A Peek At Martinique!

Day 6, March 17, 2011 – Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Arrived early this morning as we only had to travel 87 nautical miles during the night.  It was a very smooth sail.

The port of Fort de France is a fairly new location for cruise ships to dock.  We were not scheduled for a tour again today so we leisurely strolled around the town.  All of the locations that we hoped to visit were close enough for a good walk.  We had been anticipating the spice market and it was as billed.  The fruits, veggies and, of course, spices were so colorful.  I got yelled at for taking a picture and getting one of the ladies in it. 

    

We had read a great deal about the Bibliotheque Shoelcher and were most anxious to visit.  The structure (library) was designed by Henri Picq, the architect of the Eiffel Tower. It was built in Paris for the 1895 Paris expo.  Later it was dismantled, shipped to Martinique and reassembled on the present site. Picq used the interior iron structure of the library as art in much the same way he did with the Eiffel Tower.  Spiral iron staircases are used to reach the upper stacks. 

   

We also visited the St. Louis Cathedral.  We could see it’s Romanesque steeple from the ship.  The interior was very ornate.  We were particularly impressed with the stained glass windows. 

                             

Martinique is the birthplace of Josephine, the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte.  There is a statute in her honor at the city park.  Many years ago someone broke the head off and it has never been found.  The statute is somewhat gruesome now because it has been sprayed with red paint to look like she was beheaded.  She is not well loved here because she kept the institution of slavery alive on the island for 70 years after it was abolished in France.  Like nearly all the harbors we’ve visited this one is protected by a fort…in this case Fort St. Louis.

         

We were back on board before the lunch hour.  Still no desserts for Patty!  Spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on our balcony.  Everybody on the ship including the crew donned Irish garb for dinner.  What Fun!  Ever seen an Indonesian leprechaun?