out Carnival regalia(it was cross dressing day) and headed for the Customs Office in Pointe du Bout(note to cruisers- it is difficult to impossible to check in during Carnival). Then we took the ferry to Fort de France. I carefully recorded the times for the returning ferry and set an alarm as we heard that the previous year, the ferry did not run until 10 pm as the schedule dictated.

We joyfully reunited with friends we made during last summer’s sail to Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, Fiona and Chris, on SV Carioca and their guests, Penny and Chris. After lunch and a more dramatic mustache for me from Penny’s magic suitcase of Carnival tricks, we dinghied over to meet the mostly British contingent. Together we found the best mojitos(made in recyclable bags!)The streets gradually filled with people as the skies darkened and we all hung out together until our tired feet told us to return to the boat.

On our return ride, we chatted with a vacationing couple from France. The man owns a house just outside of Pont -a -Mousson, the town where I spent almost a year as an exchange student eons ago. Many French don’t know the town until you mention the words man-hole cover(plaque d’égout), that are made there and seen everywhere(look down!) But this guy had been to the abbey where I lived for two months with the director’s family. It was fun to reminisce about attending so many cultural events, fetes, being part of a theater troupe, and playing hide and seek in the dark of this magnificent building.

Abbey des Premontres: https://www.abbaye-premontres.com/

We returned to Carnival earlier the next day, Tuesday, to be sure to catch the full parade. The published times are a bit ahead of island time yet the locals and tourists seemed to have the same idea as the streets filled earlier and fuller than the day before. The party had never truly stopped. Tuesday morning was pajama day; people turned out in pajamas before changing costume again, beginning at 430 am to eat some creole specialities or have a ti punch to greet the day.

Today was the day of the Devil- everyone was dressed in red. There was also plenty of black. Joe’s costume, my pajama shorts, garnered some wolf whistles and appreciative looks wherever we went. I also got compliments but I do think that Joe won the “who wore it better contest.” (See photos)

Carnival in Martinique has plenty in common with Carnivals around the world; yet each place seems to have developed its own traditions and stories. Carnival is a season here in the Caribbean, a factoid that just tickles Joe. “No winter, just slide from Epiphany into Carnival.” There are parades, pageants and band contests every weekend in various towns in Martinique as in the other Caribbean islands. The representatives from each commune are selected to represent each area at the Shrove days in Fort de France. Martinique adds one more day to the celebration. Ash Wednesday is still a day of partying, culminating in the burning of the Sa Majesté Vaval (His Majesty Vaval), the giant puppet, King of Carnival, who led the parade. Find out more about the history https://www.carnivaland.net/martinique-carnival/#google_vignette

All aspects of the parade were fascinating. There were huge floats and souped-up cars with oversized- tailpipes that joined. Several even channeled the Barbie movie. Queen mothers and the tiniest of children(mini-queens), bands of people dressed as cane cutters, covered in molasses or cane syrup and tar. Some of us may have gotten swiped with some of that stickiness. A band of guys dressed as clay workers came from Trois Ilets, where we just rented a house. There is a clayworks in the town; the tiles are used on those distinctive red French roofs. As the day progressed to night, spectators joined the still circling groups and the streets filled with cheering, lights, umbrellas, music a blur of color and collective humanity.

By around 830 pm, we were done. Where was that couple that has danced until the closing of Grassroots?

That turned out to be a good thing since the line for the ferry stretched hundreds of yards- over an hour wait. On Wednesday, which was also Valentine’s Day, we listened to the festival from across the way, a bit wistful, but also happy to have a day to sleep in, swim and prepare for our next adventure. We spent the day in the most romantic of island pursuits: laundry. An aside, laundry is a great way to meet people and find out more about the local culture. I added some laundry-related words to my French vocabulary.

We were determined to sail and the wind was fluky, so we headed offshore towards St Lucia, before tacking to Le Marin, about 30 nm away. We still ended up using the motor as in true sailor fashion, the wind did not cooperate and we needed to be in le Marin for some work estimates.

We found that yes, you really need to make your reservations well in advance and you need to have your own passerelle(gang plank) for climbing on and off the dock. We were able to get a mooring in Never-never land, as I called it. There are thousands of boats in Marin, hundreds of slips, moorings and then boats anchored. Our little corner was quite far from the marina and many of the boats around us were never leaving.

