Martinique Home Exchange May-June 2015
May 9, 2015: Just getting there
Not much happens on the first day of a home exchange. First you need to get there. Uh. Sleep last night? No. The taxi was called for 4:30am for a 6:45am flight out of Washington National to Miami to change to go to Fort de France. Fort de France is the capital of Martinique and the only international airport on the island. There are about 4 gates, so a pleasure to use the airport compared to the massive ones in the US.
Tourism here is geared to French and European tourists--not Americans. It is actually cheaper to fly to Martinique from Paris than it is from Washington, DC. Martinique is part of France. It's citizens have French passports and even vote in the French elections. There a few small islands where islanders have similar status--e.g. Reunion in the Indian Ocean and Guadeloupe in the Caribbean. Rather than make them independent, as one would have expected, the islanders simply became part of France. Obviously having a French passport has its advantages--such as working in Paris without the need for a visa (or anywhere else in Europe). What is strange is that North American tourism is poorly developed because the flights are infrequent and inconvenient. It is also true that the prices in the French islands are high because they use the euro.
The flight from Miami to Fort de France on American was delayed 15 minutes due to late arrival of the equipment--not a big deal.
At the counter in Washington, the gate agent tried to charge AlteCocker for her bag: $25. Duh. She has a frequent flyer membership and also paid for the ticket with her associated credit card. She was not a happy camper. Then, at the gate, American was offering to check bags FREE because the plane to Miami was full and the overhead space would be limited. If you charge people for bags, don't you know they would bring them on and create problems with the overhead? Don't you know the large bags they attempt to sneak on board these days? Another reason to find air travel annoying.
In Fort de France, AlteCocker was immediately picked up by her home exchangers' sister, Sonia. Euros were obtained from a Credit Agricole airport machine--one that she has always found that works in France. 10 minutes and we were at the house in Le Lamentin.
In the evening, the home exchangers' other sister, Laurianne, who lives in the basement apartment, came by to explain to AlteCocker how everything works. AlteCocker was fast asleep very early for obvious reasons. House is very nice and the master bedroom has air conditioning. The backyard is absolutely loaded with mangos dropping off the trees.
Tourism here is geared to French and European tourists--not Americans. It is actually cheaper to fly to Martinique from Paris than it is from Washington, DC. Martinique is part of France. It's citizens have French passports and even vote in the French elections. There a few small islands where islanders have similar status--e.g. Reunion in the Indian Ocean and Guadeloupe in the Caribbean. Rather than make them independent, as one would have expected, the islanders simply became part of France. Obviously having a French passport has its advantages--such as working in Paris without the need for a visa (or anywhere else in Europe). What is strange is that North American tourism is poorly developed because the flights are infrequent and inconvenient. It is also true that the prices in the French islands are high because they use the euro.
The flight from Miami to Fort de France on American was delayed 15 minutes due to late arrival of the equipment--not a big deal.
At the counter in Washington, the gate agent tried to charge AlteCocker for her bag: $25. Duh. She has a frequent flyer membership and also paid for the ticket with her associated credit card. She was not a happy camper. Then, at the gate, American was offering to check bags FREE because the plane to Miami was full and the overhead space would be limited. If you charge people for bags, don't you know they would bring them on and create problems with the overhead? Don't you know the large bags they attempt to sneak on board these days? Another reason to find air travel annoying.
In Fort de France, AlteCocker was immediately picked up by her home exchangers' sister, Sonia. Euros were obtained from a Credit Agricole airport machine--one that she has always found that works in France. 10 minutes and we were at the house in Le Lamentin.
In the evening, the home exchangers' other sister, Laurianne, who lives in the basement apartment, came by to explain to AlteCocker how everything works. AlteCocker was fast asleep very early for obvious reasons. House is very nice and the master bedroom has air conditioning. The backyard is absolutely loaded with mangos dropping off the trees.
May 10, 2015: An Introduction
On Sunday most of the shops are closed here, so it was a good day to go into Fort de France to take a look round. Laurianne drove the car to Fort de France after dropping off a huge container of mango smoothies for AlteCocker to consume. AlteCocker had mentioned that some of the mangos were doomed to be smoothies in previous conversation; she developed a taste for them in Chiang Mai and the yard is absolutely over run with them; there are so many that most end up being recycled as compost. AlteCocker drove the car home so she could figure out where she was. She saw the area where the ships dock for short trips to Trois Islets (where a lot of the tourists stay) and the huge fortress in the harbor. The streets in the harbor area are very narrow and AlteCocker will use the bus to get downtown rather than tangle with those streets--and parking
Driving home (the car is a manual) AlteCocker's nerves got her once and she hit the brake with her left foot rather than the clutch. She will be OK once she gets used to it but it was a bit embarassing. Laurianne made lunch which consisted of a huge steak and some potatoes cooked with parsley. Laurianne kept saying it was a simple lunch, but it was certainly a lot more elaborate than what AlteCocker has at home. We had apperitifs that contained rhum and cane sugar. They were delicious. Then it was time for a siesta in the height of the heat. AlteCocker was going to do the blog but, instead, promptly went to sleep.
After the siesta, Laurianne took AlteCocker for a stroll around the neighborhood so she knows how to get the bus, etc. We passed by a number of shops but all are closed on Sunday. AlteCocker met a neighbor from Montreal, who, of course speaks both French and English. She is working here and studying for her MBA at the same time through a university in Sherbrook, Quebec. The professors come twice per month to give classes. Ah, the modern world where everything is international.
We finally arrived back at the house just before a bit of rain was threatening. Tomorrow AlteCocker thinks she will take the bus into Fort de France. After that she will begin driving all over and learning the ropes.
Driving home (the car is a manual) AlteCocker's nerves got her once and she hit the brake with her left foot rather than the clutch. She will be OK once she gets used to it but it was a bit embarassing. Laurianne made lunch which consisted of a huge steak and some potatoes cooked with parsley. Laurianne kept saying it was a simple lunch, but it was certainly a lot more elaborate than what AlteCocker has at home. We had apperitifs that contained rhum and cane sugar. They were delicious. Then it was time for a siesta in the height of the heat. AlteCocker was going to do the blog but, instead, promptly went to sleep.
After the siesta, Laurianne took AlteCocker for a stroll around the neighborhood so she knows how to get the bus, etc. We passed by a number of shops but all are closed on Sunday. AlteCocker met a neighbor from Montreal, who, of course speaks both French and English. She is working here and studying for her MBA at the same time through a university in Sherbrook, Quebec. The professors come twice per month to give classes. Ah, the modern world where everything is international.
We finally arrived back at the house just before a bit of rain was threatening. Tomorrow AlteCocker thinks she will take the bus into Fort de France. After that she will begin driving all over and learning the ropes.
mAY 11, 2015: Fort de France Market and Departmental Museum
AlteCocker was slow getting started here and she has forgotten how heat can really wear you out. She took the bus into Fort de France. She knew in advance that it would be impossible to visit the large fortress, Fort Louis. It's closed on Monday. She went instead to the inevitable tourist market. It was on the small side but those places are always interesting and she might return to get some spices to bring home at the end of her stay. Fort de France is, around the port area, very seedy and old with teeny streets. You would not want to drive a car there. In addition to meandering around the market, AlteCocker had lunch at a small restaurant in the market. There are several. AlteCocker chose one on the ground floor called "Mama Snack". It was run by two ladies with a creole menu for 12 euros for a set price lunch. Not bad. AlteCocker had boudin, crab farci and a couple of things she did not recognize but tasted just fine. She did ask the ladies which one of them was "Mama" and they laughed and said they both were. For dessert there was a choice between ice cream or a cup of coffee. That was no choice at all. AlteCocker had coconut ice cream. She could get addicted to that here.
There is a larger market for food elsewhere. She found out about it later.
Most important of all the tourist market had clean toilets. AlteCocker has been drinking too many mango smoothies as the yard at her home exchange house is absolutely loaded with mangoes; you get a sack of them on the ground every day and cannot possibly eat them all. You could eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner and there'd be plenty left. Laurianne sent a friend of hers home with a bag full; some the neighbors even try to sell theirs. The mangoes taken by friends and family won't be missed because more ripe ones will immediately fall off the trees. In the tropics the temperature is pretty much year round so there is no season where things stop growing and leaves fall off the trees; plants just continue growing all the time. However, drinking and eating too many mangoes can have unwanted consequences. AlteCocker is going to have to cut down but that is hard to do when you have food you cannot get at home.
AlteCocker did buy a t-shirt today. It was purchased in a shop where you choose the design, the color and the size and they print it right there. That is much more efficient than printing up masses ahead of time and then having the wrong ones in stock. AlteCocker chose a simple design for her souvenir t-shirt. Many have the numbers "972" included. AlteCocker did ask what that was all about. It's the French postal code for Martinique.
Then AlteCocker hung around waiting for the Departmental Museum of Martinique to open after the lunch break. This one was no Louvre but Fort de France is not Paris either. The museum cost a couple of euros (AlteCocker thinks she was given a senior discount) and is worth 15 minutes. There is information about the original Caribbean indigenous people who populated the area--and who were largely wiped out when the Europeans came. It wasn't much but you do need to learn about the local culture when you visit a place like this.
By the time AlteCocker was done with the museum, she had no energy left and she felt the need for a siesta. So, it was back to the house on the bus (and momentary panic when she thought she had missed her stop; no, she hadn't) where the bedroom has one of those European room air conditioning units. In fact, due to the air conditioner, that is where she is spending a good deal of her time in the house when she is home. The bedroom is excellent for reading a book--and blogging. There are porches all along the outside of the house. Those are great for hanging out when the sun goes down and it gets marginally cooler. After two days here, AlteCocker knows she is going to go into relaxed mode and not do a lot of her agenda. That's a vacation!
After a big lunch, AlteCocker was not in the mood for a big dinner. She just took a walk in the neighborhood and had some ice cream--nothing to write home about. Then it was back to air conditioning.
If you are stopping in Fort de France on a cruise, please note that the cruise port is to the East of Fort de France. They have shuttles to take you to the shopping. The large hotels (to the extent that they exist) are on the extreme South of the Island. There is a boat that goes back and forth to Fort de France (see below).
There is a larger market for food elsewhere. She found out about it later.
Most important of all the tourist market had clean toilets. AlteCocker has been drinking too many mango smoothies as the yard at her home exchange house is absolutely loaded with mangoes; you get a sack of them on the ground every day and cannot possibly eat them all. You could eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner and there'd be plenty left. Laurianne sent a friend of hers home with a bag full; some the neighbors even try to sell theirs. The mangoes taken by friends and family won't be missed because more ripe ones will immediately fall off the trees. In the tropics the temperature is pretty much year round so there is no season where things stop growing and leaves fall off the trees; plants just continue growing all the time. However, drinking and eating too many mangoes can have unwanted consequences. AlteCocker is going to have to cut down but that is hard to do when you have food you cannot get at home.
AlteCocker did buy a t-shirt today. It was purchased in a shop where you choose the design, the color and the size and they print it right there. That is much more efficient than printing up masses ahead of time and then having the wrong ones in stock. AlteCocker chose a simple design for her souvenir t-shirt. Many have the numbers "972" included. AlteCocker did ask what that was all about. It's the French postal code for Martinique.
Then AlteCocker hung around waiting for the Departmental Museum of Martinique to open after the lunch break. This one was no Louvre but Fort de France is not Paris either. The museum cost a couple of euros (AlteCocker thinks she was given a senior discount) and is worth 15 minutes. There is information about the original Caribbean indigenous people who populated the area--and who were largely wiped out when the Europeans came. It wasn't much but you do need to learn about the local culture when you visit a place like this.
By the time AlteCocker was done with the museum, she had no energy left and she felt the need for a siesta. So, it was back to the house on the bus (and momentary panic when she thought she had missed her stop; no, she hadn't) where the bedroom has one of those European room air conditioning units. In fact, due to the air conditioner, that is where she is spending a good deal of her time in the house when she is home. The bedroom is excellent for reading a book--and blogging. There are porches all along the outside of the house. Those are great for hanging out when the sun goes down and it gets marginally cooler. After two days here, AlteCocker knows she is going to go into relaxed mode and not do a lot of her agenda. That's a vacation!
After a big lunch, AlteCocker was not in the mood for a big dinner. She just took a walk in the neighborhood and had some ice cream--nothing to write home about. Then it was back to air conditioning.
If you are stopping in Fort de France on a cruise, please note that the cruise port is to the East of Fort de France. They have shuttles to take you to the shopping. The large hotels (to the extent that they exist) are on the extreme South of the Island. There is a boat that goes back and forth to Fort de France (see below).
May 12, 2015: A Flop in Fort de France
Today was the day AlteCocker was going to go to Fort St. Louis in Fort de France. It is the huge fort built by Louis XIV's architect Vauban that dominates the harbor. So, AlteCocker shows up and asks for a tour at 10:00am and gets told that they don't run the tour unless there are 2 people. Offering to pay for 2 people did not work. It doesn't matter. If you are one person and pay for two, no tour. So, AlteCocker went off to have breakfast (she found a bagel place where all the sandwiches were named after places in the US--mostly boroughs of NYC). Then she took a look at the cathedral--very small for a cathedral but cooler inside than out, so a nice place to sit--and a library famous for its grand entrance. Then she walked back through the main park stopping at the headless Empress Josephine statue (Napoleon reinstituted slavery here so Josephine is not universally loved in Martinique even though she was born here; there are no plans to replace the head) and arrived at the Tourist Office for Fort St. Louis at exactly 11:00am. Predictably, there was a tour and it had left early (by their watches it was 11:03am when AlteCocker finished arguing with them about taking the tour). AlteCocker could see the group and could have run over, but officious bureaucrats (really unpleasant people) said "No" and told me the next tour was at 2:00pm--and, of course, AlteCocker would have to wait around to see if they were going to offer the tour because she was a single and couldn't go by herself even if she were willing to pay for two.
At this point AlteCocker decided that she did not want to see Fort St. Louis so badly that she would play Russian roulette with the tourist bureau about the guided tour of the Fort and decided she is not going there; far better to trash their bad attitude on the blog. She went on a boat across the harbor instead to Les Trois Islets--basically a beach area with some shops. The sea was very choppy, but fortunately AlteCocker did not get sick. She walked about the harbor area for awhile and eventually had some sorbet (some kind of mixed tropical fruits and then pina colada). It was a lot more pleasant than dealing with tourist information bureaucrats who would went out of the way to piss off AlteCocker about the tour of Ft. St. Louis.. By the time she returned to the harbor in Fort de France it was time for the 2:00pm tour but if you think AlteCocker was going over to deal with those nasty people again, well, she didn't; Fort St. Louis is not so important to see that she would want to go through another round of French bureaucratic foolishness. The business of not offering the tour for one person is just a way to do less work (they get paid whether they give the tour or not and, well, they'd rather sit on their asses)--and the totally inconsiderate behavior at 11:00am just iced the cake. She decided it was time for a siesta and took the bus back home. Laurianne was home eating lunch with a coworker. AlteCocker had a glass of cold water and went upstairs to open email and get immediately aggravated by a new tenant in an an apartment she owns with a huge list of things the individual wants done. She is not getting her fridge door flipped because she would rather it opened on the right side instead of the left. AlteCocker spent an hour dealing with the list of "repairs"--for example telling the new tenant to turn her air conditioner on before telling me it does not work and/or calling a repairman. Problems do have a way of following you on vacation.
At this point AlteCocker decided that she did not want to see Fort St. Louis so badly that she would play Russian roulette with the tourist bureau about the guided tour of the Fort and decided she is not going there; far better to trash their bad attitude on the blog. She went on a boat across the harbor instead to Les Trois Islets--basically a beach area with some shops. The sea was very choppy, but fortunately AlteCocker did not get sick. She walked about the harbor area for awhile and eventually had some sorbet (some kind of mixed tropical fruits and then pina colada). It was a lot more pleasant than dealing with tourist information bureaucrats who would went out of the way to piss off AlteCocker about the tour of Ft. St. Louis.. By the time she returned to the harbor in Fort de France it was time for the 2:00pm tour but if you think AlteCocker was going over to deal with those nasty people again, well, she didn't; Fort St. Louis is not so important to see that she would want to go through another round of French bureaucratic foolishness. The business of not offering the tour for one person is just a way to do less work (they get paid whether they give the tour or not and, well, they'd rather sit on their asses)--and the totally inconsiderate behavior at 11:00am just iced the cake. She decided it was time for a siesta and took the bus back home. Laurianne was home eating lunch with a coworker. AlteCocker had a glass of cold water and went upstairs to open email and get immediately aggravated by a new tenant in an an apartment she owns with a huge list of things the individual wants done. She is not getting her fridge door flipped because she would rather it opened on the right side instead of the left. AlteCocker spent an hour dealing with the list of "repairs"--for example telling the new tenant to turn her air conditioner on before telling me it does not work and/or calling a repairman. Problems do have a way of following you on vacation.
May 13, 2015: Troubles from Home/Tartane
Today was supposed to be spent relaxing at the beach. AlteCocker did not even get out of the house until after lunchtime. AlteCocker has 3 condos she owns and rents out. Two have new tenants and one of the two units how has a confirmed broken air conditioning unit. After a lot of email to determine if it actually was broken or it was "stupid new tenant syndrome" (there is really a lot of that with new tenants who have never had to manage a home or condo before), AlteCocker emailed her credit card information to the usual company that deals with such repairs and told the company that the tenants would call for the timing of the repair. There were also other problems in the unit such as mice droppings (but no mice YET; more on that later). The tenant AlteCocker previously had in unit was a slob. The mess from a one year tenancy had to be seen to be believed. Her filth brought in the mice. They are probably still hanging around the unit. Mousetraps were set just to be sure. The people have a 2 month old. Who needs mouse droppings? Then there is a shelf that needs replacing. AlteCocker emailed the usual guy for that and gave the tenants his phone number. Hopefully that take care of everything. They also wanted the fridge door reversed. AlteCocker told them she was not doing that. Fixing things is a yes, but not remodeling the kitchen to fit the desires of tenants. All of that with the arrangements took all morning. Don't let anyone tell you that renting apartments is a good way to make money. It is a good way to have a lot of aggravation; you spend what small amount of profit you earn on endless repairs. You have to do them if you want your telephone not to ring with problems. AlteCocker is a very good landlord when it comes to repairs.
