Martinique Garagnani Family (4th– 13th Feb 17)
So there we are in Grenada, Prickly bay to be precise, a day before Sue and Ian’s departure, thinking that is it, we are now without an agenda, no place to be at a certain date, no one to catch in the near future. Mistake, I got a frantic text from Carole in Paris telling me to check up my emails. And sure enough, half term is nearly there, i.e 3 weeks time, where will we be, the quite fancy the Caribbean this year. Jean Charles is keen on St Lucia, more exciting and nearer the Grenadines, he has obviously done his homework on the best places to snorkel. Carole is leaning towards Martinique, she has no intention to spent 10 days on board and both Marius and Lisa having to work during their break, gives her the best excuse to hire a villa. All this transpire in a series of totally unsatisfactory string of texts and emails, which completely confused us. All this in my mother tongue! Still we knew we had to make our way north towards Rodney Bay, where we had some kit to pick up (batteries for the head mast instrument and we had to water up).
Needless to say Carole got her way and we were informed that a villa had been found and they would be arriving on the 4th February at l’Anse a l’Ane in Martinique. The villa would be available for a week and the last 2 nights they would come and spend on board, which was great. And they would bring a new camera since mine had given up the ghost.
We had a great day sail from Rodney bay to l’Anse a l’Ane. The wind was fair and we ate the miles up in no time. We could see Martinique from St Lucia and it was a beautiful day. We anchored up in l’Anse a l’Ane just across the bay from Fort de France. We got a text the next morning at day break…were we ready for coffee? Carole & Jean Charles came and picked us up on the beach and took us up the hill. I must say I was so chuffed to see them at the end of the pontoon that morning. It was just brilliant that they had made the effort to come and see us (Thailand was in the running but we won!). The villa was beautiful, situated up the hill with a stunning view on the bay, and with a swimming pool. Time for lunch and a spot of shopping is required at the 3 islet market. We met Nicklaus and Isabella (Nalu) and shared our impression of Martinique. After a long lunch, we settled around the swimming pool swapping news and stories late into the evening.