Bank Run and Some Exploring, Day 24

Today I had to do some running around. I needed some Euro since none of the shops here seem to take USD. The only bank on Martinique that I can use without fee is BNP Paribas and there are only 3 branches on the island. Thankfully I have a rental car and I downloaded the map for Martinique on my phone (thanks Google Maps). I easily found my way to the nearest branch, 35min away, and got some cash. I did manage to forget to stop at Carrefour (kinda like Walmart) to get a frying pan, bug spray and a spatula but I can get those tomorrow morning. After the bank I drove around the town of Francois a bit and looked around for a bbq stand for lunch. I found one on my way out of town and stopped in for some grilled chicken. I got 2-thighs and some white rice and a beer for 8 Euro which isn't too bad. I went back to a town dock that I had seen while driving around and sat down in the shade and enjoyed my lunch.

Then I set about heading back to St. Anne, the drive is quite pretty as you go through hills and valleys some of which are lined with Banana and Sugar Cane fields. I always thought the Banana trees on a plantation would be rather tall but they are surprisingly short. About half way through I saw some motorcycle cops coming with their lights on, they motioned for us (cars) to slow down and move over. They were escorting a very large group of people on motorcycles and atvs in what I can only guess was some kind of rally or poker run. I though it was pretty cool to see and interesting that the cops would do such a thing, talk about public service.

After I got back and dropped off my stuff at the airbnb I went back out to locate the office of the boat broker I am meeting with tomorrow morning.  I found her office pretty easily as it is in a really neat commercial development that is geared at cruisers. The property has offices for brokers, repair shops of all kinds, stores, bars and more. I decided to walk down the dock and just look at the boats that were there. As I walked down the dock I noticed a boat that looked familiar, it was the boat I am going to look at in the morning. I took a few photos and then walked away as casually as I could being that I didn't want to show my hand so to speak.

Then I headed back towards the airbnb and made a quick stop in town to see if any restaurants were open and of course most were closed. The exception was the hotel restaurant on the beach which is rather expensive. I then headed back to my airbnb and then walked down to the beach bar on the property for a sunset beer.

I then went back to my place and went about warming up some leftovers for yesterday for supper. After I finished my supper I did some reading on Amel Maramu's since that is what I am going to look at tomorrow morning and then called it a night.

Off to Martinique, Day 23

Today I had a fun and interesting day. I got a flight to Martinique to go look at a boat and experience a different island for a while. My day started off quite early, I woke up around 0430 and couldn't get back to sleep. I decided to just go ahead and get my stuff in order and packed. I had been planning on getting up at 0540 so while I wasn't happy about being up so early it was no big deal. After I got my stuff packed up I went out to the veranda and enjoyed the sunrise with a bottle of water, I was out of coffee. Mike had been nice enough to agree to give me a ride to the airport after his morning radio net was finished. I got my bags loaded into the car and then we put Bonny the dog in the back seat, she always joins for car rides. The the three of us headed for the Grand Case Airport. I had been worried about getting there early enough for my flight (I am used to big airports). Those fears were put to rest when I walked into the airport and saw that there were only 2 families at the check in counter. I got in line, checked my bags and then got in the que to wait for the security checkpoint to open.

Once through the checkpoint I entered the smallest departure lounge I have ever been in. I would guess that it was about 60'x80' give or take. I had been a little anxious about finding my gate but there were only 3 "gates" which were doors to the tarmac. While I was waiting in the departure lounge I decided to call my mom and see how her day was going. Then I just sat there and organized pics on my phone and watched as our plane arrived. I hadn't been on one of these inter-island flights before and so I was quite excited to be able to see the other island as we flew over them. I managed to get a window seat up in the front of the cabin. I did get a good view of the other island as we passed by, I also got some photos too. The flight had a stop in Guadeloupe to let some folks off and others on. I joined the others who were continuing in the departure lounge while we waited. Then it was back to the plane, this time I managed to get an exit row seat in the very front of the cabin. This gave me two windows and I had looked at google maps to sort out which side of the plane might have the best view. The second part of the flight was only about 30-min so that was nice, I also got some decent phots on this half of the flight.