Finally AlteCocker got out of the house and away from the aggravating emails. She went to a small town called Tartane on the East Coast of Martinique. It's on a peninsula or what the French call a "presque isle" ('almost an island"). AlteCocker ate "chatrou"--octopus--creole style. It was OK. It is the kind of thing she wanted to taste but won't order again. She'll probably order something else she's never had before and maybe will never order again. AlteCocker had blanc mange with coconut for dessert. Blanc mange is a traditional French thing. The coconut is, of course, the local touch.
After lunch AlteCocker tried to go to some ruins at the end of the peninsula. The road was dirt at the end (combined with rocks), the sky was threatening rain and it was a hike in. That was it. AlteCocker did not go. She returned to her house at Le Lamentin making a visit to the local patesserie for tea and a pastry before arriving home. She also bought a baguette there. The baguettes are made in the back but she's had better.
As she writes this the threat of thunderstorms is still there but nothing has happened yet and it is as humid as hell. Fortunately, there were no more emails this evening--not even benign ones. AlteCocker had better shut up now before all hell breaks loose.
Finally AlteCocker got out of the house and away from the aggravating emails. She went to a small town called Tartane on the East Coast of Martinique. It's on a peninsula or what the French call a "presque isle" ('almost an island"). AlteCocker ate "chatrou"--octopus--creole style. It was OK. It is the kind of thing she wanted to taste but won't order again. She'll probably order something else she's never had before and maybe will never order again. AlteCocker had blanc mange with coconut for dessert. Blanc mange is a traditional French thing. The coconut is, of course, the local touch.
After lunch AlteCocker tried to go to some ruins at the end of the peninsula. The road was dirt at the end (combined with rocks), the sky was threatening rain and it was a hike in. That was it. AlteCocker did not go. She returned to her house at Le Lamentin making a visit to the local patesserie for tea and a pastry before arriving home. She also bought a baguette there. The baguettes are made in the back but she's had better.
As she writes this the threat of thunderstorms is still there but nothing has happened yet and it is as humid as hell. Fortunately, there were no more emails this evening--not even benign ones. AlteCocker had better shut up now before all hell breaks loose.
May 14, 2015: More Aggravation from Home, Touring Around
No, the mouse problem is not solved in the condo. They caught two in in two out in the traps. So, there was more email this morning and tonight and no reaction from the condo. So, AlteCocker told the tenant to speak to AlteCocker's handyman when he comes in to replace a shelf and have him block up all access that he can find if the condo has not already done it. Obviously, that will cost AlteCocker some money, but, at this point the condo is doing nothing but setting traps because they basically are too cheap to do anything else. It is not doing anything to prevent the mice from getting in the unit in the first place. AlteCocker is sure there will be more aggravating email in the morning.
Laurianne took AlteCocker around to her mother's home today. Her mother is 92 and, all things considered, does pretty well. She is very religious and was busy watching a mass on TV when we came in because today was the Feast of the Ascension. What does an AlteCocker know from Catholic holidays? In Martinique it's a public holiday and, since it has occurred on a Thursday, everyone takes Friday off and calls it a 4 day weekend. That means a lot of things are closed--such as restaurants outside beach areas where amenities have more generous hours for tourists. Also the beaches were jam packed because all the locals go to the beach to have picnics and swim. Laurianne cooked a fish dish for lunch that included "morue" (a fish) cooked with rice, tomatoes and onions. While the morue was cut up, the bones were still in the pieces. AlteCocker also had an apperitif at one of Laurianne sister's before lunch and wine at lunch. Laurianne fell asleep after lunch. AlteCocker waited for her nap until she was going home in the car.
Due to the holiday Laurianne's idea of driving me around to beach areas to show me the scenery ended in a lot of traffic jams. In addition to it being a holiday, there was a boat competition smack dab where we went. Cars were parked a la francaise (meaning all over the place) and the beaches were a continuous traffic jam. We headed for home and AlteCocker fell out cold in the car. For dinner she is going to have to cook because all the restaurants, etc., are closed for the holiday.
And the bad news is there is another 4 day weekend coming up involving May 22nd. That day is a local holiday in Martinique and marks the abolition of slavery here. There is a big to do in Fort de France at night. If anything, AlteCocker thinks Africans were treated worse here than in the US. Laboring in the cane fields is just about the worst sort of labor that you can do. Of course, we all have our slavery sins to atone for as well. Napoleon also reinstituted slavery after it had been abolished during the French Revolution. He is understandably not popular here--and AlteCocker has already discussed headless Josephine.
Laurianne took AlteCocker around to her mother's home today. Her mother is 92 and, all things considered, does pretty well. She is very religious and was busy watching a mass on TV when we came in because today was the Feast of the Ascension. What does an AlteCocker know from Catholic holidays? In Martinique it's a public holiday and, since it has occurred on a Thursday, everyone takes Friday off and calls it a 4 day weekend. That means a lot of things are closed--such as restaurants outside beach areas where amenities have more generous hours for tourists. Also the beaches were jam packed because all the locals go to the beach to have picnics and swim. Laurianne cooked a fish dish for lunch that included "morue" (a fish) cooked with rice, tomatoes and onions. While the morue was cut up, the bones were still in the pieces. AlteCocker also had an apperitif at one of Laurianne sister's before lunch and wine at lunch. Laurianne fell asleep after lunch. AlteCocker waited for her nap until she was going home in the car.
Due to the holiday Laurianne's idea of driving me around to beach areas to show me the scenery ended in a lot of traffic jams. In addition to it being a holiday, there was a boat competition smack dab where we went. Cars were parked a la francaise (meaning all over the place) and the beaches were a continuous traffic jam. We headed for home and AlteCocker fell out cold in the car. For dinner she is going to have to cook because all the restaurants, etc., are closed for the holiday.
And the bad news is there is another 4 day weekend coming up involving May 22nd. That day is a local holiday in Martinique and marks the abolition of slavery here. There is a big to do in Fort de France at night. If anything, AlteCocker thinks Africans were treated worse here than in the US. Laboring in the cane fields is just about the worst sort of labor that you can do. Of course, we all have our slavery sins to atone for as well. Napoleon also reinstituted slavery after it had been abolished during the French Revolution. He is understandably not popular here--and AlteCocker has already discussed headless Josephine.
May 15, 2015: More Aggravation, Organizing Side Trips
It was another "mice in the condo" morning as AlteCocker tried to solve problems back home. The attitude of the condo is to set traps, blame tenants for filth and walk out. Obviously, the unit was throughly cleaned before the tenants moved in so mice in the unit is not their fault; in fact the condo staff cleaned the unit top to bottom. The condo is basically not reacting to complaints. So, AlteCocker tired to file a complaint with Fairfax County, Virginia. The complaint form online does not work, so AlteCocker sent it in a link to the tenant. She can phone if she wants to. AlteCocker is not phoning from Martinique. The a/c repair should get done on May 19th. AlteCocker has asked the a/c folks to look for access holes and block up if they can. Tenant is away for 4 days so nothing will happen til Monday.
Still trying to have a holiday and not succeeding very well. After lunch, Laurianne took AlteCocker to an agency that booked a day tour for me to St. Lucia; then we went to a huge pharmacy. Laurianne will be bringing medicines when she and Sophia go to the US to visit my exchangers (the female exchanger is her sister). AlteCocker picked up some supplies as well--a few extra acid reflux pills and some allergy medicine as she's been congested. Happy to say, the allergy medicine appears to work. The pharmacy has both medicines and an extensive selection of French beauty products--much more extensive than you'd ever find in the US. If AlteCocker has time, (or needs something), it might be worth another visit.
We stopped at the HyperU supermarket near the house. It was gigantic and is more like a Walmart. Besides food it sells clothes, etc., as many French supermarkets do AlteCocker picked up some TP, tissues and, of course, French ice cream. After we returned, Laurianne was invited upstairs to christen the pistachio (now all gone). She also showed me where the light was in the master bedroom bath. AlteCocker had been puzzling on that one for a bit and together we finally got the TV to work--pretty much the same channels you would get in France. That's fine for AlteCocker. Her French is not perfect, but she does have enough command of the language to enjoy TV and films.
Still trying to have a holiday and not succeeding very well. After lunch, Laurianne took AlteCocker to an agency that booked a day tour for me to St. Lucia; then we went to a huge pharmacy. Laurianne will be bringing medicines when she and Sophia go to the US to visit my exchangers (the female exchanger is her sister). AlteCocker picked up some supplies as well--a few extra acid reflux pills and some allergy medicine as she's been congested. Happy to say, the allergy medicine appears to work. The pharmacy has both medicines and an extensive selection of French beauty products--much more extensive than you'd ever find in the US. If AlteCocker has time, (or needs something), it might be worth another visit.
We stopped at the HyperU supermarket near the house. It was gigantic and is more like a Walmart. Besides food it sells clothes, etc., as many French supermarkets do AlteCocker picked up some TP, tissues and, of course, French ice cream. After we returned, Laurianne was invited upstairs to christen the pistachio (now all gone). She also showed me where the light was in the master bedroom bath. AlteCocker had been puzzling on that one for a bit and together we finally got the TV to work--pretty much the same channels you would get in France. That's fine for AlteCocker. Her French is not perfect, but she does have enough command of the language to enjoy TV and films.
May 16, 2015: St. James Rum Distillery, a nice lunch
It's Saturday and AlteCocker's tenants with the mice are away for the weekend. So, thank you, no annoying emails.
AlteCocker attempted to drive where she thought there was a volcano attraction (climbing the Pele Volcano is an all day deal if you are in good shape). Being an AlteCocker, an excursion to the top is off the list. There is an attraction that tells you about it, but it was not where AlteCocker is looking. The island is so small that AlteCocker could have gone over to see it once she found where it was but, she ended up driving around looking for a rum distillery that has tours--the St. James Distillery. There is also a banana train and banana plantation tour. Suffice it to say, nothing was going on today, but you could still go into the tasting room, so that is what AlteCocker did. She also bought two bottles of rum (one infused with cane sugar, the other with coconut). She tried the strong aged rums but those must be an acquired taste. AlteCocker did not like them. The variety and quality of rum here is much better than what one gets in the US.
After the rum tour bust up, well, there was a restaurant next door (not connected with the distillery). Could AlteCocker have lunch? No. They were preparing for a gastronomic dinner in the evening and were not serving lunch. What to do? AlteCocker threw in the towel and headed for home. All was not lost. Passing a town called Robert--not far from Lamentin where she is staying--she saw a sign for Restaurant l'ifruimer (probably a pun on "fruits de mer"--or creole; "fruits de mer" in French means "seafood"). The restaurant was not the easiest to find. Just as she was about to give up, there it was. Basically go into Robert by the northernmost entrance, go down to the water and then go along the street along the water until the restaurant appears at the end). They have parking (a small grassy area). After you park you walk down to the restaurant. It's on the water with a nice view. Fortunately, AlteCocker got there just as they were about to close after the lunch service. She was rewarded with lagouste--Caribbean lobster. It is served split open with a sauce on it but, as usual with lobster, a lot of fighting to get out the meat. It was 28 euros--about $32 currently--so don't expect a bargain because the lobster is smaller. AlteCocker had coconut ice cream for dessert. Restaurant l'infruimer is open for lunch from 12 to 3pm. If you want dinner, you need to book. Tel No. is 0656 180857. Please do not ask AlteCocker how you make money that way--especially since the restaurant is very small. AlteCocker would just leave the business end of this to the restaurant, but she does hope to have time for a return visit. At least she knows where the restaurant is now.
Uh, AlteCocker has been on a roll with the driving. The roads in Matinique are tough driving. They are often narrow and very steep. And the side roads that go off to people's houses have to be seen to be believed--even tougher. AlteCocker has an SUV type car with, of course, a manual shift. So there are challenges. Also, when you go to some rural area there may be a minimum of services and no restaurants. OK, so far so good. Coming out of Robert there is a traffic circle. When she arrived at the second traffic circle, she turned off thinking that it was the one for home. She knew once she saw the banana plantations. She had to drive a long while before finding a good spot to turn around. Time wasted but she won't turn off there again. She found the main road and turned off on the correct circle and was soon home checking email and blogging. Please note, as usual, AlteCocker is trying to link websites to her blog but many small businesses in Martinique simply do not have websites.
AlteCocker attempted to drive where she thought there was a volcano attraction (climbing the Pele Volcano is an all day deal if you are in good shape). Being an AlteCocker, an excursion to the top is off the list. There is an attraction that tells you about it, but it was not where AlteCocker is looking. The island is so small that AlteCocker could have gone over to see it once she found where it was but, she ended up driving around looking for a rum distillery that has tours--the St. James Distillery. There is also a banana train and banana plantation tour. Suffice it to say, nothing was going on today, but you could still go into the tasting room, so that is what AlteCocker did. She also bought two bottles of rum (one infused with cane sugar, the other with coconut). She tried the strong aged rums but those must be an acquired taste. AlteCocker did not like them. The variety and quality of rum here is much better than what one gets in the US.
After the rum tour bust up, well, there was a restaurant next door (not connected with the distillery). Could AlteCocker have lunch? No. They were preparing for a gastronomic dinner in the evening and were not serving lunch. What to do? AlteCocker threw in the towel and headed for home. All was not lost. Passing a town called Robert--not far from Lamentin where she is staying--she saw a sign for Restaurant l'ifruimer (probably a pun on "fruits de mer"--or creole; "fruits de mer" in French means "seafood"). The restaurant was not the easiest to find. Just as she was about to give up, there it was. Basically go into Robert by the northernmost entrance, go down to the water and then go along the street along the water until the restaurant appears at the end). They have parking (a small grassy area). After you park you walk down to the restaurant. It's on the water with a nice view. Fortunately, AlteCocker got there just as they were about to close after the lunch service. She was rewarded with lagouste--Caribbean lobster. It is served split open with a sauce on it but, as usual with lobster, a lot of fighting to get out the meat. It was 28 euros--about $32 currently--so don't expect a bargain because the lobster is smaller. AlteCocker had coconut ice cream for dessert. Restaurant l'infruimer is open for lunch from 12 to 3pm. If you want dinner, you need to book. Tel No. is 0656 180857. Please do not ask AlteCocker how you make money that way--especially since the restaurant is very small. AlteCocker would just leave the business end of this to the restaurant, but she does hope to have time for a return visit. At least she knows where the restaurant is now.
Uh, AlteCocker has been on a roll with the driving. The roads in Matinique are tough driving. They are often narrow and very steep. And the side roads that go off to people's houses have to be seen to be believed--even tougher. AlteCocker has an SUV type car with, of course, a manual shift. So there are challenges. Also, when you go to some rural area there may be a minimum of services and no restaurants. OK, so far so good. Coming out of Robert there is a traffic circle. When she arrived at the second traffic circle, she turned off thinking that it was the one for home. She knew once she saw the banana plantations. She had to drive a long while before finding a good spot to turn around. Time wasted but she won't turn off there again. She found the main road and turned off on the correct circle and was soon home checking email and blogging. Please note, as usual, AlteCocker is trying to link websites to her blog but many small businesses in Martinique simply do not have websites.
May 17, 2015: La Pagerie
When the home exchange deal in Martinique first came through, the first thing that came to AlteCocker's mind was the Empress Josephine--Napoleon I's great love. Yes, Napoleon was from Corsica and Josephine from Martinique and together they ruled in France. Crazy, no?
Today was the day for AlteCocker to pay her respects to the Empress Josephine. So off she went in direction Trois Islets to find La Pagerie. As usual, it wasn't so easy. After the arrow that directed her through Trois Islets, she couldn't find it. She asked a woman and she said it was at the left after a traffic circle and was not marked in the traffic circle but was marked at the left. AlteCocker then drove for what she thought was too long and was about to despair when, on the way back, she saw the arrow on the right. There was no arrow you could see if you were coming the other way. The guide at La Pagerie admitted that it all needs to be redone.
So what is there? You have to for the most part use your imagination. The house in which Josephine was born burned down when she was three and the family had to live over the sugar distillation facility. There remain only the remains of the foundations. The kitchen has been made into a small museum. Many things have been donated from Malmaison, Josephine's restored home outside Paris. There was nothing earth shattering in the museum but the tour was very nice--especially since AlteCocker had the guide to herself. The important things are the remains of the buildings. A pavillion has been built over where the mill, so, if there is a wedding going on, the tours might get cancelled. The most singular thing she will remember from the tour is this stone stancion near the house. Unless a slave had permission, he could be killed if he went past it.
Then it was time to go home. Pretty simple to get back? No. There was a triathalon blocking the way at one point and AlteCocker had to make a turn and take another way. Not so good when you don't know what you are doing. She took the other way and ran into a brief halt where the triathalon was passing. It was another case of eventually you get home but maybe not the way you planned.
Fortunately, AlteCocker picked up some food from the neighborhood bakery before leaving. You can get things from roadside vendors but almost all restaurants are closed on Sundays. As in parts of rural France, it is a day to be spent "en famille". AlteCocker was back home at 3:00pm for shower, siesta and blog.
Today was the day for AlteCocker to pay her respects to the Empress Josephine. So off she went in direction Trois Islets to find La Pagerie. As usual, it wasn't so easy. After the arrow that directed her through Trois Islets, she couldn't find it. She asked a woman and she said it was at the left after a traffic circle and was not marked in the traffic circle but was marked at the left. AlteCocker then drove for what she thought was too long and was about to despair when, on the way back, she saw the arrow on the right. There was no arrow you could see if you were coming the other way. The guide at La Pagerie admitted that it all needs to be redone.
So what is there? You have to for the most part use your imagination. The house in which Josephine was born burned down when she was three and the family had to live over the sugar distillation facility. There remain only the remains of the foundations. The kitchen has been made into a small museum. Many things have been donated from Malmaison, Josephine's restored home outside Paris. There was nothing earth shattering in the museum but the tour was very nice--especially since AlteCocker had the guide to herself. The important things are the remains of the buildings. A pavillion has been built over where the mill, so, if there is a wedding going on, the tours might get cancelled. The most singular thing she will remember from the tour is this stone stancion near the house. Unless a slave had permission, he could be killed if he went past it.
