The Greatest Show on Earth?

21 miles of pleasant, fast sailing delivered us to the northwest corner of the next island heading south, Martinique.  Landing in Sainte Pierre, we are back with the Frenchies and there is some culture shock. Martinique is known to be a little like the French Riviera. It did not take long for Kel to find great, cheap wine and a fantastic croissant and baguette. It did not take long to see the Frenchies strip naked for their afternoon bath off the back of their boats. I love the Frenchies. They are happy to just let it all hang out, and they'll gladly continue to speak French to you regardless of the puzzled look on your face. It is a bit arrogant of us to just expect others to speak English. After 4 weeks in Dominica, the local French grocery store was like a trip to Disneyland.  It is amazing what we take for granted in our first-world bliss.

St Pierre is at the base of Mount Pelee, a world famous volcano that caused its fair share of trouble.  In 1902, it blew its top and 30,000 people in the busy port town died almost instantly.  There were only 3 survivors.  One fellow, Ludger Sylbaris, was a prisoner in an cement isolation cell in the local jail. Accounts of his crime vary, but he was imprisoned just the night before the the volcano went off like an atomic bomb. The single hole in Sylbaris's stone cell faced away from the blast. Evidently, he urinated on his clothes and shoved them in the air hole to keep out the superheated gas. He still suffered serious burns and was not rescued for 4 days. So what does one do after something like that?  Well, you join Barnum and Bailey's Greatest Show on Earth and become a celebrity in the States. 

Pelee's latest burp was in 1932. Today the volcano sits quietly, but it will erupt again.  Meanwhile, there is a great series of hiking trails around and over the summit of Pelee. Not to worry, there is a whole team of scientists watching Pelee's every hiccup and eruptions don't happen without some warning signs.  Even back in 1902 there were a series of events predicting a coming eruption, but the governor was worried about his re-election prospects. An unnecessary evacuation would have cost him the election... so he hesitated. The summit and circular caldera are unlike anywhere we’ve explored - otherworldly.  (Expect a short video on the hike soon.)

Eastern Slope, Iolair is anchored in the harbor

Kel on West slope of Pelee

On a separate excursion, on the eastern side of the volcano, we were guided up a slot canyon to a waterfall.  The walls were hundreds of feet high but only 5 feet apart - basically a gorge.  You swim and climb up the creek until you can go no further. Your reward:  a 40 foot waterfall to massage your body. 

March 31:  Beach party with friends, celebrating a year of freedom from the rat race

As the season moves along, we are now accelerating our progress toward Grenada.  We worked our way to the southern tip of Martinique, to Sainte Anne.  In the morning, we’ll sail to the next island, Sainte Lucia.

Diamond Rock off southern Martinique; naval history buffs should look it up!