We touched down on time in Martinique and filed into the terminal building. I approached the passport control desk and the gentleman took my passport and stamped it with hardly a word. I then collected my luggage and went to find the rental car counter. After I got the shuttle to the rental car depot I went in and got the keys and finished the paperwork. I learned a good lesson too, do not use rentalcars.com for anything other than research. They present an insurance option that appears to be through the rental car company but is third party. I got roped into this and then when I went to contact them yesterday and their phone was disconnected and the live chat was not functioning.

I got my car, a new Renault, and headed out across the island to Sainte Anne where my airbnb is. The drive was quite nice and enjoyable. I encountered a bit of traffic at first but then it cleared up pretty quick. I got a little turned around but I found the place not long after. The airbnb I got is in an old resort that has been repurposed into residential condos. They're nice and have a little kitchen and a veranda with a table and chairs too. I am really enjoying having all the birds singing and getting to see a bunch of butterflies in the garden outside my room.

I drove into town to check it out and look for some food since I hadn't had lunch yet. I was a bit surprised to find that most of the restaurants don't have food between 3-7, I guess this is a French thing. I walked around town for a little bit then went to the big Carrefour Market in Marin to get some groceries for the next few days. Food is definitely not cheap down here, eggs were $5/ dozen, so I had think carefully about what I bought. After my shopping expedition I went back to the airbnb and unloaded my groceries and charged my phone.

It was now about dinner time so I drove back into town. I went back to a Creole place I had seen earlier and got a table. Being that it was still before 7 I couldn't order food yet so I got a beer and perused the menu.  I ended up ordering a sampler platter because it had everything but was cheaper than some of the other options. The sampler had stuffed crab, Conch fritters, 2-kinds of grilled fish and some home made "puddings" (which I think were blood pudding but were great) plus a salad for 20 Euro. After dinner it was time to head back to the airbnb and get some rest after a long day.

Shopping and Happy Hour, Day 22

Today is not the most exciting day. I went over to Simpson bay to run some errands before my flight to Martinique tomorrow. Then I went to Happy Hour at Snoopys before catching the bus back to Marigot. Like I said not exciting but productive.

More Computer and a Steak, Day 21

Toady much like yesterday was primarily spent in front of the computer. I decided to go shopping in the morning before it got hot. I had been craving a steak for the last couple days and Mike at Shrimpy's has a grill he said I could use. I walked to "Super U" in Marigot and bought a couple onions, a green bell pepper and a nice looking little steak (cut unknown). I walked back to Shrimpy's and then took care of some of my computer stuff.

A gentleman then came by and needed help trying to figure out what was wrong with his inverter. I went out to the boat with him but after checking various points in the power system downstream from the inverter I could only determine that the inverter was the source of the problem. While I am sure this wasn't what he wanted to hear but it was all i could determine for sure. Also for some reason he didn't have the book for his inverter, take this as a lesson and have at least a copy on your computer/ tablet. After that he gave me a lift back to Shrimpy's. He offered me what I thought was a Euro note only to realize it was Croatian which is worthless here. I take it as a lesson to check any currency someone offers me more carefully. Needless to say I would not offer to help him again unless he makes an apology in word and gesture.

The rest of my day was spent catching up on blog entries then I went with Mike to take the dogs for a walk before I cooked dinner. Just before I was going to fire up the grill a big squall came through and dumped a bunch of rain on us. Mike kindly offered to let me use his stove and a skillet to cook my dinner since the likelihood of another squall was pretty high.  The steak came out good as did the pepper and onion. After dinner I chatted with Mike and sally and then called it a night.

Day of the Computer , Day 20

Today was a rather uninteresting day. I spent most of my day on the computer making arrangements to travel to Martinique to look at an Amel Maramu 46. I have been looking for one of these boats for almost 4-years. I have tried looking at other makes and models but they just don't give me the feeling I get when stepping onto the deck of an Amel. I love the layout below deck and the way that the engine room is completely separated from the cabin. The boat has a beautiful aft cabin with a large bed and a nice little desk with stool. The galley is nice and open but small enough to be good in seaway. There is tons of storage throughout the boat including the bilges. The bilges in the cabin are completely dry thanks to all the drains being plumbed into the engine room bilge. This is a huge plus since it allows you to store bulky items like paper towels in the bilge. Needless to say, I am excited to go see this boat and hopeful that is as nice in person as it appears in the photos I have been sent.