Then it was time to go home. Pretty simple to get back? No. There was a triathalon blocking the way at one point and AlteCocker had to make a turn and take another way. Not so good when you don't know what you are doing. She took the other way and ran into a brief halt where the triathalon was passing. It was another case of eventually you get home but maybe not the way you planned.
Fortunately, AlteCocker picked up some food from the neighborhood bakery before leaving. You can get things from roadside vendors but almost all restaurants are closed on Sundays. As in parts of rural France, it is a day to be spent "en famille". AlteCocker was back home at 3:00pm for shower, siesta and blog.
May 18, 2015: Finally Sat on a Beach
Today was the day AlteCocker finally actually sat on the beach. She went past the Trois Islets to find this beach that was supposed to be good for snorkeling. AlteCocker saw some small mildly colorful fish but nothing to write home about. She had the usual trouble breathing and getting water up her nose.
But she is getting ahead of herself.
The morning began with an email from the air conditioning repair guy. The tenant wants to reschedule the service call. AlteCocker was annoyed. She spent lord knows how much time trying to arrange everything and the tenant cancels the call? Well, the tenant will be roasting and it is no longer what AlteCocker regards as her problem. Crikey! She would have thought an a/c repair would have been wanted immediately.
Then on the way getting out of the difficult parking at the house, she scraped the side of the car. There are other scrapes on the car already. The scrapes were fixed later in AlteCocker's stay after an neighbor made her day by hitting the car and damaging the driver's side door.
On the way to the beach, AlteCocker stopped at a place known as Les Poteries--"The Potteries" in English. She thinks it was an old pottery that made bricks. There is still some sort of industry there, but many of the old buildings are given over to people who do handicrafts. She bought some perfumed soap (even though she probably has 50 bars of soap at home; shrug), it will get used eventually. She also bought a couple of small creations out of wood/bamboo. One has a map of Martinique on it and can be hung on the wall. Another has a saying in French that says she's perfect! She at lunch at a restaurant there that was totally unmemorable. Dessert was ice cream in a cup (rum raisin) that came from a store. After eating the unmemorable meal, she noticed an excellent patesserie with sandwiches across the way. That is where she should have eaten. Grr! Once you turn off the road to Les Poteries, the road is dirt. Just telling you. The patisserie is on the right. Don't go to the restaurant on the left!
Then it was off to the beach. AlteCocker drove through Trois Islets and picked up some young people who were hitching to exactly where she was going. It was a beach at a place called Anse d'Arlets. Since the young man of the pair (it was a couple) had been teaching sailing in Martinique, he directed me. It is very rough driving after Trois Islets (not that driving in Trois Islets is not exactly a bowl of cherries either). The beach itself was nothing special and really was not worth the drive since there are closer ones. Also, when you walked in, it was full of rocks. AlteCocker had to put on her beach shoes. If AlteCocker has to choose between rocky beaches that have fish for your snorkeling pleasure and beaches that have nice sand but no snorkeling, she'd prefer the later. If you went out further, there were a couple of tortoises but AlteCocker did not go out further. The main reason people go to Les Anses d'Arlets is for the diving trips that start from that beach. Plongee Passion has trips leaving from the beach. They were nice and let me use the changing area (AlteCocker would not by any means call it a changing room), so she's giving them a plug in her blog for being nice and not ending in a beach gross out.
After a couple hours of beaching, AlteCocker headed for home. First having to extract the car from its parking--no mean feat. The car is a SUV type car, but not an SUV. The roads are so small here that the only appropriate car would be a small one. AlteCocker feels as if she is driving a truck on mountain roads--which is actually what she is doing much of the time. The car is otherwise nice but has a problem with starting that the home exchangers described as peculiar--which it is. AlteCocker has to put the car in gear and hold the clutch down when she starts it. It does not always start on the first try which is nerve wracking. On the other hand, after putting some scratches on the driver's side rear door today, AlteCocker cannot complain. She just hopes she does not get stuck in a rural area. Such is life on a home exchange.
Coming home she nearly ran out of gas. The car is a real guzzler--and you all know about Europe: It's the place where you can feel your wallet get lighter when you buy gas. Cost 65 euros to fill the thing (about $80). Gas in Martinique is the same as in France since it is part of France. AlteCocker headed for the supermarket after that to pick up a few things--and more ice cream. She then, predictably, had trouble finding the car in the lot. In any event, she arrived home or she would not be writing this blog.
But she is getting ahead of herself.
The morning began with an email from the air conditioning repair guy. The tenant wants to reschedule the service call. AlteCocker was annoyed. She spent lord knows how much time trying to arrange everything and the tenant cancels the call? Well, the tenant will be roasting and it is no longer what AlteCocker regards as her problem. Crikey! She would have thought an a/c repair would have been wanted immediately.
Then on the way getting out of the difficult parking at the house, she scraped the side of the car. There are other scrapes on the car already. The scrapes were fixed later in AlteCocker's stay after an neighbor made her day by hitting the car and damaging the driver's side door.
On the way to the beach, AlteCocker stopped at a place known as Les Poteries--"The Potteries" in English. She thinks it was an old pottery that made bricks. There is still some sort of industry there, but many of the old buildings are given over to people who do handicrafts. She bought some perfumed soap (even though she probably has 50 bars of soap at home; shrug), it will get used eventually. She also bought a couple of small creations out of wood/bamboo. One has a map of Martinique on it and can be hung on the wall. Another has a saying in French that says she's perfect! She at lunch at a restaurant there that was totally unmemorable. Dessert was ice cream in a cup (rum raisin) that came from a store. After eating the unmemorable meal, she noticed an excellent patesserie with sandwiches across the way. That is where she should have eaten. Grr! Once you turn off the road to Les Poteries, the road is dirt. Just telling you. The patisserie is on the right. Don't go to the restaurant on the left!
Then it was off to the beach. AlteCocker drove through Trois Islets and picked up some young people who were hitching to exactly where she was going. It was a beach at a place called Anse d'Arlets. Since the young man of the pair (it was a couple) had been teaching sailing in Martinique, he directed me. It is very rough driving after Trois Islets (not that driving in Trois Islets is not exactly a bowl of cherries either). The beach itself was nothing special and really was not worth the drive since there are closer ones. Also, when you walked in, it was full of rocks. AlteCocker had to put on her beach shoes. If AlteCocker has to choose between rocky beaches that have fish for your snorkeling pleasure and beaches that have nice sand but no snorkeling, she'd prefer the later. If you went out further, there were a couple of tortoises but AlteCocker did not go out further. The main reason people go to Les Anses d'Arlets is for the diving trips that start from that beach. Plongee Passion has trips leaving from the beach. They were nice and let me use the changing area (AlteCocker would not by any means call it a changing room), so she's giving them a plug in her blog for being nice and not ending in a beach gross out.
After a couple hours of beaching, AlteCocker headed for home. First having to extract the car from its parking--no mean feat. The car is a SUV type car, but not an SUV. The roads are so small here that the only appropriate car would be a small one. AlteCocker feels as if she is driving a truck on mountain roads--which is actually what she is doing much of the time. The car is otherwise nice but has a problem with starting that the home exchangers described as peculiar--which it is. AlteCocker has to put the car in gear and hold the clutch down when she starts it. It does not always start on the first try which is nerve wracking. On the other hand, after putting some scratches on the driver's side rear door today, AlteCocker cannot complain. She just hopes she does not get stuck in a rural area. Such is life on a home exchange.
Coming home she nearly ran out of gas. The car is a real guzzler--and you all know about Europe: It's the place where you can feel your wallet get lighter when you buy gas. Cost 65 euros to fill the thing (about $80). Gas in Martinique is the same as in France since it is part of France. AlteCocker headed for the supermarket after that to pick up a few things--and more ice cream. She then, predictably, had trouble finding the car in the lot. In any event, she arrived home or she would not be writing this blog.
May 19, 2015: Volcano House in Gros Morne
Today it was off to Mont Pelee, the great volcano that erupted in May 2, 1902, wiping out the town of St. Pierre in an instant. St. Pierre has been rebuilt but the volcano remains a looming presence. As an AlteCocker, AlteCocker has no intention of climbing the mountain. It takes all day, and, given that AlteCocker is slow, it is far better to simply look at the volcano from the distance. There is no road to the top, so Volcano House it was. AlteCocker contented herself with the hour long video which really explained everything and then some. Warning: If you ask for the film to be run in English, ask them to turn on the subtitles as well. It made no difference to AlteCocker, but, if you do not speak French, some of the French scientists who are interviewed are not translated, so you will have trouble. The film was enough for AlteCocker. She went outside to take a couple of photos of Mont Pelee and that was it. It is interesting that the name of the goddess of the volcano in Hawaii is "Pele"--almost the same name as the volcano in Martinique. AlteCocker assumes it is an accidental similar name.
A word on the traffic here. It is awful--and it is not just in rush hour. They are building a tramway that will go from Ducos in the East to Schoelcher (northwest of fort de France) , but in the meantime it is difficult to get around. Except for weekends to avoid all the traffic frustration, AlteCocker is going to concentrate on nearby beaches and forget some of the longer journeys she had planned to "do it all"; Sunday is, of course, the best day for such journeys with very little traffic. She has discovered that a lot of places here look like other places and, aside from the beaches, not all towns AlteCocker thought would be interesting turn out to be so. AlteCocker has a large manual car and it loses power on the hills. Martinique is very mountainous and constantly shifting is, well, a pain in the ass.
A word on the traffic here. It is awful--and it is not just in rush hour. They are building a tramway that will go from Ducos in the East to Schoelcher (northwest of fort de France) , but in the meantime it is difficult to get around. Except for weekends to avoid all the traffic frustration, AlteCocker is going to concentrate on nearby beaches and forget some of the longer journeys she had planned to "do it all"; Sunday is, of course, the best day for such journeys with very little traffic. She has discovered that a lot of places here look like other places and, aside from the beaches, not all towns AlteCocker thought would be interesting turn out to be so. AlteCocker has a large manual car and it loses power on the hills. Martinique is very mountainous and constantly shifting is, well, a pain in the ass.
May 20, 2015: Problems, Snorkeling trip set up
AlteCocker's cellphone really does not work. Maybe it needs money. She will have to find out how to add it. Laurianne is now on her way to my place in the US, so AlteCocker can't ask her. No big deal as AlteCocker has no one to call here. There is a landline in the house. AlteCocker used that to set up a snorkeling day tomorrow. Her day trip to St. Lucia was cancelled. She thinks most of the people from Martinique wanted the shopping tours (Ugh!) instead of the island tour with a trip to the volcano base--or perhaps there were just very few people period. She's OK with it and will go on the much cheaper sailing and snorkeling trip tomorrow to make up for it. The snorkeling trip leaves from the harbor there and she wants to be certain she knows where it is. The snorkeling outfit is called "Les Ballades du Delphis". They have some good references online but AlteCocker chiefly chose them for proximity to the house in Lamentin.
Insofar as the rest of the day was concerned, it was devoted to finishing a round of books. AlteCocker reads continually and even more so on vacation. She finished Edmund White's "inside a Pearl: My Years in Paris" and a genealogical memoir "Out of the Shoebox" by Yaron Reshef. Having finished those, she, of course, immediately cracked open some other Kindle files: "Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America" by Richard White and "Dawn of the Belle Epoque: The Paris of Monet, Zola, Bernhardt, Eiffel, Debussy, Clemenceau and Their Friends" by Mary McAuliffe. And then there is always the Cambridge Medieval History in 5 Volumes that AlteCocker has been reading for 2 years already; she's in the third volume. It's obviously a long term project. The book readers are a great advantage on holidays. You never run out of books and don't have to worry about carting them around.
So some of you would say AlteCocker did nothing today. If you are looking for tourist sites checked off, she did nothing, but a day spent devoted to reading is never a waste.
Insofar as the rest of the day was concerned, it was devoted to finishing a round of books. AlteCocker reads continually and even more so on vacation. She finished Edmund White's "inside a Pearl: My Years in Paris" and a genealogical memoir "Out of the Shoebox" by Yaron Reshef. Having finished those, she, of course, immediately cracked open some other Kindle files: "Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America" by Richard White and "Dawn of the Belle Epoque: The Paris of Monet, Zola, Bernhardt, Eiffel, Debussy, Clemenceau and Their Friends" by Mary McAuliffe. And then there is always the Cambridge Medieval History in 5 Volumes that AlteCocker has been reading for 2 years already; she's in the third volume. It's obviously a long term project. The book readers are a great advantage on holidays. You never run out of books and don't have to worry about carting them around.
So some of you would say AlteCocker did nothing today. If you are looking for tourist sites checked off, she did nothing, but a day spent devoted to reading is never a waste.
May 21, 2015: Snorkeling and Sailing
Today AlteCocker went out with Les Ballades du Delphis to explore some small islands in the area. This is the trip she took (the trip no longer stops at the island with birds). The boat is a catamaran with sails. The sails were raised twice. Stops were made at an island called "L'islet Chancel" that has an area full of iguanas. Everyone got good photos as the iguanas are large and slow moving. The males are brown and the females are green. The females were more difficult to spot. Really interesting. Then we went to Isle Madame where we were able to swim or snorkel. Since the fish were the same tiny fish that AlteCocker saw the other day at Anse d'Arlets, she passed on the snorkel mask. No water up her nose. The good snorkeling is probably much farther out, but those trips are basically diving trips. AlteCocker is not a diver and is not up for learning something like that at this point.
The food on the boat was just super. We had these crab fritters for a first course; there was this little boy who thought they were all for him and really stuffed himself with those; it was really funny. Then there was cold octopus and some salad. It was better than the octopus AlteCocker had at Tartane. Then to AlteCocker's complete surprise there was another course! It was dorade fish with rice and cooked bananas. AlteCocker had one piece of fish and one banana, but she was about done in at that point. Rum punch was available throughout the voyage and one guy got so "punchy" that AlteCocker was worried about him falling off the boat. When we had our final stop, it was at the Baignore de Josephine. They made a big announcement not to dive in because the water was low. He dove in. When you are on a boat, you always have to watch consumption.
At the Baignoire de Josephine, we were served more rum punch. You are supposed to be in the Baignoire at the time the punch is served to complete the ritual. What does AlteCocker know? She drank the small shot of rum marinated in pineapple. You all know she tries not to miss anything. Fortunately, the massive amounts of food cut the alcohol and AlteCocker did not get drink. Rose wine, by the way was served at lunch in addition to all the punch. There was also a rum/coffee concocton that AlteCocker tasted. The day was obviously big on food and wine.
If you take this trip, it leaves from Le Francois on the Atlantic Coast. When you get to Le Francois, follow the signs to the "Port de Pechers" ("Fishing Harbor"). When you exit the main part of the town, there are a lot of street choices and, of course, AlteCocker chose the wrong one. Take the one that goes the most straight and it ends at the harbor and the trip. If you take the one that appears to go slightly right, you end up exiting the town and have to circle around back. Leave lots of time for ANY driving to a tourist site unless you know exactly what you are doing.
This was the best day of my trip so far because AlteCocker left all the decisions to the excursion company. Except for getting there and getting home, she did not do the driving. The boat captain did. One thing AlteCocker should mention: Smoking is allowed on the boat. They are supposed to go to the back of the boat but they don't always. AlteCocker began to have a slight amount of tummy trouble (it was worse yesterday) but the smoking really made her feel sick. It went away after we made our first stop, but know before you book. At Least it was not a full blown case of sea sickness. AlteCocker gets that frequently on whale watching trips and has sworn off them for that reason. No trouble after the first stop and the tummy trouble went away. Of course there is a toilet on the boat if you need it.
It will be hard to top today.
The food on the boat was just super. We had these crab fritters for a first course; there was this little boy who thought they were all for him and really stuffed himself with those; it was really funny. Then there was cold octopus and some salad. It was better than the octopus AlteCocker had at Tartane. Then to AlteCocker's complete surprise there was another course! It was dorade fish with rice and cooked bananas. AlteCocker had one piece of fish and one banana, but she was about done in at that point. Rum punch was available throughout the voyage and one guy got so "punchy" that AlteCocker was worried about him falling off the boat. When we had our final stop, it was at the Baignore de Josephine. They made a big announcement not to dive in because the water was low. He dove in. When you are on a boat, you always have to watch consumption.
At the Baignoire de Josephine, we were served more rum punch. You are supposed to be in the Baignoire at the time the punch is served to complete the ritual. What does AlteCocker know? She drank the small shot of rum marinated in pineapple. You all know she tries not to miss anything. Fortunately, the massive amounts of food cut the alcohol and AlteCocker did not get drink. Rose wine, by the way was served at lunch in addition to all the punch. There was also a rum/coffee concocton that AlteCocker tasted. The day was obviously big on food and wine.
If you take this trip, it leaves from Le Francois on the Atlantic Coast. When you get to Le Francois, follow the signs to the "Port de Pechers" ("Fishing Harbor"). When you exit the main part of the town, there are a lot of street choices and, of course, AlteCocker chose the wrong one. Take the one that goes the most straight and it ends at the harbor and the trip. If you take the one that appears to go slightly right, you end up exiting the town and have to circle around back. Leave lots of time for ANY driving to a tourist site unless you know exactly what you are doing.
This was the best day of my trip so far because AlteCocker left all the decisions to the excursion company. Except for getting there and getting home, she did not do the driving. The boat captain did. One thing AlteCocker should mention: Smoking is allowed on the boat. They are supposed to go to the back of the boat but they don't always. AlteCocker began to have a slight amount of tummy trouble (it was worse yesterday) but the smoking really made her feel sick. It went away after we made our first stop, but know before you book. At Least it was not a full blown case of sea sickness. AlteCocker gets that frequently on whale watching trips and has sworn off them for that reason. No trouble after the first stop and the tummy trouble went away. Of course there is a toilet on the boat if you need it.
It will be hard to top today.
