MAR 19: Fort-de-France, Martinque

Months ago, when we were booking tours, only one caught our attention. The fact that it piqued our interest was not surprising when we realized that we had done it last year. [March 01, 2024 - Tour to St. Pierre]

We got off the ship about 10:30 and wandered around, having ruled out tours. 

Nothing looked familiar until we realized that EURODAM docked in a different part of the harbor last year, hidden by the fort.

We had fun exploring some of the pedestrian-only streets with their various shops. We also visited the public library and the cathedral.

Although there were some clouds, the umbrellas were for the sun, not rain.

This library was disassembled after a World's Fair and shipped to Fort-de-France.

Pam finally found an open cathedral. The current cathedral and its steeple were erected in 1895.

We walked through the park, finding a comfortable rock-hard bench where I could sit while Pam dipped in the ocean. In addition to dealing with a call about our refrigerator making weird noises, I watch about 20 kids in a sailing program put to bed a sailboat. Watching them struggle to get the big boat far enough up on the beach to satisfy the instructions, it was clear part of the training was learning teamwork.

We then walk along the Malecon back to the ship. 

Throughout our ramblings, we moved slowly. The air temperature was about 90°, and with the relative humidity, it was closer to 100°. Fortunately, we walked into a nice breeze, at least part of the way. 

It was a short day here. The ship left at 3:00 to start its passage back to Miami, with a stop in Jost Van Dyke, BVI, tomorrow.