After I got all my computer work done I made some canned pasta for dinner since the french restaurant next door had already closed their kitchen (at 7pm wtf). Then I watched some sailing videos on youtube before going to bed. Definitely not a terribly exciting day but a good one.

Boat Shopping and Happy Hour, Day 19

Today was an interesting day, I went and looked at a boat and went to a couple of my happy hour spots. I started the day off by going to the bakery across the bridge in "Sandy Ground" and getting some delicious pastries. Then after eating I spent some time dealing with a couple emails and poking around on the computer. Then I caught the bus to Cole Bay and grabbed another bus to get to Simpson Bay. I needed to go the bank and one of the few branches I can use without fee in in Simpson bay. I got my banking done then I went over to Snoopy's to get some chow and wait for the broker who was taking me to look at a boat to call. I am glad I didn't order any food because by the time I was done with my beer the broker called and said he would be there in 15-min. I had another beer and went out to the dock to wait for him. He picked me up in his run about and then we had to run across the bay to get the boat keys from his truck at a local yard. They had quite the pile of empty beer bottle at the yard which underscores how cheap beer is here. There was also a boat with some cool bow art and a bunch of derelicts of course. 

After picking up the keys we went to go look at the boat, a CSY44, which was moored out in the lagoon. The boat was pretty nice but it needed a bunch of work that would have easily double the price. I decided against this one as it was not the model I really like plus god only knows what other problems would have been found. The broker was very kind and agreed to drop me back off at a bar on the strip by the causeway. 

I wandered down to "Snoopy's" for a beer and to hang out in the nice cool shade. After a couple beers I decided to migrate to the "Yacht Club" and see who was there. I hung out with some friend for a while and we talked about the boat I had looked at and they agreed that it was not optimal. After a while it was time to go home. I started walking and I bought some to go food to bring home with me. I saw a friend from "Snoopy's" and he was kind enough to give me a ride to the bus stop in Cole Bay. I caught a bus back to Marigot and then walked back to Shrimpy's. When I got back I went to talk to Mike and Sally about the boat and to see how their day went. Mike suggested that we get pizza for supper and I thought it sounded good. I gave him some money to pay for my half and went to put my food in the fridge for the next day. While Mike ran across the way to grab the pizza and hung out with Sally and we chatted about various things. When Mike got back with the pizza all 3-dogs gave us their undivided attention, of course. Floppy the dog was very persistent and tried his best to guilt me into giving him my pizza crust. I eventually gave in and gave each of the pups an equal share of my crust. After supper was done we watched some tv and then it was decided to call it a night. A great end to a good day, pizza and tv with friends.  

Floppy dog eyeing me up as I eat my pizza.

Back to St. Martin, Day 18

Today is the day I head back to St. Martin. I got up early and finished my packing. Then I went back to "The Straw Hat" for breakfast and had some delicious French toast and bacon.

Then I went back to the airbnb and loaded up my bags in the car to head to the port and return my car. After making a pit stop at one of the 3 gas stations on the island i parked my car where I was told to and headed into the terminal to get my ferry ticket and pay the exit tax ($23). I got a bit lucky on the schedule and only had to wait for about 15-minutes. The ride back over to Marigot was not to bad and only took about 25-min or so. Upon arrival I went through customs then walked past all the taxi drivers offering over-priced rides and started my walk to Shrimpy's. The walk only take about 20-min and is all on flat ground so its not too bad, unless there is no breeze. When I got to Shrimpy's I was covered in sweat and grateful for the fan and the slight breeze blowing on the porch.

I had been planning on heading to look at a CSY 44 mid afternoon but the broker cancelled on me at the last minute and rescheduled for the next afternoon. I ended up just hanging around Shrimpy's and relaxing. I spent some time looking at boats online and doing some reading about various boats. While it was not the most productive afternoon I enjoyed it. I ended the day with a tub of chicken flavored ramen and some youtube videos.