May 22, 2015: Emancipation Day In MarTinique
AlteCocker thought she would go to the Slavery Museum on the national holiday celebrating emancipation today. Seemed to fit. That did not prevent her from making a wrong turn and ending up in the seaside town of St. Luce--a town favored by many French people who rent villas by the week there. When you make a wrong turn on a home exchange, you just reserve the site intended for another day. So she drove along the seaside and found the public parking. Going to the beach was not permitted as AlteCocker left both of her suits in the laundry at home and besides has a good sunburn on her back and shoulders from yesterday--although nothing serious (not to mention that it was raining when she arrived in St. Luce). Yes, she used sunblock, so don't yell at her. The Caribbean sun is very intense. She stopped because she noticed what appeared to be a restaurant called "Le Baraqu'Obama" (no kidding; the name is probably a pun of President Obama's name and "Le Barbecue Obama"--still funny). It turned out to be just a hole in the wall carry out place. So AlteCocker had some carryout. It was grilled lambi (conch) with green beans and rice. When she didn't have the right change, the vendor simply accepted 30 centimes less. That is something that would not happen in the US. Then next door all she had was a 20 euro bill for a bread and the same change problem. It was noon and the businesses were finishing up to close. AlteCocker waited a bit and change appeared. She took out a 50 centime piece and put it on the counter in Le Baraqu'Obama. The real Barak Obama should show up there sometime. At least AlteCocker, who does not get invited to White House dinners on a regular basis, can now say she at at Barack Obama's, well, sort of.
Having gotten her lunch, it was difficult to find a place to sit down. AlteCocker found one in a local scenic view point. It was occupied by some locals but plenty of seats. Nice people, but damned if AlteCocker could understand much. They were probably speaking in the local creole, which, of course contains a lot of French--but is not very comprehensible to speakers of standard French. When AlteCocker mentioned the Baraqu'Obama, they started to argue French politics. Beyond that--and the fact that they were nice--she couldn't say. She snapped some photos of the viewpoint and of a memorial to French war dead. Every town in France has such a memorial and why should Martinique be different? It is, after all, a Department of France (sort of like a state).
She figured on a later stop at the Slavery Museum (called the "La Savanne des Esclaves" here), but, uh, another wrong turn kiboshed that idea. By the time she got off the difficult back roads, she was halfway home. She'll try again another day for that. So she got back in the house and watched some of the news in French. Then she climbed into bed thinking she would read one of her books, but the next thing she knew she had slept away the afternoon. Beach vacations tend to encourage just laying about.
In the evening AlteCocker watched the spectacle for the holiday from Fort de France. She had thought about going but the buses were not running that she could see and heaven knows about where she would have parked, so, as with the fireworks in DC on the 4th of July, she watched on TV.
Having gotten her lunch, it was difficult to find a place to sit down. AlteCocker found one in a local scenic view point. It was occupied by some locals but plenty of seats. Nice people, but damned if AlteCocker could understand much. They were probably speaking in the local creole, which, of course contains a lot of French--but is not very comprehensible to speakers of standard French. When AlteCocker mentioned the Baraqu'Obama, they started to argue French politics. Beyond that--and the fact that they were nice--she couldn't say. She snapped some photos of the viewpoint and of a memorial to French war dead. Every town in France has such a memorial and why should Martinique be different? It is, after all, a Department of France (sort of like a state).
She figured on a later stop at the Slavery Museum (called the "La Savanne des Esclaves" here), but, uh, another wrong turn kiboshed that idea. By the time she got off the difficult back roads, she was halfway home. She'll try again another day for that. So she got back in the house and watched some of the news in French. Then she climbed into bed thinking she would read one of her books, but the next thing she knew she had slept away the afternoon. Beach vacations tend to encourage just laying about.
In the evening AlteCocker watched the spectacle for the holiday from Fort de France. She had thought about going but the buses were not running that she could see and heaven knows about where she would have parked, so, as with the fireworks in DC on the 4th of July, she watched on TV.
May 23, 2015: Not much to Report
Today was the day for the femme de menage to come--that's the housekeeper. Yes, this time the exchange includes an exchange of housekeepers. Each of us has someone who comes in every two weeks. No one wants to clean on a holiday and an arrangement like this makes it easier. AlteCocker always has hers come in anyway because she wants to avoid coming back to a mess. Not everyone cleans up. My cleaning woman started working for AlteCocker when AlteCocker's son was born. It would be very difficult to do exchanges without her--and she gets paid in advance for every two weeks even when there is no one in the house. She can always do things like wash blinds or wash windows when AlteCocker is away. She usually gets some free days if AlteCocker is away for a long time.
The femme de menage here pretty much does the same thing. Homes in tropical locations have a lot of issues including sand coming in on shoes, etc. Also, French sheets need to be ironed. You should see the size of the iron thing here. AlteCocker asked her to do it. The only problem here is that the cleaner does not have keys to the house so AlteCocker has to hang around. After walking over to the cafe and ordering a cafe au lait and a bread thingy there wasn't much to do. The sheets were placed in the laundry and AlteCocker had another load to do in the teeny French machine. So, today probably will be devoted to cleaning up and organizing for the next few days. She goes to Dominica for 2 nights May 25-27 and needs to be certain that she does not have a laundry emergency while she is there.
So, today was a lazy day at home catching up on things, reading and doing laundry. On a long trip, you always need time for that. The cleaner will come once more before AlteCocker leaves--and, more importantly, after she leaves (no cleaning up at the end). AlteCocker went out looking for a place to have dinner--very difficult here as some places are only open for lunch. She went to a pizzeria in the local shopping mall figuring it would have the same hours as the mall, but, no, it didn't open until much later. She ended up eating a crepe and some gelato (the snack place is open the same hours as the mall) and picked up an "artisanal" baguette from The Baguet Shop (a chain) in the mall. The artisanal baguette was excellent. The main problem with all bread here is the humidity is such that it cannot retain crispness. She also picked up a muffin for dessert. It was so so.
In the evening AlteCocker watched some TV. There is a show about 100 places you should see before you die, but the places are all in France. She's actually seen many of the places but certainly not all. She also watched the news on France 24 and a local Martinique channel.
The femme de menage here pretty much does the same thing. Homes in tropical locations have a lot of issues including sand coming in on shoes, etc. Also, French sheets need to be ironed. You should see the size of the iron thing here. AlteCocker asked her to do it. The only problem here is that the cleaner does not have keys to the house so AlteCocker has to hang around. After walking over to the cafe and ordering a cafe au lait and a bread thingy there wasn't much to do. The sheets were placed in the laundry and AlteCocker had another load to do in the teeny French machine. So, today probably will be devoted to cleaning up and organizing for the next few days. She goes to Dominica for 2 nights May 25-27 and needs to be certain that she does not have a laundry emergency while she is there.
So, today was a lazy day at home catching up on things, reading and doing laundry. On a long trip, you always need time for that. The cleaner will come once more before AlteCocker leaves--and, more importantly, after she leaves (no cleaning up at the end). AlteCocker went out looking for a place to have dinner--very difficult here as some places are only open for lunch. She went to a pizzeria in the local shopping mall figuring it would have the same hours as the mall, but, no, it didn't open until much later. She ended up eating a crepe and some gelato (the snack place is open the same hours as the mall) and picked up an "artisanal" baguette from The Baguet Shop (a chain) in the mall. The artisanal baguette was excellent. The main problem with all bread here is the humidity is such that it cannot retain crispness. She also picked up a muffin for dessert. It was so so.
In the evening AlteCocker watched some TV. There is a show about 100 places you should see before you die, but the places are all in France. She's actually seen many of the places but certainly not all. She also watched the news on France 24 and a local Martinique channel.
May 24, 2015: La Cabanne des Esclaves
AlteCocker finally got over to La Cabanne des Esclaves today. The site is one man's project to memorialize how the slaves lived. The site is open pretty much every day (but check!) with the usual lunch break that drives AlteCocker insane; if you want tourists other than French tourists who are used to this in the provinces, Martinique, you really need to stop this. The reason few Americans go to Martinique is there is really little tourist infrastructure (aside from the lack of direct flights). For example, there are no self contained resorts. AlteCocker saw a TV program on the local channel last night that featured the north coast of the island and people complaining that tourists don't spend money because there is no place for them to stay. That isn't the only reason: The roads here are just very difficult to drive. The grades on some of the hills are extremely steep and imagine stalling out on one of those in a shift car. AlteCocker doesn't want to think about it.
Anyway, after she got to the slavery site, she waited a few minutes for them to open and then went in. The price is reduced from 7 euros to 5 euros this month due to the May 22nd holiday celebrating the end of slavery. You get a guided tour. It was mildly interesting but that was about it. AlteCocker cut out towards the end because it was just too damn hot. Doing anything here in the afternoon is challenging with the heat. What keeps you going is the steady breeze. You are on an island so there is always a breeze.
Before going to La Cabanne, AlteCocker picked up a roasted chicken by the side of the road. Driving from Le Lamentin to Trois Islets, there is this place underneath the road where there are a lot of food stands; the whole chickens cost $12. It smelled terrific--and it was. However, it would have been a total mess to pick apart while touring and AlteCocker decided to take it home to dismantle later. Instead she stopped at Les Poteries just before Trois Islets to see if that patesserie with the sandwhiches was open--and it was. She had a slice of quiche with a salad and cold tap water. She could not resist the desserts which are delicious. This time, on the recommendation of someone at an ajacent table, she had a tiramisu type dessert with strawberries. When you cut into the bottom of the dessert, it is loaded with rum. Really yummy. The people at the neighboring table were back eating there for a third time. AlteCocker will certainly find her way there again. The patisserie, O'Coup d'Coeur, has wifi if you ask. AlteCocker will be back.
But something else happened in the restaurant. AlteCocker met Jerome Septier. He has a business and AlteCocker is going to have a unique experience, but you will have to keep reading to find out what she is going to do.
AlteCocker is going to Dominica by fast ferry on May 25-27 and is not bringing the computer. She will catch up the blog upon her return. With two nights, the less stuff, the less she has to worry about. Time to pack up, but just a few things. The hotel has a pool. She looks forward to some pool sitting and a tour of the island on the full day she is there. Please check the subblog on Dominica for those days.
Anyway, after she got to the slavery site, she waited a few minutes for them to open and then went in. The price is reduced from 7 euros to 5 euros this month due to the May 22nd holiday celebrating the end of slavery. You get a guided tour. It was mildly interesting but that was about it. AlteCocker cut out towards the end because it was just too damn hot. Doing anything here in the afternoon is challenging with the heat. What keeps you going is the steady breeze. You are on an island so there is always a breeze.
Before going to La Cabanne, AlteCocker picked up a roasted chicken by the side of the road. Driving from Le Lamentin to Trois Islets, there is this place underneath the road where there are a lot of food stands; the whole chickens cost $12. It smelled terrific--and it was. However, it would have been a total mess to pick apart while touring and AlteCocker decided to take it home to dismantle later. Instead she stopped at Les Poteries just before Trois Islets to see if that patesserie with the sandwhiches was open--and it was. She had a slice of quiche with a salad and cold tap water. She could not resist the desserts which are delicious. This time, on the recommendation of someone at an ajacent table, she had a tiramisu type dessert with strawberries. When you cut into the bottom of the dessert, it is loaded with rum. Really yummy. The people at the neighboring table were back eating there for a third time. AlteCocker will certainly find her way there again. The patisserie, O'Coup d'Coeur, has wifi if you ask. AlteCocker will be back.
But something else happened in the restaurant. AlteCocker met Jerome Septier. He has a business and AlteCocker is going to have a unique experience, but you will have to keep reading to find out what she is going to do.
AlteCocker is going to Dominica by fast ferry on May 25-27 and is not bringing the computer. She will catch up the blog upon her return. With two nights, the less stuff, the less she has to worry about. Time to pack up, but just a few things. The hotel has a pool. She looks forward to some pool sitting and a tour of the island on the full day she is there. Please check the subblog on Dominica for those days.
May 27, 2015: First Get Out of the DamN Parking Lot
Ah, back to scenic Fort de France on the ferry, through immigration with all the stamps clustered in the same place and she tries to liberate her car with her American credit card in the French machine. Anyone who has traveled in Europe knows about this crap. No matter what you do, automatic machines do not take American credit cards. It's all about chip and pin. Even if you have chip you are still on the antiquated American system. Then AlteCocker tries to use cash and the machine's cash hole is not working and blocked up. Finally some nice guy took her to another machine and she paid and took the ticket and her luggage up to the second floor and liberated her car. Travel home included only one wrong turn and and endless traffic jam. Ugh. Rather than deal with an unpleasant left turn, she decided to check out a restaurant called "Le Chateau"--which includes an adjacent French gourmet food market. AlteCocker was tempted by the pistachio madeleines but she thought it would be best to buy some just before leaving so they would have at least a chance of making it home rather than being consumed at one go while AlteCocker is on holiday. They also have raspberry ones! Looks as if that place is good to go for a second visit.
AlteCocker had lunch at at "Le Chateau"--duck in a green peppercorn sauce; the restaurant had just closed after lunch so AlteCocker bought a prepared meal and they heated in the microwave. All and all, she would have preferred the restaurant, but not cooking at home was better. For dessert she had a lemon tarte. Some people who worked at the airport adjacent were also eating lunch and AlteCocker struck up a conversation. Next door there is a place called "Monde des Epices" ("Spice World" in English translation. AlteCocker bought some spices and some lovely smelling coffee which is currently perfuming her room at her home exchange home. She will bring it all home for a nice souvenir--and it was more sane shopping there than at the market in downtown Fort de France.
Then it was back to the house, blog and, above all, laundry. When everything was put on the drying rack, AlteCocker relaxed by making a dent in "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett--a book she found at the exchangers'. It was one on her "to read" list. She wondered if the male home exchanger had read it, as it would have been would be very difficult for a nonnative speaker of American English--lots of dialect. It was made into a film. She finished "Dawn of the Belle Epoche" by Mary McAuliffe in Dominica, so that one's done. Currently she is also reading "Railroaded" by Richard White and "The Last Jews in Berlin" by Leonard Gross. Those last two are on her Kindle. There is also the "The Cambridge Medieval History" in several volumes previously mentioned. What is a good trip without books? "Lincoln at Cooper Union", a library book, was also finished and returned to the library several days ago (an ebook).
AlteCocker had lunch at at "Le Chateau"--duck in a green peppercorn sauce; the restaurant had just closed after lunch so AlteCocker bought a prepared meal and they heated in the microwave. All and all, she would have preferred the restaurant, but not cooking at home was better. For dessert she had a lemon tarte. Some people who worked at the airport adjacent were also eating lunch and AlteCocker struck up a conversation. Next door there is a place called "Monde des Epices" ("Spice World" in English translation. AlteCocker bought some spices and some lovely smelling coffee which is currently perfuming her room at her home exchange home. She will bring it all home for a nice souvenir--and it was more sane shopping there than at the market in downtown Fort de France.
Then it was back to the house, blog and, above all, laundry. When everything was put on the drying rack, AlteCocker relaxed by making a dent in "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett--a book she found at the exchangers'. It was one on her "to read" list. She wondered if the male home exchanger had read it, as it would have been would be very difficult for a nonnative speaker of American English--lots of dialect. It was made into a film. She finished "Dawn of the Belle Epoche" by Mary McAuliffe in Dominica, so that one's done. Currently she is also reading "Railroaded" by Richard White and "The Last Jews in Berlin" by Leonard Gross. Those last two are on her Kindle. There is also the "The Cambridge Medieval History" in several volumes previously mentioned. What is a good trip without books? "Lincoln at Cooper Union", a library book, was also finished and returned to the library several days ago (an ebook).
May 28, 2015: Habitation Clement
Today AlteCocker lazed around and dealt with more problems in that apartment. Additionally the male in the dynamic duo in that apartment insists he has sent AlteCocker the rent for June but AlteCocker has no evidence that he has. AlteCocker, due to her travels does not take checks. She takes payments through popmoney.com. If you don't have it, you should. It is like enrolling in paypal; there are no fees to receive money; sending money is $.95. My hunch is the guy did not verify his bank account. He keeps talking about dealing with his bank. Duh. You don't deal with your bank. You simply enroll through popmoney. AlteCocker, by the way, found out about it when a tenant notified her about it and asked her to enroll so he could use it. AlteCocker thinks the tenant did not read all the directions and therefore did not verify his account--despite telling them in detail how to do it. Sometimes dealing with tenants is like dealing with infants. It could not be more simple. When AlteCocker enrolled, she thinks she spent no more than 5 minutes doing it. Why do it in 5 minutes when you can create multiple problems for yourself? AlteCocker hopes the tenant works it out because the rent is due on June 1st and she has had massive expenses in that unit since the tenant moved in. More fun and games on a home exchange.
Then there's the guy who did some of the repairs in the unit and wants to be paid. AlteCocker has begged him to enroll in popmoney. He finally did.
So she went off to Habitation Clement after lunch after wasting more time on problems with tenants. It is not a good idea to go off on a home exchange just as a new tenant moves into an apartment. Habitation Clement is the one big time site you should see if you go to Martininique. It is a UNESCO historic site. "Habitation" is translated in English as "plantation". It is that, but it is also a working site where rum is currently being made. It is a much bigger deal than the rum distillery AlteCocker saw earlier. Unlike a lot of the small museums, Habitation Clement did not disappoint.
You start your tour (12 euros) by picking up an acoustiguide and map. There is plenty of parking (at least in the off season). During the winter when lots of cruises come in, maybe parking would not be so great. There is a lovely garden with sculpture that AlteCocker visited before taking the main tour. She did not listen to a lot of the acoustiguide as it was hard to know how to link it up with the different sites. At this point, she has had enough touring around to understand this type of site--and the history. if you watch the film (only in French), it pretty much explains the history as well; so there are a lot of ways to attack the site. It was also a good thing to do on a rainy day too, as today was certainly not a beach day. It poured on and off all day. While the temperature was lower the humidity was probably 200% (OK, 200% doesn't exist, but like a steam bath).
You see barrels of rum marinating. It is sort of like visiting a winery except that it is cane sugar instead of grapes and the process of distillation is different. There are a lot of different kinds of rum and the more rum is aged, the more it costs. There was also a lot of old distillation equipment including a train on display. The train tracks were picked up at the beginning of the 20th century. Martinique currently has no trains.
The star of the show for AlteCocker was the old creole plantation home. It has been restored. It is very interesting inside and reminded me of older homes in the South where there are doors front and back with a central hallway to allow air to circulate. The furniture in the rooms was also interesting. The Clement family lived in the house until the 1980s when it was open to the public. You need to remember that there were Whites on the top of the totem pole lording it over Black slaves--later free but subject to grinding labor--that made the old system run. Martinique still has has similar issues with racism to the problems in the US. It is sort of amazing when you quickly learn that there are very few Whites here that racism could still be a factor. But, of course, the Whites got a head start while the Black labor got trampled--terrible history, but not more terrible than that in the US.
