Thursday 26 April: Miracle! Young Darius stays asleep till past 7am, so a blissful lie in today!
Before we set off on our third and last day with the hire car, Glen runs the new outboard. Ideally we would put it on the dinghy but it’s not possible as we are bows-to the pontoon and the stern line is in the way. He also adds an in-line fuel filter that the Suzuki shop recommends to keep any water out of the fuel injection system. Then we are off.
Today we plan to drive the SE coast. We set off on the national road across the island towards Trinity, then turn south along the east coast. Unlike other islands, Martinique’s east coast has lots of deep bays protected by reef making the area exceptionally pretty. Back from the coast are green fields with cattle and crops. This island really is a mini Europe in the Caribbean and we are really starting to like it.
We drive around some bays and peninsulas looking for a cafe or somewhere to take a mid-morning break. But there are none to be found, plus the pungent smell outside the car is that of the horrible rotting Atlantic weed that has gathered in most of the bays. Not exactly something you want to spoil a nice cup of coffee!
At mid-day we arrive to the Habitation Clement, a rum distillery, and decide to take a tour. It’s one of the must do things on the island. But when tickets counter clerk mentions the tour will take 2 hours, Teo says it’s too much for Darius, plus he needs his sleep, so we split: they go to find their lunch while we do the tour.
The plantation is really well presented. First, we walk through beautiful gardens of lush green lawns and every type of tropical palm tree imaginable, many of them imported and all nicely labeled. Next a walk through sugar cane crop itself then on into the distillery. The old steam driven works have all been preserved and made into a museum. Even in their days, these machines were making the rum on an industrial scale, and even after abolition, whereas other islands’ distilleries were failing once free labour was a thing of the past.
The old plantation house on the hill above the distillery is of Creole style and remains fully furnished with period antiques. There is no glass in the windows, only Louvred shutters. The cool Atlantic breeze blows through, keeping the whole house lovely and cool.
After a spot of rum tasting and a couple of purchases (who can resist at 7.50Eur a bottle!) we arrive back at the car almost exactly 2 hours later to find Teo, Geta and Darius just 30m from the car and Darius still wide awake!
We continue to drive south, now in search of any beach that might not have weed on it, so that we can have a cool off and Darius can do his favorite sport – splashing in water. But it’s the usual story in every bay: rotting weed. Eventually, we arrive to La Marin where the west facing bay is sheltered from the Atlantic weed and settle on a beach near to St.Luce. A beautiful beach in fact, with white sand, clear water and lots of palms to get shade under. We are in the water almost 2 hours chatting and playing as small waves keep Darius entertained.
After sunset we all have a craving to try Creole food. We hunt the next few bays for any restaurant that is open but there are none. We end up going back to La Marin and eating fish in a small beach Creole restaurant, right opposite the renowned but expensive Zanzibar restaurant. The food is really nice and meets with the full approval of our guests.
We make it back to Cloudy Bay just before another rain shower around 9pm – our latest yet. Guests are in bed by 10pm and we are not long after.