New Tropical Destinations- St. Barts and Martinique

Big yachts in St. Barts harbor

Arriving at Gustavia, St. Barts, we were awestruck by the mega yachts that we observed in the harbor as we anchored. The information sheets and reviews we read about St. Barts was that it was a playground for the rich, and from our observations of the surrounding harbor and countryside, we had no reason to doubt it. Finishing our breakfast, we got ready to tender into the port of Gustavia. And it was a rough tender in with the heavy swell that made boarding really difficult.

St. Barts red roofs

Approaching the port from the water, we immediately noticed the trademark red roofs of the buildings that stand out against the green hills that arise from the azure water. St. Barts has a definite French lilt with its French speaking people and French signs on businesses and public facilities.

The Anglican Church

First sighted by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage in 1493, the island was eventually settled, after several failed attempts, by French farmers from Brittany and Normandy in the mid 1600’s. We made our way to some of Gustavia’s highlights, struggling to interpret the French map (the arrogant bastards) we were given.

Inside the Catholic Church

Our first stop was the Anglican Church that was established in 1855. Next, we made our way to the Bell Tower. Built in 1799, this is the oldest colonial structure in Gustavia and an example of the town’s Swedish-style architecture. A large clock has replaced the bell. Our last highlight was the Catholic Church, a beautiful structure and grounds.

The Bell (Clock) Tower

Both of the churches were still decorated for Christmas. Our info sheet indicated that there was a beach within walking distance of the tender pier.

Shell Beach

We couldn’t find the beach on the map so we asked a local for directions, and it turned out that it was just a couple of blocks away from the church. We walked to the beach hoping to find a place to sit and have a beer. The beach was named Shell Beach, and it was immediately understood that it got its name from the shells that covered the entire beach. The shells didn’t seem to make very much of the beach usable. We sat down at a beachside café to have a drink only to be told in a heavy French accent that seating was for patrons ordering a meal. There was no way that we were hungry so we left.

Lovin' the tropics

Heading back to the waterfront, we stopped at a waterfront bistro for a beer. Everything in St. Barts is expensive and the beers, at $7 US each, were no exception.

Which one is ours?

Given the Frenchness as priceyness of everything, we drank our beers and decided to tender back to our ship, determined not to spend any more than we had to in an environment where we felt out of place. Walking back to the tender station, we passed a row of moored mega yachts, each trying to outclass its neighbors. St. Barts was an interesting place to say the least.

Fort de France harbor

Another overnight sailing brought us to the island of Martinique, another French-Caribbean island. Martinique has been French with few interruptions since 1635. Right after we docked an announcement was made that Riviera’s sister-ship, Insignia, would be docking next to us. Insignia was finishing a 180-day around the world cruise.

Happy to be here

Wait a minute…..an around the world cruise! Maybe we have a new bucket-list item to think about! Martinique's economy is driven by banana farming, cane raising, rum (there are 12 fine rum distilleries), and tourism. The ship docked at the capital, Fort de France, but we were not optimistic that there would be much activity since it was a Sunday morning and two days after Christmas.

We left the ship and walked along the quay as street vendors were setting up. It was still early. Our first stop was Fort Saint-Louis which is open daily during hours when guided

Fort St. Louis

 tours are offered. We found none to be offered.

Inside the library

The fort was built in stages beginning in 1638 and used to defend Fort de France, and now is a historical site and an active naval base. We weren’t quite sure where we were, but dumb luck brought us to the Bibliothèque Schoelcher or the Schoelcher Library. According to our information sheet, this facility was not open on Sundays, but we arrived and found it open. Go figure. The library was built by the Eiffel Engineering Company and shipped to Martinique in 1893.

Cathèdrale Saint-Louis de Fort-de-France

The library houses over 200,000 volumes. The next thing we found open was the Catholic church, Cathèdrale Saint-Louis de Fort-de-France (don’t you just love French names?).

Colorful street

Since its construction in 1671, the cathedral has been built and rebuilt several times, and we arrived to find it under construction again. We sat in the church for a while, lit a candle for a recently deceased family member, and grabbed a few pictures of this great structure. We had trouble finding a market that supposed to be open until we happened upon one of Martinique’s ambassadors who provided the right route.

Peppers at the farmer's market

However, the market turned out to be a farmer’s market and we didn’t think that we could get any produce items through U.S. customs, so we left and returned to our pier.

Riveria and Insignia

By now the vendors were in full swing and Jane was working her magic. We made some purchases of art items for the house and jewelry items for Jane. We returned to the ship and enjoyed the remainder of the day on our balcony and in art class.