After the tour--which you do on your own with the acoustiguide--it started to pour again. AlteCocker hung out in a gazebo until it let up. Then it was down into the shop for rum tasting. AlteCocker bought a bottle of a fruit and rum concoction that she plans to drink in Martinique and a half liter bottle of rum. Laurian already took two bottles of rum from the first place back to the US when she went to join the home exchangers. Rather than buy a big bottle of anything, AlteCocker bought a half liter bottle of clear rum and a little tiny shot bottle of aged rum. She really does not want ten ton luggage and she is not a rum drinker. It was just for a souvenir.
And then there was the matter of getting out of Habitation Clement. She gets down the hill (a dirt road) and then thinks that she can't get out because the gate has a bar. So she backs up the hill (a dfficult task) and finally turns the car around. The car is large and the dirt road is narrow. You don't want to know. The killer is that other cars proceeded down the hill. When you get to the gate, duh, it opens automatically. Another idiotic tourist mistake. Then she made a wrong turn going home, but, since she knows her way around now, she sort of knew where she was going. She stopped at the supermarket to pick up supplies. It was too early for the Italian restaurant to be open for dinner there, so she just bought stuff and ate in.
Then there's the guy who did some of the repairs in the unit and wants to be paid. AlteCocker has begged him to enroll in popmoney. He finally did.
So she went off to Habitation Clement after lunch after wasting more time on problems with tenants. It is not a good idea to go off on a home exchange just as a new tenant moves into an apartment. Habitation Clement is the one big time site you should see if you go to Martininique. It is a UNESCO historic site. "Habitation" is translated in English as "plantation". It is that, but it is also a working site where rum is currently being made. It is a much bigger deal than the rum distillery AlteCocker saw earlier. Unlike a lot of the small museums, Habitation Clement did not disappoint.
You start your tour (12 euros) by picking up an acoustiguide and map. There is plenty of parking (at least in the off season). During the winter when lots of cruises come in, maybe parking would not be so great. There is a lovely garden with sculpture that AlteCocker visited before taking the main tour. She did not listen to a lot of the acoustiguide as it was hard to know how to link it up with the different sites. At this point, she has had enough touring around to understand this type of site--and the history. if you watch the film (only in French), it pretty much explains the history as well; so there are a lot of ways to attack the site. It was also a good thing to do on a rainy day too, as today was certainly not a beach day. It poured on and off all day. While the temperature was lower the humidity was probably 200% (OK, 200% doesn't exist, but like a steam bath).
You see barrels of rum marinating. It is sort of like visiting a winery except that it is cane sugar instead of grapes and the process of distillation is different. There are a lot of different kinds of rum and the more rum is aged, the more it costs. There was also a lot of old distillation equipment including a train on display. The train tracks were picked up at the beginning of the 20th century. Martinique currently has no trains.
The star of the show for AlteCocker was the old creole plantation home. It has been restored. It is very interesting inside and reminded me of older homes in the South where there are doors front and back with a central hallway to allow air to circulate. The furniture in the rooms was also interesting. The Clement family lived in the house until the 1980s when it was open to the public. You need to remember that there were Whites on the top of the totem pole lording it over Black slaves--later free but subject to grinding labor--that made the old system run. Martinique still has has similar issues with racism to the problems in the US. It is sort of amazing when you quickly learn that there are very few Whites here that racism could still be a factor. But, of course, the Whites got a head start while the Black labor got trampled--terrible history, but not more terrible than that in the US.
After the tour--which you do on your own with the acoustiguide--it started to pour again. AlteCocker hung out in a gazebo until it let up. Then it was down into the shop for rum tasting. AlteCocker bought a bottle of a fruit and rum concoction that she plans to drink in Martinique and a half liter bottle of rum. Laurian already took two bottles of rum from the first place back to the US when she went to join the home exchangers. Rather than buy a big bottle of anything, AlteCocker bought a half liter bottle of clear rum and a little tiny shot bottle of aged rum. She really does not want ten ton luggage and she is not a rum drinker. It was just for a souvenir.
And then there was the matter of getting out of Habitation Clement. She gets down the hill (a dirt road) and then thinks that she can't get out because the gate has a bar. So she backs up the hill (a dfficult task) and finally turns the car around. The car is large and the dirt road is narrow. You don't want to know. The killer is that other cars proceeded down the hill. When you get to the gate, duh, it opens automatically. Another idiotic tourist mistake. Then she made a wrong turn going home, but, since she knows her way around now, she sort of knew where she was going. She stopped at the supermarket to pick up supplies. It was too early for the Italian restaurant to be open for dinner there, so she just bought stuff and ate in.
May 29, 2015: More problems from Home
AlteCocker should not have looked at email this morning. Another dead mouse has been found in that apartment--this time in the kitchen. So, my handyman, who has already blocked up access is going to have to go in again and move kitchen appliances around to block up access there. To say AlteCocker is fed up with the condo's actions in this matter is to put it mildly. Ugh. Of course, she has spent a lot of money on this problem already because there is a problem in the building and the condo is attempting to deal with it by just putting traps around and hoping the mice go away. It is a cheap strategy and obviously the tenants do not like it. At least, at this point, all the other problems in the unit seem repaired. (There were additional issues with the toilet and the reset button on the garbage disposal which the tenants did not know how to deal with). These emails have been a total blight on my holiday but what AlteCocker can do, she has done. The thing she does not like is the lack of a "thank you" from the tenants and the total hysteria in all the emails.
Then there is the weather. In Martinique when the weather goes into a nose dive, there is nothing to do but read and watch TV. This is the land of the beach--not the land of excitement. AlteCocker had a big adventure planned for tomorrow but it has been cancelled due to bad weather. There are going to be thunderstorms. Into every vacation a little rain must fall--and a few mice (hopefully only this time).
The afternoon was spent reading, principally "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett.
Then there is the weather. In Martinique when the weather goes into a nose dive, there is nothing to do but read and watch TV. This is the land of the beach--not the land of excitement. AlteCocker had a big adventure planned for tomorrow but it has been cancelled due to bad weather. There are going to be thunderstorms. Into every vacation a little rain must fall--and a few mice (hopefully only this time).
The afternoon was spent reading, principally "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett.
May 30, 2015: Volcanic Destruction in St. Pierre
On May 19, 2015, AlteCocker saw Volcano House in Grose Morne. She did not have time for the sites in St. Pierre related to the volcanic eruption in 1902 that killed everyone in St. Pierre except one man interned in the jail named Cyparis. So, today it was up to St. Pierre on the Caribbean side to investigate the town. AlteCocker got told "no" when she stopped at a conventional restaurant. It was, as usual, too late--this time by just a few minutes. So she continued on down the road and eventually had a fish lunch in St. Pierre on a snack place. Those places have more elastic hours. She had what was labelled as "marlin"--which she assumes was the same fish as the word in English. Whatever it was, it cost 10 euros for the set price lunch which included rice, salad, and beans in addition to enormous pieces of fish. She could barely finsh the fish and left a lot of the other stuff on the plate. Too much food.
Then it was off to the small museum on the volcanic eruption just adjacent to the lunch place. It was the project of one man--an American--and is named Musee Franck A. Perret after him. It costs 5 euros and you won't spend a lot of time there but it is interesting as a prelude to the the ruins up the street--which include the theater and the famous jail cell where the man, Cyparis, survived. When the volcano blew its top, a poisonous cloud killed a lot of people virtually instantly. Then there were fires that consumed whoever was left and burned the town; Cyparis survived but was burned; he became an attraction at Barnum's circus. However many of the ruins that were left have been reused in the reconstruction of the town. So many people died in 1902 because people stayed when the warnings were there--and because they did not understand how dangerous it was. There are earthquakes in Martinique all the time. If the volcano starts rumbling and threatens (and there are signs that a dome inside the volcano has reached a critical point, everyone near the volcano will evacuate. Many Caribbean islands have volcanoes--and similar problems living near them.
Then it was back to Le Lamentin along the gorgeous Caribbean coastline--periodically moving over to let the speeders pass--same as in France.
As it turned out, the weather did not turn to thunderstorms as predicted. AlteCocker could have had her adventure but it is postponed for next Saturday.
Then it was off to the small museum on the volcanic eruption just adjacent to the lunch place. It was the project of one man--an American--and is named Musee Franck A. Perret after him. It costs 5 euros and you won't spend a lot of time there but it is interesting as a prelude to the the ruins up the street--which include the theater and the famous jail cell where the man, Cyparis, survived. When the volcano blew its top, a poisonous cloud killed a lot of people virtually instantly. Then there were fires that consumed whoever was left and burned the town; Cyparis survived but was burned; he became an attraction at Barnum's circus. However many of the ruins that were left have been reused in the reconstruction of the town. So many people died in 1902 because people stayed when the warnings were there--and because they did not understand how dangerous it was. There are earthquakes in Martinique all the time. If the volcano starts rumbling and threatens (and there are signs that a dome inside the volcano has reached a critical point, everyone near the volcano will evacuate. Many Caribbean islands have volcanoes--and similar problems living near them.
Then it was back to Le Lamentin along the gorgeous Caribbean coastline--periodically moving over to let the speeders pass--same as in France.
As it turned out, the weather did not turn to thunderstorms as predicted. AlteCocker could have had her adventure but it is postponed for next Saturday.
May 31, 2015: La Fete des Meres
Today is Mother's Day, or "La Fete des Meres", here in Martinique. As usual on Sunday most things are closed, but some restaurants have extended hours due to the holiday. There is always confusion about such things on a holiday--which is why AlteCocker went to St. Pierre yesterday. The sky is overcast again--ugh--with all the problems of what to do on a beach vacation when the weather is not good. Since Martinique is part of France, they do things on the French schedule. It can be odd at times. For example, the weather on TV is from European France, not from the Caribbean. For Caribbean weather you have to turn to the local Martinique channel (an excellent channel, by the way). As usual in France, most of AlteCocker's TV watching is either Channel 5 (lots of documentaries and sort of like PBS) and France24 for news. In the house, AlteCocker has 10 channels. There are no English language ones. Of course, she can always get English language news from the US via the internet.
The morning was spent finishing "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. AlteCocker did not see the film. The book is excellent--and very funny in places. It will be off to lunch somewhere eventually. My handyman has finally set up popmoney.com and AlteCocker also sent him his payment for the work done on the mice in the rental unit. Unfortunately, there will be more work. The condo must have had many complaints from that building by now. One would assume something would have been done about it, but they are palming the work off to condo owners because they don't want to spend the money. That means some of us will do what we can, but mice in the building cannot be solved by individual unit owners. The condo would have to seal up all access. So, AlteCocker is doing what she can to keep her tenants mice free. A complaint will be made to the county by AlteCocker when she returns.
In addition to polishing off "The Help", AlteCocker had the "The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer" come in on her Kindle through her local library. Every time a book comes through the library, that book has to bounce almost everything else she is reading because she only gets the ebooks for 3 weeks. So the three other books she has been reading have been temporarily put aside. It can be annoying when a bunch of books come in at once. If that happens--and you have not finished the books--you have to be careful not to turn on wireless on the book reader until you are done! It is a great way to read books without buying them--and you never have to set foot in the library! The only thing you need is a good wireless connection.
For lunch AlteCocker went to the nearby shopping center and inquired if she might eat at the restaurant there for Mother's Day. They were booked up but sometimes it is an advantage to be just one person. They set up a table for AlteCocker in a corner. Not the best location but beggars cannot be choosers. She was angry with herself for leaving her Kindle home. When you are solo it gives you something to do while you wait for the courses. It was a set price (48 euro) menu for La Fete des Meres. There were a number of huge groups in the restaurant, so it is obvious that some in Martinique can pay those prices. That is about $55 American. It included an apperitif, amuse bouche, appetizer, main course and dessert. It also included a large bottle of water. Everyone drinks a lot of water here due to the heat. The food was OK, but not really gourmet. Except for the dessert (and who was hungry by that time?) the courses were good size. The main course was steak. If you wanted lobster, you paid another 10 euros. AlteCocker already had lobster once and wasn't up for messy food. She had steak. It was tough to cut, but actually quite tender to eat--and AlteCocker got it rare like she likes it (and requested). The service was very good, but, as with all holiday menus everywhere, it was overpriced. AlteCocker never figured out exactly what the vegetables were that were served with the meat. They were all stuff from the islands. She asked, but she still had no idea after she was told. Dessert was a plate with 3 desserts: a sort of fruit cocktail with fresh fruits, a mini tarte tatin and a mini serving of chocolate mousse. The chocolate mousse was excellent. AlteCocker spent about 1 1/2-2 hours eating.
When AlteCocker was done, the sky was heavily overcast and threatening thunderstorm. She went home, turned on the TV and slept for an hour with the TV on. It could not have been lunch because she just had a kir royal (no wine). When she woke up, it was too late to schlep anywhere. The solution to what to do was to do laundry, write up the blog and then read another book or watch more TV. On Sundays here it is as dead as the US on Christmas Day. If Christmas day is even worse than Sundays in Martinique, AlteCocker does not know how it could be. No traffic and almost nothing is open except museums and the beaches.
The morning was spent finishing "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. AlteCocker did not see the film. The book is excellent--and very funny in places. It will be off to lunch somewhere eventually. My handyman has finally set up popmoney.com and AlteCocker also sent him his payment for the work done on the mice in the rental unit. Unfortunately, there will be more work. The condo must have had many complaints from that building by now. One would assume something would have been done about it, but they are palming the work off to condo owners because they don't want to spend the money. That means some of us will do what we can, but mice in the building cannot be solved by individual unit owners. The condo would have to seal up all access. So, AlteCocker is doing what she can to keep her tenants mice free. A complaint will be made to the county by AlteCocker when she returns.
In addition to polishing off "The Help", AlteCocker had the "The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer" come in on her Kindle through her local library. Every time a book comes through the library, that book has to bounce almost everything else she is reading because she only gets the ebooks for 3 weeks. So the three other books she has been reading have been temporarily put aside. It can be annoying when a bunch of books come in at once. If that happens--and you have not finished the books--you have to be careful not to turn on wireless on the book reader until you are done! It is a great way to read books without buying them--and you never have to set foot in the library! The only thing you need is a good wireless connection.
For lunch AlteCocker went to the nearby shopping center and inquired if she might eat at the restaurant there for Mother's Day. They were booked up but sometimes it is an advantage to be just one person. They set up a table for AlteCocker in a corner. Not the best location but beggars cannot be choosers. She was angry with herself for leaving her Kindle home. When you are solo it gives you something to do while you wait for the courses. It was a set price (48 euro) menu for La Fete des Meres. There were a number of huge groups in the restaurant, so it is obvious that some in Martinique can pay those prices. That is about $55 American. It included an apperitif, amuse bouche, appetizer, main course and dessert. It also included a large bottle of water. Everyone drinks a lot of water here due to the heat. The food was OK, but not really gourmet. Except for the dessert (and who was hungry by that time?) the courses were good size. The main course was steak. If you wanted lobster, you paid another 10 euros. AlteCocker already had lobster once and wasn't up for messy food. She had steak. It was tough to cut, but actually quite tender to eat--and AlteCocker got it rare like she likes it (and requested). The service was very good, but, as with all holiday menus everywhere, it was overpriced. AlteCocker never figured out exactly what the vegetables were that were served with the meat. They were all stuff from the islands. She asked, but she still had no idea after she was told. Dessert was a plate with 3 desserts: a sort of fruit cocktail with fresh fruits, a mini tarte tatin and a mini serving of chocolate mousse. The chocolate mousse was excellent. AlteCocker spent about 1 1/2-2 hours eating.
When AlteCocker was done, the sky was heavily overcast and threatening thunderstorm. She went home, turned on the TV and slept for an hour with the TV on. It could not have been lunch because she just had a kir royal (no wine). When she woke up, it was too late to schlep anywhere. The solution to what to do was to do laundry, write up the blog and then read another book or watch more TV. On Sundays here it is as dead as the US on Christmas Day. If Christmas day is even worse than Sundays in Martinique, AlteCocker does not know how it could be. No traffic and almost nothing is open except museums and the beaches.
June 1, 2015: Exploring Roads, Frustration
More complaints from the tenant who had mice. There haven't been any killed in that apartment for awhile but she declares pretty much that she wants a pest control company to check out the kitchen to be assured she never sees another mouse. AlteCocker comes very close to telling her off, but she keeps her mouth shut. The tenant thinks she knows everything. Pest companies set traps and spray. They do not take kitchens apart. She is now dissatisfied with AlteCocker's handyman. Basically AlteCocker tells her the handyman will be in or nothing. If the tenant wants to chose who does the work, she can, but she will have to pay for it.
So it is off toward Trois Islets. She has a really lousy croque monsieur in a patisserie in Trois Islets. Then she goes along the coast to make sure she knows how to get pretty much everywhere there. The original intent was to visit the Sugar Cane Museum but it is not open today. No big thing because it was just something to do and not on AlteCocker's "must do" list. She ends up eating a delicious pistachio mousse dessert at the same cafe she has eaten at before at the Les Potaries. She also talks a bit with a French teacher of English at a local lycee. She knows all about the difficult connections to get to/from Martinique from the US. Her students who want to improve their English by traveling to the US have the same problems AlteCocker did in booking flights. It is much easier to go to Paris from Martinique than to the much closer US.
So, she heads for home in the heat and calls a tour company offering a boat trip to see the tortoises, Ykeva. You could almost guess the outcome. No trips are available until after AlteCocker leaves. For Christ sake, she is going to be here for 2 more weeks. Such is business in Martinique. The tortoise viewing journeys seem to be only for groups so the flyer is sort of a great big lie. Augh!
So it is too hot to do anything but commune with air conditioning in the bedroom and then watch some French TV. AlteCocker is getting very bored in Martinique.
