Author Archives: Mark
Martinique and Repairs
French Martinique, one of the few places in the world where you can make a living as an accordion player. The other day I was bar-b-queing aboard Cream Puff. An accordion and clarinet player strolled down our dock serenading the boats. They were promoting a local bar with live music. What a creative way to […]
Martinique – The Victory Lap
We decided to do a victory lap around Martinique. We were almost successful. Let me explain. At this point we have been all over this island and explored just about all it has to offer. It is one of our favorite places and we have loved our stay here. There were a few little […]
Still Loving Martinique – Les Trois-Îlets
One of our favorite places on Martinique to explore has been the peninsular of Les Trois-Îlets, Les Anses-d’Arlet and Le Diamant. Touring this area by car rather than boat enabled us to see some magnificent vistas as the narrow roads snaked about the hilly terrain and into the small villages. Almost every hilltop exuded a […]
Loving Martinique – Sainte-Pierre
We took Karl for a ride up to a little coastal town called Saint-Pierre. This is a pretty cool old town that was once the largest port on Martinique, back in the old days. Then, the volcano, Mount Pelée , erupted in 1902 killing all but one person in the town. About 28,000 people died […]
More of Martinique
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the French have the best healthcare system in the world. The French is a universal system largely financed by government and national health insurance. Believe it or not, doctors still make house calls to people unable to visit the clinic. A GP visit costs about US$30 of […]
Finding Our Way Around Martinique
We love Martinique! It is clean, safe and beautiful. It is also very French. We generally find most people are patient with us as we consult with Google translate or bumble-mumble some French words. My high school French is okay for basics but we really struggle when we get off the beaten path, which is […]
Happy Cream Puff Day
January 2nd is Cream Puff day. I swear. I’m not making this up. A couple of years ago while Googling something for our boat Cream Puff I discovered this. Then, I forgot about it. My mind is not the steel trap it once was. Little things slip away every now and then. Other old […]
Joyeux Noël
It’s Christmas time in the Caribbean. There is no snow. It is sunny and hot, always. I don’t really understand how Santa’s magic sled is supposed to work without the snow. That sled is going to make a hell of a mark on the roof when it lands. There are no chimneys for Santa to […]
Sainte Anne’s – Martinique
We are back in France. We had a fantastic 5 hour sail from St. Lucia to Martinique. It was one of those very rare days when everything was in our favor. The wind was coming from the right direction. The seas were moderate. We managed to not break anything along the way. It didn’t rain. […]
Happy to see St Lucia in the Rear View Mirror
We are finally legally admitted to St. Lucia. After never finding the immigration officer at Marigot Bay, we traveled to Rodney Bay and made contact at the local office. It wasn’t a problem we had stayed on the island for a few days without fully checking in. We know a couple of other boats having […]
St Lucia – The hunt for immigration in Marigot Bay
St Lucia is an island where a tourist must be careful about places they visit. Our first views of St Lucia included the magnificent twin pitons. Unfortunately the bay and town of Soufriere at the base of these pitons has a group of armed thugs at large who recently attacked a charter boat with two […]
The Beautiful Little Island of Bequia
Admiralty Bay and the township of Port Elizabeth on Bequia Island was a wonderful surprise. We originally planned to skip this island based on reports of crime posted on various cruising internet sites we follow. However, this was one of the very few times where someone else’s confidence of safety changed our plans. While in […]
Meet Sidney
“Are you going to be here tomorrow? Can I bring you anything? Do you need bread”. These were the questions Sidney asked as he approached Cream Puff. I sat on the rail with my feet over the side. He said. “I am a vendor, I sell all sort of things. This is my store”. I […]
The Tobago Cays
Another passport stamp. Another new country. Cindy said we probably change countries more than most people change their sheets. This week we arrived in the Grenadines part of the St. Vincent. We stopped very briefly at the port of Clifton on Union Island to clear in with customs and immigration. This was pretty simple since […]
Snorkeling Sandy Island
I discovered I have a new pet peeve. I now lack tolerance for people who suck the fun out of life, people who burst the bubble or party poopers. Life is too short to deal with such negativity. I reluctantly conversed with such a person on the beach of Sandy Island located just off Carriacou. […]