Passion fruit, manhole cover, venison, scenes from carnival, laundry and French lessons; seen around St Anne..

Le Marin is the center of boat work in Martinique and socializing. Again, we met up with friends for dinners, organized a happy hour for the Salty Dawgs and hosted a dinner, found an epic hike with an unexpected beach massage at the finish, got some quotes for some boat work, and enjoyed land showers. There are two!! grocery stores, a butcher shop and a bakery, so it is a pretty good place to provision.

Salty Dawgs in le Marin; Alexandra and I last night: Dustin and Joe tasting at Habitation Clement; picturesque Petit Anse d’Arlet; a Mediterranean mooring- tight squeeze!

The day before we left, I woke up to a flurry of messages on the Salty Dawgs WhatsApp chat about a sailboat missing from Grenada. By the time I write this, the tragic and horrific news of Kathy Brandel and Ralph Hendry on SV Simplicity has been well-covered in the press- and already faded from public attention but certainly not for their families and loved ones. News article: https://people.com/grenadian-prisoners-escape-sunday-american-sailing-couple-goes-missing-8599560

Ralph and Kathy were long-time Salty Dawg members and had sailed to the eastern Caribbean just weeks ahead of us. We did not have the pleasure of knowing them, but as we reached out to fellow cruisers and others reached out to us, wanting to check in with our extended “family,” it was apparent that there was barely one degree of separation. We had lost two of our own.

Was everyone okay? Where were they? How did they address security? What were they going to change? As the details unfolded, so did everyone’s uneasiness. Could it have been prevented? Many of us sleep with our boats wide open. Isolated, private anchorages are often prized and yet this time there were people anchored right beside SV Simplicity who allegedly heard nothing. The mind takes many twists and turns and Joe and I resolved not to talk to our families about this event, but it found its way into every major news outlet. It still affects me profoundly every time I think of Kathy and Ralph, two people I didn’t know but know enough about them to understand they worked very hard and with a lot of patience to make their dream happen.

With many unsettling thoughts, we stopped in Petit Anse d’Arlet to snorkel. I sketched and wrote. A good-sized turtle sized us up as we anchored. We had some of the best snorkeling there since sailing to the eastern Caribbean. When we dove on the anchor to check it, we were greeted by another turtle almost 4 feet in diameter. These few days helped restore our equilibrium and we so eagerly anticipated family.

We sailed to Fort to France to be near the marina where we would leave the boat. Alexandra, Dustin, and toddler Ryland flew all the way from the Pacific Northwest in the US to Martinique, a multi-day trip. We maneuvered Adiona into the very tight space of the Point du Bout Marina, a bit of a challenge without bow thrusters. A marina resident, Christophe, came leaping over to help as Valerie arrived from the marina office on her scooter. Christophe, who would not accept anything for his help, invited us to a happy hour on his boat.

We enjoyed our first meal together at the Bistro. Ryland took a long break to practice stairs and leave handprints on the local windows of a few shops with GrandMary in tow. The next morning we met up again and moved to our house for the week: Le Villa des Arômes in Trois Ilets. Our week was both timeless and too short. Rum, bubbly and wine were shared. Delicious meals cooked. Exercise sessions on the porch, snorkeling, some shopping, daily pool time, babysitting by the grandparents, exploring the island, an afternoon spent with noses in our books….

I’ve spent the day opening and closing hatches with the rain squalls, worked to balance our batteries and power use, check in with my kids and a few friends, chores, while encouraging Joe to take more fluids. The anonymity of being a nomad without connections at this anchorage makes me think of so many others in this world who are vulnerable in friendless places, often not of their own choosing.

It tugs at me with even more resolve that the most vital thing - as we have that privilege- is to pursue the stuff of your dreams while leaning into love and kindness, helping along the way. For Joe and I that is this crazy sailboat living right now, but for some it isn’t a journey to any far flung place. It is a journey of the heart. And that is truly the thing, isn’t it?

Below- us visiting the Zoo and a video of the foundry.

** I will add hyperlinks when I once again have access to 5g!