So it is off toward Trois Islets. She has a really lousy croque monsieur in a patisserie in Trois Islets. Then she goes along the coast to make sure she knows how to get pretty much everywhere there. The original intent was to visit the Sugar Cane Museum but it is not open today. No big thing because it was just something to do and not on AlteCocker's "must do" list. She ends up eating a delicious pistachio mousse dessert at the same cafe she has eaten at before at the Les Potaries. She also talks a bit with a French teacher of English at a local lycee. She knows all about the difficult connections to get to/from Martinique from the US. Her students who want to improve their English by traveling to the US have the same problems AlteCocker did in booking flights. It is much easier to go to Paris from Martinique than to the much closer US.
So, she heads for home in the heat and calls a tour company offering a boat trip to see the tortoises, Ykeva. You could almost guess the outcome. No trips are available until after AlteCocker leaves. For Christ sake, she is going to be here for 2 more weeks. Such is business in Martinique. The tortoise viewing journeys seem to be only for groups so the flyer is sort of a great big lie. Augh!
So it is too hot to do anything but commune with air conditioning in the bedroom and then watch some French TV. AlteCocker is getting very bored in Martinique.
June 2, 2015: Balata Garden
AlteCocker began her day, of course, with more complaints from that tenant. This time she told her that AlteCocker was not dealing with anymore problems until she returns in two weeks. The tenant, whose complaint, the best AlteCocker can figure, has something to do with the oven dials--yes, the oven dials. AlteCocker suspects that the cleaners just put them back in the wrong place when they cleaned the stove. AlteCocker did suggest the tenant try flipping them. Of course, the email, as usual, was accompanied by hysteria about having to wait for 2 weeks for AlteCocker to come over and inspect the stove before dealing with any more repairs. When the air conditioning was broken, and AlteCocker arranged for the repair and payment, the tenant took two weeks to get it done, claiming a "family emergency"--and never notified AlteCocker when it was done or said "thank you". No sympathy from AlteCocker on this. Having told the tenant that all further repairs are on hold until she gets back, AlteCocker also told the condo not to respond to complaints from the unit without preclearance from me--just in case she tries playing both ends to the middle. Normally, preclearance is not required when AlteCocker is abroad but she has long since had enough of these tenants.
Then it was time to get out of here and go to the Jardin de Balata. AlteCocker did not know how to get there and asked someone awhile ago who told her. Then she noticed the signs. It is north of Fort de France on the way to St. Pierre before Schloecher. There is a sign on the right for Grosse Morne and then one for Balata. You have to travel on the road for about 8 km before reaching the garden. The road is very twisty (the same could be said about almost all the roads in Martinique). AlteCocker was worried she had missed it and pulled over for a map consultation. When she started to drive again, duh, it was right there. This is a great place to spend 1-2 hours; it is just beautiful. It was the private project of one man and includes a creole house similar in style to the one AlteCocker saw at Habitation Clement, but much smaller. There is always a door front and back directly opposite each other to circulate the breeze as much as possible in the stifiling climate.
After starting to walk around AlteCocker was angry with herself about leaving her cane in the car. Stupid AlteCocker but too far to walk back to the car to get it. The grades on the walkways were quite steep. She did not climb the stairs to the walkways to walk through the trees. She has done that before elsewhere but, upon looking at the ones in the garden--mainly to allow people to get nice photos and not very long--they did not look all that stable with footing being just netting in places. So, she passed on that. She pretty much saw everything taking the longer walks, but cutting off some short parts. The place is more focussed on trees than flowers so not a lot of flower photos. She did try and take some photos at a humming bird feeder but the birds largely did not cooperate. On the way out she noticed a sign for a Japanese garden. It meant more up and down and AlteCocker had had enough. There is a gift shop, but AlteCocker did not buy anything. She took a look at a private shop at the exit, but nothing of interest there. She was really looking for a Magnum or some sort of ice cream. Neither place had what she wanted so that was that. She headed for the hot car and told the guys selling hats made out of palm leaves that, no, she did not want one. Who knows if those pass muster with customs in the US. The food dogs at Customs might take umbrage at them--and where the hell would AlteCocker wear one of those in the US?
Then it was back down the twisty road called "La Trace" (quite a piece of road construction across the island) and back into traffic. Making a major miss of an entrance to the highway, she ended up driving a new way home--through downtown Fort de France. You don't want to do that and AlteCocker should have the driving down by now. At least, when she found herself in Fort de France, she knew how to get the hell out of Fort de France. She then got off at the wrong exit for home again. The tramway construction is the culprit. The signs can be slightly off due to it and drive AlteCocker to the wrong place and then she can't exit where she wants to; of course, when everything is figured out, it will be time to leave--as usual on a home exchange. Eventually, of course, she got back. If she didn't get back, would she be writing this blog?
Laurianne is back from her stay at my house in Virginia and AlteCocker got to see some of her photos tonight. We laughed at each other's dumb photos. All tourists everywhere take pretty much the same photos. What is normal to you, is something exotic to them. Of course the same goes for AlteCocker. Laurianne also taught AlteCocker a new French idiom. When you can't sing, the expression is "Je chante comme une casserole." AlteCocker does not know the equivalent in English (she can't sing either), but litterally it is "I sing like a pot." Somethings just don't translate but idioms can be very funny in any language.
Then it was time to get out of here and go to the Jardin de Balata. AlteCocker did not know how to get there and asked someone awhile ago who told her. Then she noticed the signs. It is north of Fort de France on the way to St. Pierre before Schloecher. There is a sign on the right for Grosse Morne and then one for Balata. You have to travel on the road for about 8 km before reaching the garden. The road is very twisty (the same could be said about almost all the roads in Martinique). AlteCocker was worried she had missed it and pulled over for a map consultation. When she started to drive again, duh, it was right there. This is a great place to spend 1-2 hours; it is just beautiful. It was the private project of one man and includes a creole house similar in style to the one AlteCocker saw at Habitation Clement, but much smaller. There is always a door front and back directly opposite each other to circulate the breeze as much as possible in the stifiling climate.
After starting to walk around AlteCocker was angry with herself about leaving her cane in the car. Stupid AlteCocker but too far to walk back to the car to get it. The grades on the walkways were quite steep. She did not climb the stairs to the walkways to walk through the trees. She has done that before elsewhere but, upon looking at the ones in the garden--mainly to allow people to get nice photos and not very long--they did not look all that stable with footing being just netting in places. So, she passed on that. She pretty much saw everything taking the longer walks, but cutting off some short parts. The place is more focussed on trees than flowers so not a lot of flower photos. She did try and take some photos at a humming bird feeder but the birds largely did not cooperate. On the way out she noticed a sign for a Japanese garden. It meant more up and down and AlteCocker had had enough. There is a gift shop, but AlteCocker did not buy anything. She took a look at a private shop at the exit, but nothing of interest there. She was really looking for a Magnum or some sort of ice cream. Neither place had what she wanted so that was that. She headed for the hot car and told the guys selling hats made out of palm leaves that, no, she did not want one. Who knows if those pass muster with customs in the US. The food dogs at Customs might take umbrage at them--and where the hell would AlteCocker wear one of those in the US?
Then it was back down the twisty road called "La Trace" (quite a piece of road construction across the island) and back into traffic. Making a major miss of an entrance to the highway, she ended up driving a new way home--through downtown Fort de France. You don't want to do that and AlteCocker should have the driving down by now. At least, when she found herself in Fort de France, she knew how to get the hell out of Fort de France. She then got off at the wrong exit for home again. The tramway construction is the culprit. The signs can be slightly off due to it and drive AlteCocker to the wrong place and then she can't exit where she wants to; of course, when everything is figured out, it will be time to leave--as usual on a home exchange. Eventually, of course, she got back. If she didn't get back, would she be writing this blog?
Laurianne is back from her stay at my house in Virginia and AlteCocker got to see some of her photos tonight. We laughed at each other's dumb photos. All tourists everywhere take pretty much the same photos. What is normal to you, is something exotic to them. Of course the same goes for AlteCocker. Laurianne also taught AlteCocker a new French idiom. When you can't sing, the expression is "Je chante comme une casserole." AlteCocker does not know the equivalent in English (she can't sing either), but litterally it is "I sing like a pot." Somethings just don't translate but idioms can be very funny in any language.
June 3, 2015: Ate Out, went Shopping and Read
AlteCocker slept fitfully but awakened and checked her email. Today looks as if there is no email from that cranky tenant. There shouldn't be after the one AlteCocker sent her yesterday. She is just sorry she did not do it sooner. Everytime she thought all repairs had been made, she was met with another complaint. It is time to give up. AlteCocker will work on house breaking that tenant when she gets home.
It is so hot and humid here. If you are near the ocean, the breeze will help you endure it, but AlteCocker is near Fort de France and there is no breeze. She headed out for a nice lunch but the traffic defeated her and she ended up at a Le Baguet chain restaurant that serves mediocre chain style food--mostly to office workers who have tickets from their jobs for lunch (the job pays for lunch!); she had smoked chicken. It was OK for what it was but cost $15. She chatted with some guys at the next table who were talking about people in their families marrying someone and then living far from home. Different location, same problems. They complimented AlteCocker on her French. People always do that here, but AlteCocker does butcher the verbs with the best of them. She can hear herself doing it. When she has to think, everything comes out wrong.
Then she went to the local shopping center to a sort of bargain clothing store. She got some oversize t-shirts at about $5.50 each the other day. She is going to use them to sleep in as they are like shortie nightgowns. Today she bought two more but just to wear normally. Just plain t-shirts without slogans. She was going to go to the supermarket but it was full of cars midday. AlteCocker saw a lot of kids around. French kids used to get Wednesday afternoon off. Maybe they still do. So, she decided to take a pass at the supermarket and went home. She watched the news on France24. The big news continues to be the European football scandal. Secondarily, there is some sort of scandal involving Sarkozy and some French politicians. France24 had a man getting hit on the head with a pot in connection to the scandal--it's that casserole again. She had a laugh seeing the same type of idiom twice in two days and she knew exactly what it meant. In the case of the politician, he was "hoisted on his own petard." AlteCocker guesses the word "casserole" is used in a lot of French expressions. Who knew?
After the news, AlteCocker took a shower. Somedays she has taken 3 showers! Then she repaired to the bedroom, turned on the air conditioner and did the blog. It's almost dinner time now. Thinking about a nap.
AlteCocker sacked out and, when she woke up it was 9:30pm. No dinner tonight. Too late. She will read for a couple of hours and then try and get more sleep before getting up too early. Thinking about the zoo for tomorrow. It is on the grounds of an old plantation and the director of the Balata Gardens recommended it to me and said, due to where it was, there was lots of historical information. We'll see.
It is so hot and humid here. If you are near the ocean, the breeze will help you endure it, but AlteCocker is near Fort de France and there is no breeze. She headed out for a nice lunch but the traffic defeated her and she ended up at a Le Baguet chain restaurant that serves mediocre chain style food--mostly to office workers who have tickets from their jobs for lunch (the job pays for lunch!); she had smoked chicken. It was OK for what it was but cost $15. She chatted with some guys at the next table who were talking about people in their families marrying someone and then living far from home. Different location, same problems. They complimented AlteCocker on her French. People always do that here, but AlteCocker does butcher the verbs with the best of them. She can hear herself doing it. When she has to think, everything comes out wrong.
Then she went to the local shopping center to a sort of bargain clothing store. She got some oversize t-shirts at about $5.50 each the other day. She is going to use them to sleep in as they are like shortie nightgowns. Today she bought two more but just to wear normally. Just plain t-shirts without slogans. She was going to go to the supermarket but it was full of cars midday. AlteCocker saw a lot of kids around. French kids used to get Wednesday afternoon off. Maybe they still do. So, she decided to take a pass at the supermarket and went home. She watched the news on France24. The big news continues to be the European football scandal. Secondarily, there is some sort of scandal involving Sarkozy and some French politicians. France24 had a man getting hit on the head with a pot in connection to the scandal--it's that casserole again. She had a laugh seeing the same type of idiom twice in two days and she knew exactly what it meant. In the case of the politician, he was "hoisted on his own petard." AlteCocker guesses the word "casserole" is used in a lot of French expressions. Who knew?
After the news, AlteCocker took a shower. Somedays she has taken 3 showers! Then she repaired to the bedroom, turned on the air conditioner and did the blog. It's almost dinner time now. Thinking about a nap.
AlteCocker sacked out and, when she woke up it was 9:30pm. No dinner tonight. Too late. She will read for a couple of hours and then try and get more sleep before getting up too early. Thinking about the zoo for tomorrow. It is on the grounds of an old plantation and the director of the Balata Gardens recommended it to me and said, due to where it was, there was lots of historical information. We'll see.
June 4, 2015: aLTEcOCKER dOES NOT GO TO THE zOO
AlteCocker just got out of the shower and was preparing to go to the zoo. She didn't get there.
The doorbell rang and she hurried to throw some clothes on. It rang again. It was a neighbor across the street. She had hit the car. Since the car was scraped by her getting it out of the difficult private parking, she parks it on the street--a dead end street with no thru traffic. The lady hit the car turning her car around. AlteCocker's home exchanger's car had a nicely dented door. You can't get angry with a lady that immediately contacts you, admits doing the dastardly deed and offers to pay for it. So, the lady and and AlteCocker drove over to this garage in God Knows Where to leave the car off to repair the damage. It's the same door where AlteCocker put the scrapes at the beginning of the home exchange. The scrapes are being repaired as well at AlteCocker's expense and she will leave the car in better shape when she leaves than it was when she got there. The reason? One piece that needs painting and it is being repaired for the same price--much cheaper than it would be at home, by the way.
This whole business ended by the woman inviting AlteCocker for dinner (time to be determined). That is the first time that an accident did not end yelling and screaming--and then the police show up and the malfactor invents a story. The last time that happened to AlteCocker, the cop looked at the damage to the cars, took out his ticket book and wrote the other guy (a taxi driver!) a ticket. This time, a friendship.
The neighbor also told AlteCocker how to find a neighborhood restaurant and she soon recognized the mediocre restaurant from yesterday. As AlteCocker has said many times, it is always cars and dirty homes that cause all the problems on home exchanges. Car problem!
After lunch AlteCocker explained to Laurianne why the car was absent. Then she emailed her home exchangers not to worry about the car. In the great scheme of things, this is merely a tiny "blip".
The doorbell rang and she hurried to throw some clothes on. It rang again. It was a neighbor across the street. She had hit the car. Since the car was scraped by her getting it out of the difficult private parking, she parks it on the street--a dead end street with no thru traffic. The lady hit the car turning her car around. AlteCocker's home exchanger's car had a nicely dented door. You can't get angry with a lady that immediately contacts you, admits doing the dastardly deed and offers to pay for it. So, the lady and and AlteCocker drove over to this garage in God Knows Where to leave the car off to repair the damage. It's the same door where AlteCocker put the scrapes at the beginning of the home exchange. The scrapes are being repaired as well at AlteCocker's expense and she will leave the car in better shape when she leaves than it was when she got there. The reason? One piece that needs painting and it is being repaired for the same price--much cheaper than it would be at home, by the way.
This whole business ended by the woman inviting AlteCocker for dinner (time to be determined). That is the first time that an accident did not end yelling and screaming--and then the police show up and the malfactor invents a story. The last time that happened to AlteCocker, the cop looked at the damage to the cars, took out his ticket book and wrote the other guy (a taxi driver!) a ticket. This time, a friendship.
The neighbor also told AlteCocker how to find a neighborhood restaurant and she soon recognized the mediocre restaurant from yesterday. As AlteCocker has said many times, it is always cars and dirty homes that cause all the problems on home exchanges. Car problem!
After lunch AlteCocker explained to Laurianne why the car was absent. Then she emailed her home exchangers not to worry about the car. In the great scheme of things, this is merely a tiny "blip".
June 5, 2015: AlteCocker throws in the Towel and stays home
Any long holiday in the same place ends with progressive lethargy. AlteCocker decides against schlepping into Fort de France on the bus. Aside from Fort St. Louis, she has seen as much of the town as she wants. She really doesn't want to schlep there and get soaked with sweat on the bus. So she throws in the towel. Today will be housekeeping, trying another local restaurant she has discovered and trying to wrap up "Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies" as two other library books are about to come in. It always works that way with ebooks you put on hold. AlteCocker also realized that she never installed a program she bought to protect her computer shortly before leaving the US. That took 2 hours because the wifi connection is a bit slow at times.
The news here on the TV can be quite amusing. Today the FIFA soccer scandal was referred to as "FIFAGate". AlteCocker is sure the Academie Francaise will be scandalized. They always go crazy over English words in French. English has tons of words of French origin but no one cares. AlteCocker always says that William the Conqueror invaded England and brought a lot of spelling problems with him. All the words in English that end in "tion", for example--and do not sound the way they are spelled--are of French origin. Today there was a story about a fight between family members over turning off the life support on a person in a vegetative state. No matter where you are some of the issues are the same--and much of the news is the same. French news has much more foreign news (meaning US news) here than any US news program except AlJazzera. So it is not hard to keep up with the major issues at home even if you do not have a computer. AlteCocker does have a huge flat screen TV in the home exchange house (much bigger than the one at home).
Lunch was at a restaurant close to the house. It was another "ticket" restaurant. AlteCocker had a fish dish with morue fish and potatoes. It was similar to the one at Le Baguet yesterday. They seem to specialize in huge portions of mediocre food. No need for dessert. She took a couple of photos of the house on the way home.
AlteCocker did not finish her book because she fell asleep. The only rooms with air conditioning are the bedrooms here (plus the home exchangers' office which AlteCocker has not used because she brought a laptop. It's those same units you see in European hotel rooms. So, if you want to be cool, you sit on the bed. Unfortunately, sometimes you fall asleep. In the evening AlteCocker watched a film on TV called "Tomorrow I Die". It was a fictional story about a young woman who has a lung disease (they never said but it looked like advanced cystic fibrosis because her brother died of the same thing in the film). She decides to end her suffering and take her own life (which is allowed in many European countries). It was very good. In the end it was dedicated to someone, so it was probably based on a true story. Sad but uplifitng at the same time.
