Looking Back on Martinique and What We Miss!

Martinique, where we bought our boat and began our sailing journey north, is a French island. We struggled with the language and finding our way around at first, but all our efforts were rewarded with the availability of so many imported French products, great French-Caribbean-African street art, locally made rum, and the huge catamaran community and boating culture in general. To remind ourselves of all those things we loved in Martinique and haven't found elsewhere, we've included them here. In no particular order:

Martinique has some of the best fresh flowers for sale in its outdoor markets.
For some reason, it's hard to find flowers as colorful and fresh on the other islands we've
 visited. The selections are just not as as spectacular and plentiful as in Martinique.  

The French know how to make and serve espresso and cappuccino.
And don't you just love savoring your espresso in one of those little demi-tasse cups??

Although it looks somewhat odd, it's actually a log of delicious chocolate.
The chocolate is made on plantations in St Lucia, the island just south of Martinique.
It's yummy and we grate it into our coffee in the morning.
Wish we had bought more at the open market!

The fish! The local markets carry frozen fresh fish, mostly tuna, marlin, and conch.
We don't have a big freezer on our boat, unfortunately, or we would have stocked up! 

OK, we know it's just hand soap. But there is something about the texture and scent of this
French imported hand soap that we love. We bought six bottles. Wish we bought a dozen! 

Martinique rum, made directly from local cane sugar and tasting completely different
from molasses-based rums. We are hooked. Martinique does not export its rums much
(none to the US) and they're almost impossible find on other islands. Luckily, we have 
three bottles and will continue our search in the Caribbean islands.

We love the artwork on this bottle of white rum.

If you've ever used more than one vacuum in your life, you know that they all differ in
effectiveness. Unsure of its quality, we needed a vacuum and this French brand
was the only choice we had. It turned out to be the best vacuum we've ever used.
Eureka! (no pun intended) 

Crepes! Mmmm. Enough said.

Mussels available everywhere and in lots of dishes!

Most of the desserts offered in the restaurants in Martinique
are made with fruit and often served with ice cream. 

Oh, the spices!

The outdoor markets and all the fresh fruits, veggies, jams, syrups,
chocolate, and homemade products.

Lorraine on tap. An excellent Martinique beer. Pale golden color,
sweet, soft, with a slightly bitter finish. One of the few draft beers available
in any of the islands. (Side note: everyone says that the Virgin Islands St John brand beer
is locally made. If you read the label closely, it's actually made in Portland, Maine! LOL)

In Martinique, the salads are not tossed. All the ingredients are cut with a mandoline
 and arranged separately. The lettuce is only a small part of the salad and
usually romaine. A salad might include beets, corn, carrots, sprouts, and/or cabbage.
Maybe a small wedge of tomato or a small cherry tomato. The salad dressing is always
a homemade herb vinaigrette. We bought an Oxo Chef's Mandoline and we now make
our salad the Martinique way. Homemade vinaigrette too!

First, we love how people linger over their meals and really socialize in the
restaurants in Martinique. The servers don't clear plates until everyone
 is done eating and they don't bring you your check until you ask for it.
All the restaurants put their checks in these little painted coconut
bowls with French mint candies. So civilized. 

Almost all the islands in the Caribbean have some sort of ship chandlery,
a store dedicated to the sale of parts and hardware related to boats. But the ship chandleries
 in Martinique have so far outdone themselves, compared to other islands. There
are two chandleries in Le Marin. They each have a huge inventory and you can find
 just about any part or product you need. If not in stock, they're happy to order it for you.
Like a candy store for sailors! 

Boat parts galore!

When you live on a boat, paper towels become an important thing in your life.
Sounds silly, but true. Martinique imports paper towels, like most everything else,
 from France. They come in huge rolls, much bigger than in the US. And they are much
better quality. We tried to stock up before leaving the island, but you can only
 store so much on a boat! 

Neither of us speak French fluently, and we were challenged daily as we learned
about our new boat and how to get it it serviced. We would have been lost if it
hadn't been for this book: French for Cruisers. Do we miss struggling to translate
the wire tags in our electric system, trying to read the French labels on our navigation
 panel, or figuring out how to discuss a freezer problem with the refrigeration
man? Not exactly. But we do kind of miss the satisfaction we felt after solving
 our problems and working with the wonderful people of Martinique!       

Eating breakfast on the beach at our favorite coffee and crepe cafe.

Watching the Yole sailing races

More Yole races

We generally prefer fresh food and are not big on canned goods, but we need to have
a sizable stockpile on board for long crossings and when we can't get to a store. The
big fancy grocery store in Martinique had the best selection of canned goods,
most of which were imported from France. Nothing like escargots in garlic butter
and herbs, and a baguette on the side, for supper on the water! 

We love this French version of olive oil infused with basil.
Haven't been able to find it anywhere but Martinique!

We love the locally pickled hot peppers that we could buy at the market.
 I think we're on our last jar. 

All the restaurants in Le Marin are very casual and always welcome our
dog, Trooper. Many of the restaurants have animals, mainly cats, that stray in
and out throughout the day. When we had Trooper with us, the servers always
brought a big bowl of water and sometimes even a treat for him. We didn't
make a point of taking Trooper with us when we went out to eat,
but it was nice to have the option. 

We miss the huge sailing community in Le Marin, Martinique,
where our boat was moored. Look how many boats were in our harbor!

We miss the sounds of the school children paddling by our boat in the mornings,
laughing and yelling to each other during their gym class sailing lessons.

We've seen boats from all over the world in Martinique.
Most of the flags we've marked on our flag chart were viewed in Martinique.
We don't see nearly the number of international boats in the Virgin Islands.

Caribbean islands have a lot of street art and Martinique is no exception.
 In fact, I think there is more exquisite street art in Martinique than
any of the other islands we've visited. There is some here on St Thomas, for instance,
but it' not quite as vibrant or as fascinating, nor is it maintained as well by the
community. In Martinique, there are murals, "paste-ups" on doors, paintings on buildings
and along the streets.  

More art in Sainte Anne, Martinique

In Trois Islets, Martinique

In Fort-de-France, the capital of Martinique

There a lots of catamarans in Martinique--more than any other island we've visited.
Consequently, there seem to be more resources available for parts, services and info
 for catamaran owners. One hardly ever sees a catamaran in
the Great Lakes, and particularly not in Lake Michigan!  

We miss the availability of those delicious imported French delicacies!

The nearby boulangerie, or bakery, in Martinique provided us with our daily staple of fresh croissants...

...and fresh baguettes.

We really miss the extremely cheap French wines available in abundance at all the markets
 in Martinique. An excellent bottle of French wine typically averages about $4.
US wines cost about $18 there.