Lymin' in French Territory - Ste Anne, Martinique

Dawn and I are living slow, today, after a rather quiet evening with Terry and Kristin of Silk Pajamas, anchored nearby. Kristin, having been treated with Terry to a duck-breast recipe aboard the catamaran Cranstackie (apparently a mountain in Scotland), she insisted in recreating it for us last night. Very tasty indeed, and it went well with the French pate, bread, and variety of New Year's Eve libations we ran through.

Sunday, after Dawn had written the last weblog from the laundromat, Brian, Lorna, Dawn and I went back ashore and hiked to the southerly beach of Grande Anse des Salines. It is a pleasant walk under the trees which follows the beach for the most part, with extra trails out to the various points along the way. Among the trees are local families and tourists with picnics, hammocks, and toys; and the whole experience is rather delightful. One small bay, however, called Petit Anse Des Salines, is notorious for being predominately used by gay nude men, and Sunday was no exception, with approximately ten men of various shapes and colours, baring it all and enjoying the sun, the water, and each other's company in otherwise unobjectionable fashion (if you know what I mean).

The main beach, once we arrived, we found to be very crowded, and a great place to people-watch. However, as we had been walking for over an hour and had not enjoyed our lunch yet, we set ourselves up at an open-air beach vendor's stand and enjoyed barbecued chicken, salads and drinks. The food, at 7.5 Euros (~$11) per plate, which included a cocktail, was vastly superior to the Christmas Day meal we had with the crowd in Rodney Bay for a price of 98 Eastern Caribbean dollars ($36). The service was even better at the beach!

Although we had intended to stay for a swim, we now felt full and tired, and decided to walk back to the boat and enjoy our swims behind our respective floating homes. As for the hiking and heat, Lorna, who had been having some knee trouble, stood it fine; while I had an attack of sorts, feeling weak, losing all colour, and needing water and rest. This was troubling to me, who has had no problems like this before. I can only say that I had been up a greater part of the previous night with stomach/intestine troubles, and was not in full health to begin with. After a soak in the sea and a lot of water, I was able to partake in sundowners at the sun's beckoning. The problems may not only have been mine, as all four of us slept in excess of ten hours Sunday night, refusing to rise even for what were apparently excellent fireworks ashore at only 9 pm.

Yesterday started with the usual weather report from Denis of Tiger Lilly II on the SSB radio, announcing a proper weather window for the crossing; and the departure of Lorna and Brian with their boat 'Peace and Plenty' for Rodney Bay. I took the dinghy into Marin to look for a fitting to install the new oven we now have aboard. As I could not find the fitting, which is simply a compression ring and knuckle to fit over the 3/16" pipe for the propane, I must keep the old oven in place to allow the propane to continue to flow to the stove-top. An expensive, shiny oven sits downstairs on a bunk! ...And they say you can get anything done in Marin!

We're taking today really slow, with lots of reading and just a bit of boat maintenance and planning. Tomorrow, with Terry and Kristin, we intend to hike all the way to Baie Des Anglais, through the remains of a petrified forest, along the shore to Grande Anse des Salines, and finally back to Ste Anne. We'll need our rest as it promises to be over 6 hours of movement. We'll try to get some pictures up after that.

We get news from back in Canada, and are thinking about our friends and relatives as another year has passed. There are grave and annoying illnesses, significant weather, and pregnancies and births going on. We hope for the best for all of you in 2013!!