The news here on the TV can be quite amusing. Today the FIFA soccer scandal was referred to as "FIFAGate". AlteCocker is sure the Academie Francaise will be scandalized. They always go crazy over English words in French. English has tons of words of French origin but no one cares. AlteCocker always says that William the Conqueror invaded England and brought a lot of spelling problems with him. All the words in English that end in "tion", for example--and do not sound the way they are spelled--are of French origin. Today there was a story about a fight between family members over turning off the life support on a person in a vegetative state. No matter where you are some of the issues are the same--and much of the news is the same. French news has much more foreign news (meaning US news) here than any US news program except AlJazzera. So it is not hard to keep up with the major issues at home even if you do not have a computer. AlteCocker does have a huge flat screen TV in the home exchange house (much bigger than the one at home).
Lunch was at a restaurant close to the house. It was another "ticket" restaurant. AlteCocker had a fish dish with morue fish and potatoes. It was similar to the one at Le Baguet yesterday. They seem to specialize in huge portions of mediocre food. No need for dessert. She took a couple of photos of the house on the way home.
AlteCocker did not finish her book because she fell asleep. The only rooms with air conditioning are the bedrooms here (plus the home exchangers' office which AlteCocker has not used because she brought a laptop. It's those same units you see in European hotel rooms. So, if you want to be cool, you sit on the bed. Unfortunately, sometimes you fall asleep. In the evening AlteCocker watched a film on TV called "Tomorrow I Die". It was a fictional story about a young woman who has a lung disease (they never said but it looked like advanced cystic fibrosis because her brother died of the same thing in the film). She decides to end her suffering and take her own life (which is allowed in many European countries). It was very good. In the end it was dedicated to someone, so it was probably based on a true story. Sad but uplifitng at the same time.
JUne 6, 2015: No Electricity; Car Not Finished
If it isn't one thing, it's another. This morning AlteCocker was awakened by a beeping noise. She realized it was from the office in the house. After poking around she found it--and turned it off. It was beeping because the electricity was out. It wasn't just out in my house. It was out in the entire island. It stayed out until noon. \AlteCocker heard later it was a result of a lightning strike.
Now getting out of the house to pick up the car was a challenge. AlteCocker does not have a working key to get out of the front gate if the power goes out. She has a key but it doesn't work. So she went out the back gate and had a devil of a time getting the back gate locked. She has locked it twice before but today: another problem.
No electricity also means the car was not finished, although her neighbor took AlteCocker over to the garage so that she could pick up the car and at least have it to use over the weekend before it goes in again to get sanded and painted on Monday morning. This has been a holiday with a lot of frustration, but the guy couldn't do the sanding of the preparatory coat without electricity, could he? On the plus side, the guy fixed scratches on the rear bumper at no extra charge! The car will be in better shape for my home exchangers than it was when they left it! AlteCocker did notice that most cars here get beat up very quickly. It's the difficult roads and anyone who has been to Europe knows about how they park. Exactly the same in Martinique.
Then there is the matter of that adventure AlteCocker has been trying to have. Rescheduled again due to weather. We are trying for Tuesday now. So, pretty much nothing went right today.
After picking up the car, had a lunch at a snack bar near the house. She had some shrimp fritters--just a small portion--and a Coke Zero. Entertainment was provided by some people from St. Lucia who obviously had had too much to drink. They were talking English very loudly, but AlteCocker could understand only and occasional phrase. It was a really dense dialect.
Then it was back to the house and, yes, the electricity was on! Air conditioning and blog time!
Tonight was "Mary Poppins" with Laurianne; it bore no relation to the "Mary Poppins" on Broadway. It was more like a dance recital sort of inspired by the show but mixed up with a lot of other numbers from Broadway shows and classical music. The name was sort of a come on. For an amateur performance, it was not half bad. It is clear that the ballet school knows what it is doing; the really young kids were cute in their costumes, but, of course it was the usual with kids missing cues, coming on stage at the wrong moment and waving to people. It is always the same with the little ballerinas, but the parents have paid for the instruction, so they put them on. Among the older kids it is clear that some of them have talent, but, if they are going to pursue dance, they will need to leave Martinique for larger places. AlteCocker has seen the real "Mary Poppins" in New York and Helsinki (in Finnish) but there isn't a lot to do in the way of performances in Martinique because it is a small island. The house was fairly full, but AlteCocker presumes lots of the attendees were parents and relatives. The girl who sort of played Jane Banks (because it wasn't really "Mary Poppins") is clearly going places.
After the ballet we walked passed the Savanne--the grassy are near the port and AlteCocker suggested dinner at Chez Josephine in The Imperatrice Hotel. Laurianne and AlteCocker both had steak and creme brule dessert. The restaurant gets written as one of the best here. We were the only diners on a Saturday night. Now it is off season and the main French meal is at lunch so maybe that is the answer, but still sort of strange. It was on AlteCocker's list to eat there though, and now it's done. It was good but not what AlteCocker would call really fine food.
After dinner AlteCocker took a few shots of the restaurant and people in some sort of Saturday night dance class on the floor below. Everyone could see them as the bar part of the hotel where it was taking place was open to the public. We got home about 11:00pm.
The car is sitting outside with one side covered in that white stuff they put on it before they sand and paint. That will have to be done on Monday as AlteCocker loses another day on car crap.
Now getting out of the house to pick up the car was a challenge. AlteCocker does not have a working key to get out of the front gate if the power goes out. She has a key but it doesn't work. So she went out the back gate and had a devil of a time getting the back gate locked. She has locked it twice before but today: another problem.
No electricity also means the car was not finished, although her neighbor took AlteCocker over to the garage so that she could pick up the car and at least have it to use over the weekend before it goes in again to get sanded and painted on Monday morning. This has been a holiday with a lot of frustration, but the guy couldn't do the sanding of the preparatory coat without electricity, could he? On the plus side, the guy fixed scratches on the rear bumper at no extra charge! The car will be in better shape for my home exchangers than it was when they left it! AlteCocker did notice that most cars here get beat up very quickly. It's the difficult roads and anyone who has been to Europe knows about how they park. Exactly the same in Martinique.
Then there is the matter of that adventure AlteCocker has been trying to have. Rescheduled again due to weather. We are trying for Tuesday now. So, pretty much nothing went right today.
After picking up the car, had a lunch at a snack bar near the house. She had some shrimp fritters--just a small portion--and a Coke Zero. Entertainment was provided by some people from St. Lucia who obviously had had too much to drink. They were talking English very loudly, but AlteCocker could understand only and occasional phrase. It was a really dense dialect.
Then it was back to the house and, yes, the electricity was on! Air conditioning and blog time!
Tonight was "Mary Poppins" with Laurianne; it bore no relation to the "Mary Poppins" on Broadway. It was more like a dance recital sort of inspired by the show but mixed up with a lot of other numbers from Broadway shows and classical music. The name was sort of a come on. For an amateur performance, it was not half bad. It is clear that the ballet school knows what it is doing; the really young kids were cute in their costumes, but, of course it was the usual with kids missing cues, coming on stage at the wrong moment and waving to people. It is always the same with the little ballerinas, but the parents have paid for the instruction, so they put them on. Among the older kids it is clear that some of them have talent, but, if they are going to pursue dance, they will need to leave Martinique for larger places. AlteCocker has seen the real "Mary Poppins" in New York and Helsinki (in Finnish) but there isn't a lot to do in the way of performances in Martinique because it is a small island. The house was fairly full, but AlteCocker presumes lots of the attendees were parents and relatives. The girl who sort of played Jane Banks (because it wasn't really "Mary Poppins") is clearly going places.
After the ballet we walked passed the Savanne--the grassy are near the port and AlteCocker suggested dinner at Chez Josephine in The Imperatrice Hotel. Laurianne and AlteCocker both had steak and creme brule dessert. The restaurant gets written as one of the best here. We were the only diners on a Saturday night. Now it is off season and the main French meal is at lunch so maybe that is the answer, but still sort of strange. It was on AlteCocker's list to eat there though, and now it's done. It was good but not what AlteCocker would call really fine food.
After dinner AlteCocker took a few shots of the restaurant and people in some sort of Saturday night dance class on the floor below. Everyone could see them as the bar part of the hotel where it was taking place was open to the public. We got home about 11:00pm.
The car is sitting outside with one side covered in that white stuff they put on it before they sand and paint. That will have to be done on Monday as AlteCocker loses another day on car crap.
June 7, 2015: The worst Road in the World; the zoo
With just a little over a week to go, AlteCocker decided to do a circuit of the island because she had not been past St. Pierre and the Volcano Museum in Morne Rouge. She gets started late, as per usual. So it is off to St. Pierre. After St. Pierre she never finds the Science Museum that is supposed to be there. It is not well marked. After St. Pierre it is not marked at all after you get to St. Pierre and the sign says to follow the route to Precheur. No big deal. AlteCocker was mainly curious about where it was. It wasn't on her list.
She continues driving north where she ends up pulling over at a beach in Anse Ceron. A lady named Marlene was selling homemade ice cream by the side of the road. AlteCocker tried the peanut and rum raisin in a cup. The rum raisin was delicious. The peanut, well, she'd try something else next time.
After finishing the ice cream, it's back in the car to continue what she thought would be a circuit of the island because it looks possible on her map. Well, this is what happens. She continues north on what turns into a nightmare road. It twists and turns and the grades are incredible. She is in first or second gear all the time and , should she have wanted to, of course, there is no place to turn around. AlteCocker keeps going because at the end there is this large yellow road that looks better. Nope. The road ends in a parking lot and AlteCocker is told that the large yellow "road" is actually a walking track. The map, by the way, was not labelled. There is no choice: Turn the car around and proceed back to Anse Ceron on the awful road. To get turned around in the parking lot, she asked help from some guy standing around because the space to turn the car around was less than generous. Then it was back on that road. Let me tell you, if you drive past St. Pierre, do not proceed further unless you have an SUV. In fact, don't proceed further at all. It was very stressful.
Arriving at Anse Ceron and heaving a sigh of relief, AlteCocker decided to go to the Martinique Zoo. It is located just before you get to St. Pierre in Carbet; if you drive north (the direction from Fort de France), it's on the right and well marked--and there were a lot of ladies selling ice cream by the side of the road. This probably only happens on weekends as during the week people have other jobs. AlteCocker was a little put off by zoo's the 15.50 euro price (the zoo is privately run), but it turned out to be worth it. It had been recommended by the director of Balata Gardens when AlteCocker was there a few days ago (you can buy a combination ticket to save 2 euros; AlteCocker did not do that because she was not sure she would go). Walking through the zoo is like walking through a landscaped garden with animals. It is small and most of the animals are local ones, but setting makes it a great way to spend 1 1/2 hours or so. The added feature is that it is built into the ruins of an old rum producing plantation, Habitation Latouche, and explanations of what the ruins are were everywhere. The Balata Gardens guy said AlteCocker would like it--and she did. The "habitation" (plantation) was destroyed in the 1902 erruption of Mt. Pelee.
Then it was back in the car to go home via well built roads. By the time she got home, she was exhausted from the tough driving--and glad to have survived. She had hors d'oeuvres across the street with the accident malfactor and her husband this evening. The husband used to climb mountains--even in Tibet and Nepal--but age and weight have caught up with him. When he was younger, he did a huge tour of the US on a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Interesting people.
She continues driving north where she ends up pulling over at a beach in Anse Ceron. A lady named Marlene was selling homemade ice cream by the side of the road. AlteCocker tried the peanut and rum raisin in a cup. The rum raisin was delicious. The peanut, well, she'd try something else next time.
After finishing the ice cream, it's back in the car to continue what she thought would be a circuit of the island because it looks possible on her map. Well, this is what happens. She continues north on what turns into a nightmare road. It twists and turns and the grades are incredible. She is in first or second gear all the time and , should she have wanted to, of course, there is no place to turn around. AlteCocker keeps going because at the end there is this large yellow road that looks better. Nope. The road ends in a parking lot and AlteCocker is told that the large yellow "road" is actually a walking track. The map, by the way, was not labelled. There is no choice: Turn the car around and proceed back to Anse Ceron on the awful road. To get turned around in the parking lot, she asked help from some guy standing around because the space to turn the car around was less than generous. Then it was back on that road. Let me tell you, if you drive past St. Pierre, do not proceed further unless you have an SUV. In fact, don't proceed further at all. It was very stressful.
Arriving at Anse Ceron and heaving a sigh of relief, AlteCocker decided to go to the Martinique Zoo. It is located just before you get to St. Pierre in Carbet; if you drive north (the direction from Fort de France), it's on the right and well marked--and there were a lot of ladies selling ice cream by the side of the road. This probably only happens on weekends as during the week people have other jobs. AlteCocker was a little put off by zoo's the 15.50 euro price (the zoo is privately run), but it turned out to be worth it. It had been recommended by the director of Balata Gardens when AlteCocker was there a few days ago (you can buy a combination ticket to save 2 euros; AlteCocker did not do that because she was not sure she would go). Walking through the zoo is like walking through a landscaped garden with animals. It is small and most of the animals are local ones, but setting makes it a great way to spend 1 1/2 hours or so. The added feature is that it is built into the ruins of an old rum producing plantation, Habitation Latouche, and explanations of what the ruins are were everywhere. The Balata Gardens guy said AlteCocker would like it--and she did. The "habitation" (plantation) was destroyed in the 1902 erruption of Mt. Pelee.
Then it was back in the car to go home via well built roads. By the time she got home, she was exhausted from the tough driving--and glad to have survived. She had hors d'oeuvres across the street with the accident malfactor and her husband this evening. The husband used to climb mountains--even in Tibet and Nepal--but age and weight have caught up with him. When he was younger, he did a huge tour of the US on a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Interesting people.
June 8, 2015: Finishing up the Car; Collective Taxis on Strike
The car, of course, could not be finished on Saturday due to the lack of electricity. The door has been banged out and it was ready for sanding and painting but you cannot sand and paint without electricity.
Today is the day for the cleaning woman. She arrives--ugh--at 6:50am. AlteCocker thought she had until 7:00am, but, no. She showers quickly and gets with the lady who dented the door. We get into our cars to prepare to bring my home exchangers' car to the garage for what AlteCocker hopes will be the last time. Maybe she should keep her mouth shut here. On the way down the hill, she has a conversation as to how to proceed. AlteCocker presumes that it has to do with the rush hour traffic. She presumes wrong. The collective taxis--small vans that provide intermittant service to sparsely populated parts of the island not well served by buses--are on strike. They fear that the new tramway will put them out of business. They are tying up the traffic. It is a strike that may last more than one day.
So we take this roundabout route that ends in a place called Acajou in an enormous traffic jam. We have avoided one traffic jam to arrive at another. A journey that should take 20 minutes takes an hour. Not fun--especially when you stop on a hill and another car pulls in right behind you. Stupid: These are shift cars. Allow some space for the rollback, please. The car is left once again at the garage and AlteCocker goes home with the lady across the street. She is a home care nurse. We stop briefly at one of her patients and take him to the doctor's. Then we go home. Since AlteCocker is again house bound, she uses the time to review the blog. Each time she does that she fixes typos and a lot of other things. At least she does not waste time.
The cleaning woman leaves at about 11:45am--such a luxury on a home exchange--even at the price of getting up too early.
Today is spent waiting for the car to be ready. Originally it was supposed to be ready at 1:00pm. It was brough in early this morning so AlteCocker would not have to lose an entire day of vacation. The excuse is that "my employee showed up late due to the strike creating traffic jams." Not only does AlteCocker wait all the work day for the car to be ready. When we go over at 6:30pm as instructed, the car is not ready until 7:30pm. The guy apologizes, but AlteCocker is on vacation and today was a totally wasted day. Not happy, but the guy did a good job. The home exchangers' car is now in better shape than it was when AlteCocker arrived because a bunch of preexisting scratches were fixed as well. AlteCocker spent her down time, as per usual, reading. The current rush read from the public library is "Marco Polo: The Journey that Changed the World". AlteCocker is over half done with it. Other books have been put aside as library books always take priority.
At least the car tsuris (Yiddish=aggravation) is over. AlteCocker grabbed a pizza from Kabana Pizza, the neighborhood pizza joint, after the car was done. It wasn't bad but my neighborhood joint at home is better. Pizza is different in every country.
Today is the day for the cleaning woman. She arrives--ugh--at 6:50am. AlteCocker thought she had until 7:00am, but, no. She showers quickly and gets with the lady who dented the door. We get into our cars to prepare to bring my home exchangers' car to the garage for what AlteCocker hopes will be the last time. Maybe she should keep her mouth shut here. On the way down the hill, she has a conversation as to how to proceed. AlteCocker presumes that it has to do with the rush hour traffic. She presumes wrong. The collective taxis--small vans that provide intermittant service to sparsely populated parts of the island not well served by buses--are on strike. They fear that the new tramway will put them out of business. They are tying up the traffic. It is a strike that may last more than one day.
So we take this roundabout route that ends in a place called Acajou in an enormous traffic jam. We have avoided one traffic jam to arrive at another. A journey that should take 20 minutes takes an hour. Not fun--especially when you stop on a hill and another car pulls in right behind you. Stupid: These are shift cars. Allow some space for the rollback, please. The car is left once again at the garage and AlteCocker goes home with the lady across the street. She is a home care nurse. We stop briefly at one of her patients and take him to the doctor's. Then we go home. Since AlteCocker is again house bound, she uses the time to review the blog. Each time she does that she fixes typos and a lot of other things. At least she does not waste time.
The cleaning woman leaves at about 11:45am--such a luxury on a home exchange--even at the price of getting up too early.
Today is spent waiting for the car to be ready. Originally it was supposed to be ready at 1:00pm. It was brough in early this morning so AlteCocker would not have to lose an entire day of vacation. The excuse is that "my employee showed up late due to the strike creating traffic jams." Not only does AlteCocker wait all the work day for the car to be ready. When we go over at 6:30pm as instructed, the car is not ready until 7:30pm. The guy apologizes, but AlteCocker is on vacation and today was a totally wasted day. Not happy, but the guy did a good job. The home exchangers' car is now in better shape than it was when AlteCocker arrived because a bunch of preexisting scratches were fixed as well. AlteCocker spent her down time, as per usual, reading. The current rush read from the public library is "Marco Polo: The Journey that Changed the World". AlteCocker is over half done with it. Other books have been put aside as library books always take priority.
At least the car tsuris (Yiddish=aggravation) is over. AlteCocker grabbed a pizza from Kabana Pizza, the neighborhood pizza joint, after the car was done. It wasn't bad but my neighborhood joint at home is better. Pizza is different in every country.
June 9, 2015: Ultralight Flight over Martinique
Third time's the charm, as they say. Today AlteCocker got to do her ultralight flight today over the south of Martinique. It cost 130 euros for an hour and was worth every penny. At the beginning of her holiday AlteCocker met Jerome Septier at that pastry shop at The Potteries that she likes so much. He is a member of an air club and asked AlteCocker if she would be interested in an air tour of Martinique. Of course, AlteCocker was interested. Until today she thinks she has never been up in an ultralight plane. Well now she has. The guy's name is Jerome Septier. Flying is not his real job. It is his passion. He belongs to a flying club in Martinique and the club owns several planes. When he wants to use one, he rents it. In AlteCocker's opinion it was a deal, but it almost didn't happen.
Immediately after confirming, it poured and AlteCocker assumed the flight would get cancelled again. Small planes (and this was a 2 seater) do not go out when the weather is questionable. The sky cleared just before the flight. AlteCocker was told that she could go wherever she wanted but the volcano was out. Mt. Pelee normally has a cloud cover and it pretty much off limits for ultralights almost all the time. The sky has to be absolutely clear. It was not. So we did the usual suggested tourist itinerary of the south of Martinique. AlteCocker really got a good picture of how mountainous Martinique really is--and why the roads are so rough.
She also realized there are some beaches she hasn't visited. She saw a black sand beach from the air. Beaches like that are created when volcanic rock degrades. You can find a black sand beach on the island of Hawaii for the same reason.
The main site was "le diamant" ("the diamond"). It's a rock/island and is a main feature that seems to get pointed out to tourists. AlteCocker got a lot of good photos, but she did not overdo it because she wanted to watch the spectacle unfold while she was in the air. She also got to fly over Francois and Le Baignoire de Josephine (previously seen on the boat journey she took earlier in her stay).
Jerome Septier can be reached by email at [email protected] and by telephone at 0696 75 75 05. He also does boat tours but, unfortunately, is booked next weekend. Hard to believe but AlteCocker leaves a week from today. Vacations always go so quickly.
Immediately after confirming, it poured and AlteCocker assumed the flight would get cancelled again. Small planes (and this was a 2 seater) do not go out when the weather is questionable. The sky cleared just before the flight. AlteCocker was told that she could go wherever she wanted but the volcano was out. Mt. Pelee normally has a cloud cover and it pretty much off limits for ultralights almost all the time. The sky has to be absolutely clear. It was not. So we did the usual suggested tourist itinerary of the south of Martinique. AlteCocker really got a good picture of how mountainous Martinique really is--and why the roads are so rough.
She also realized there are some beaches she hasn't visited. She saw a black sand beach from the air. Beaches like that are created when volcanic rock degrades. You can find a black sand beach on the island of Hawaii for the same reason.
The main site was "le diamant" ("the diamond"). It's a rock/island and is a main feature that seems to get pointed out to tourists. AlteCocker got a lot of good photos, but she did not overdo it because she wanted to watch the spectacle unfold while she was in the air. She also got to fly over Francois and Le Baignoire de Josephine (previously seen on the boat journey she took earlier in her stay).
Jerome Septier can be reached by email at [email protected] and by telephone at 0696 75 75 05. He also does boat tours but, unfortunately, is booked next weekend. Hard to believe but AlteCocker leaves a week from today. Vacations always go so quickly.
June 10, 2015: An Afternoon at the Beach
Laurianne and AlteCocker have a meet up at 3:00pm to go to the beach for a couple of hours in Trois Islets, so going anywhere else would mean AlteCocker would worry about getting back in time. She has lunch at the nearby bakery (a sandwich of morue fish--mildly spicey and better than the tuna she had before). Then it is off to the beach in Laurianne's car--much smaller than the one AlteCocker has been driving. It is a pleasure to have someone else do the driving!
We go to the beach at Trois Islets. There are a few small beaches that do not have rocks. The beach is overlooked by a the remains of a large hotel which didn't make it. It isn't the only one like that in Martinique. No idea why that is the case beyond what has already been discussed on the blog. We spend a couple of relaxing hours at the beach--so relaxing that Laurianne falls asleep. Lots of kids screaming and having fun--and planes going overhead taking tourists on a tour of Martinique. That was AlteCocker yesterday!
We were going to have ice cream in Trois Islets, but (a) there is no parking and (b) AlteCocker has already been to that place, so we just go home stopping at the HyperU supermarket for ice cream and cones. We make our own ice cream place in the house! The "Marco Polo" book is finished. Guess what? Another library book just downloaded: "An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa" by Rick Atkinson. It's a long one and AlteCocker has 3 weeks to read it. The race has begun.
We go to the beach at Trois Islets. There are a few small beaches that do not have rocks. The beach is overlooked by a the remains of a large hotel which didn't make it. It isn't the only one like that in Martinique. No idea why that is the case beyond what has already been discussed on the blog. We spend a couple of relaxing hours at the beach--so relaxing that Laurianne falls asleep. Lots of kids screaming and having fun--and planes going overhead taking tourists on a tour of Martinique. That was AlteCocker yesterday!
We were going to have ice cream in Trois Islets, but (a) there is no parking and (b) AlteCocker has already been to that place, so we just go home stopping at the HyperU supermarket for ice cream and cones. We make our own ice cream place in the house! The "Marco Polo" book is finished. Guess what? Another library book just downloaded: "An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa" by Rick Atkinson. It's a long one and AlteCocker has 3 weeks to read it. The race has begun.
June 11, 2015: Le Domaine d'Emeraude
Today AlteCocker went to Le Domaine d'Emeraude which is in the north part of the island. Basically you take the route to the Balata Gardens and keep going if you want to explore the road that goes through the middle of the north part of the island. However, if you want to get there in a bit less stressful way, AlteCocker, having her experience today behind her, would recommend going via St. Pierre. The road to Balata is called "La Trace". To the Balata Gardens, it was fine, but afterwards it is another difficult Martinique road. The scenery is spectacular, but, if you are the driver, you will be concentrating on surviving the twists and turns and steep gradients and constantly needing to change gears (from 2nd to 3rd and from 3rd to 2nd) until you arrive at Le Domaine. This tourist attraction is devoted to bringing attention to Martinique's natural wonders and preserving them. There is a snack bar, a museum and a walk through the forest (you can choose 15 minute, 30 minute or 1 hour options). The snack bar serves crepes and panninis. Service is slow because the worker makes one at a time from scratch. The crepe AlteCocker had was fine (ham, cheese & mushrooms). They have fresh local juice in bottles and AlteCocker tried two of them because she was thirsty.
After her lunch, AlteCocker's intention was to do one of the forest trails but, the attraction is located at a high elevation. It kept raining on and off. They will loan you an umbrella, but who wants to walk in the forest if it is intermittently pouring? So, AlteCocker passed on the walk (not to mention that her dormant back trouble has erupted again--yes, an analogy from volcanoes). The museum is small but very interesting. Alte Cocker did not visit the 3 greenhouses adjacent to the museum because she had had enough after the museum with the rain.
Is AlteCocker glad she did the drive? Yes, she is, but she only did it one way. She went through St. Pierre on the way home. Once through was enough.
In addition to Balata Gardens there is another interesting place you can visit on La Trace: Sacre Coeur de Balata. It is a few kilometers before Balata Gardens on the left with parking. It is sort of a mini version of Sacre Coeur de Paris. The church itself is nothing special but there is a gorgeous viewpoint for photos and AlteCocker got some there. They are having their annual parish festival and they were busy making these incredible things out of coconut leaves. AlteCocker watched some of the action and got some nice photos. Since the festival mainly is a pilgrimage (not one with a market, special meals, etc.), AlteCocker, not being an R.C. will not be returning tomorrow. She imagines that parking will be all over the road and she has other things she wants to do besides look for a parking spot. She was very glad she stopped today as some of the coconut leaf creations were way beyond the usual hats, fish and grasshoppers she has seen--really creative. She also got to observe someone hack at the fronts with one of those cane knives. It was a case of "You never know when you will see something special."
After being rained out at La Domaine d"Emeraude. She headed for home the easy way more or less retracing her route from the day she visited the the Volcano Museum earlier in the trip because La Gomaine d'Emeraude is really not far from that attraction. Martinique is a very small island with some rough roads.
AlteCocker's day ended with supermarket bought lemon meringue ice cream (much yummier than the pie version) at home.
After her lunch, AlteCocker's intention was to do one of the forest trails but, the attraction is located at a high elevation. It kept raining on and off. They will loan you an umbrella, but who wants to walk in the forest if it is intermittently pouring? So, AlteCocker passed on the walk (not to mention that her dormant back trouble has erupted again--yes, an analogy from volcanoes). The museum is small but very interesting. Alte Cocker did not visit the 3 greenhouses adjacent to the museum because she had had enough after the museum with the rain.
Is AlteCocker glad she did the drive? Yes, she is, but she only did it one way. She went through St. Pierre on the way home. Once through was enough.
In addition to Balata Gardens there is another interesting place you can visit on La Trace: Sacre Coeur de Balata. It is a few kilometers before Balata Gardens on the left with parking. It is sort of a mini version of Sacre Coeur de Paris. The church itself is nothing special but there is a gorgeous viewpoint for photos and AlteCocker got some there. They are having their annual parish festival and they were busy making these incredible things out of coconut leaves. AlteCocker watched some of the action and got some nice photos. Since the festival mainly is a pilgrimage (not one with a market, special meals, etc.), AlteCocker, not being an R.C. will not be returning tomorrow. She imagines that parking will be all over the road and she has other things she wants to do besides look for a parking spot. She was very glad she stopped today as some of the coconut leaf creations were way beyond the usual hats, fish and grasshoppers she has seen--really creative. She also got to observe someone hack at the fronts with one of those cane knives. It was a case of "You never know when you will see something special."
After being rained out at La Domaine d"Emeraude. She headed for home the easy way more or less retracing her route from the day she visited the the Volcano Museum earlier in the trip because La Gomaine d'Emeraude is really not far from that attraction. Martinique is a very small island with some rough roads.
AlteCocker's day ended with supermarket bought lemon meringue ice cream (much yummier than the pie version) at home.
June 12, 2015: The Northeast Coast to Basse Point
This one is rapidly coming to a close. With all the problems AlteCocker has had in rental units, she will, however, be glad to go home to take care of what remains. She cannot wait to meet the tenant who had a hysterical complaint every day--not.
After yesterday's driving, she really would have preferred a down day but, if she was going to drive the Northeast Coast, today was pretty much her last shot, so that is what she did. She had been through the beginning of it at the very start of the home exchange when she drove to Tartane, but now she went all the way to the end of the good paved road in Basse Point. The road goes on a bit after that, but the map colors it the same as that terrible road that ended in a dead end. She was not going to chance a similar experience. She turned around.
She picked up hitchikers both ways. Hitchhiking is often the only way to get around in outlying areas. She has probably picked up about a dozen while she was here. Sometimes they help AlteCocker with directions. Many hitchhikers are kids going to school believe it or not. For they older kids it is sometimes much more reliable to hitchike than to wait for the school bus. The traffic jams can be terrible causing infrequent public buses to arrive hours late. It has also been a good way to interact with locals. Mind you, AlteCocker would not pick up hitchikers in the US. There were a couple of overlooks where AlteCocker could have taken photos, but she has a lot of surf photos at this point and it was an overcast day. She simply took no photos. She has 540 on the film card the last time she looked and that is probably more than enough--given that she still has plenty of SE Asia photos to finish up when she gets home before posting the ones from Martinique.
She basically went up to Basse Point to where the good road ended and turned around and went back the same way. She knows all the routes by now on the northern side of the island. No way she was going to take La Trace again. Once thru was enough! Lunch was a pannini from a local snack place in Basse Point. Dinner, well, AlteCocker had a huge helping of ice cream when she got home. No need for dinner. The evening was spent watching the news on France24 and reading.
After yesterday's driving, she really would have preferred a down day but, if she was going to drive the Northeast Coast, today was pretty much her last shot, so that is what she did. She had been through the beginning of it at the very start of the home exchange when she drove to Tartane, but now she went all the way to the end of the good paved road in Basse Point. The road goes on a bit after that, but the map colors it the same as that terrible road that ended in a dead end. She was not going to chance a similar experience. She turned around.
She picked up hitchikers both ways. Hitchhiking is often the only way to get around in outlying areas. She has probably picked up about a dozen while she was here. Sometimes they help AlteCocker with directions. Many hitchhikers are kids going to school believe it or not. For they older kids it is sometimes much more reliable to hitchike than to wait for the school bus. The traffic jams can be terrible causing infrequent public buses to arrive hours late. It has also been a good way to interact with locals. Mind you, AlteCocker would not pick up hitchikers in the US. There were a couple of overlooks where AlteCocker could have taken photos, but she has a lot of surf photos at this point and it was an overcast day. She simply took no photos. She has 540 on the film card the last time she looked and that is probably more than enough--given that she still has plenty of SE Asia photos to finish up when she gets home before posting the ones from Martinique.
She basically went up to Basse Point to where the good road ended and turned around and went back the same way. She knows all the routes by now on the northern side of the island. No way she was going to take La Trace again. Once thru was enough! Lunch was a pannini from a local snack place in Basse Point. Dinner, well, AlteCocker had a huge helping of ice cream when she got home. No need for dinner. The evening was spent watching the news on France24 and reading.
June 13, 2015: Family Gathering
This was AlteCocker's last really big day here. Tomorrow is "pack the suitcase" day and Monday she flies home. She was again invited to have a family dinner with Laurianne's family at the same place she had one when she first arrived. Laurianne's mother (and the mother of my female home exchanger; they are sisters) lives in Riviere Pilote--a town off the tourist track in Southern Martinique. This time before going to eat a huge meal, we stopped in the town at the market. AlteCocker met Magali Clery, who sells homemade delicious cheese in the market and is a family friend. In fact, Laurieanne knew everyone. AlteCocker bought a small basket and took some market photos. It is just a small market for the locals. Then Laurianne went off to buy some bread for the dinner while AlteCocker snapped a photo of the very colorful local church. They like things with a lot of colors here.
Then it was off to Laurianne's mother's house. AlteCocker was very glad not to have to drive up that road. It goes almost straight up. AlteCocker definitely will not miss the driving here. It has been very rough.
Laurianne's mother is in fairly good shape for someone who is 92. She still lives in her house. It sort of reminded me of my paternal grandmother's--with a lot of stuff accumulated over the years (not a packrat house but just a lot of souvenirs of a long life). AlteCocker also has an accumulation, but mostly from trips. The matriarch is still able to live on her own because one of her daughters, Sonia. lives on the two floors above. It is an enormous apartment much larger than what is on the ground floor--and totally modernized. It has obviously been a lot of work. A gorgeous balcony with a view of the local mountain runs around the outside of the place--and it is dead silent there. One thing about the house at Le Lamentin AlteCocker did not like is the noise. There is a main road and across from the back of the property is an elementary school. The kids make a racket all day because that is what young kids do, but no way you can sleep late on a school day. All of the matriarch's children live in Martinique--and most around the house. It is a different style of living than the moving around all over that is the norm in North America and breaks up families. Martinique is such a small island. If you have family, you will see them a lot and, if they remain on the island, you won't be schlepping all over to see them. Unfortunately, however, there are not a lot of jobs in Martinique and many young people go to France to get work. They do not have an easy time there either. In Martinique most people are mixed race but would identify as "Black"; because the population is overwhelmingly mixed, there is less racism to deal with but the "bekes" (descendants of slaveowners) are not loved for obvious reasons. There is a lot more racism in mainland France (what Martiniquans call "La Metropole") than in Martinique and the Metropole immigrants from the islands can have a tougher time than Whites when they look for jobs. It sounds very familiar, doesn't it?
Back to lunch. First there was some Italian rose champagne but, of course, you can't call it "champagne" because it is not made in Champagne. It's "sparkling wine". The only time AlteCocker has had rose champagne, uh, sparkling wine, was in Australia--and she loved it then and loved it today. The appetizer was accras de morue (basically fried morue fish but sort of pured and combined with a sauce). Yummy. Then there was the main course of cassoulet Martinique style (pretty much the same as what you would get in Toulouse but slightly spicier--and good). Then we sat around for awhile and this huge ice cream maker came out. Dessert was hand cranked coconut ice cream. The men all took turns at the crank. It was a social occasion as well but a lot of work and a big mess to clean up afterward. The family did not seem to mind and everyone enjoyed the ice cream. AlteCocker took some photos of the production. Other entertainment was provided by a crab that got into the house--the first time AlteCocker has seen that. It was a smaller crab than those in the Chesapeake Bay and they do not eat them. There was a lot of teasing of people with the crab. He was finally liberated outside the house!
Mariganne showed up and ate with us (but after we were done) after the market closed.
Because AlteCocker had imbibed too much of the rose sparkling wine, she did not try the red wine that was also uncorked. This time, unlike last, she did not fall asleep in the car on the way back. Tomorrow she is not planning to do much but you never know.
Then it was off to Laurianne's mother's house. AlteCocker was very glad not to have to drive up that road. It goes almost straight up. AlteCocker definitely will not miss the driving here. It has been very rough.
Laurianne's mother is in fairly good shape for someone who is 92. She still lives in her house. It sort of reminded me of my paternal grandmother's--with a lot of stuff accumulated over the years (not a packrat house but just a lot of souvenirs of a long life). AlteCocker also has an accumulation, but mostly from trips. The matriarch is still able to live on her own because one of her daughters, Sonia. lives on the two floors above. It is an enormous apartment much larger than what is on the ground floor--and totally modernized. It has obviously been a lot of work. A gorgeous balcony with a view of the local mountain runs around the outside of the place--and it is dead silent there. One thing about the house at Le Lamentin AlteCocker did not like is the noise. There is a main road and across from the back of the property is an elementary school. The kids make a racket all day because that is what young kids do, but no way you can sleep late on a school day. All of the matriarch's children live in Martinique--and most around the house. It is a different style of living than the moving around all over that is the norm in North America and breaks up families. Martinique is such a small island. If you have family, you will see them a lot and, if they remain on the island, you won't be schlepping all over to see them. Unfortunately, however, there are not a lot of jobs in Martinique and many young people go to France to get work. They do not have an easy time there either. In Martinique most people are mixed race but would identify as "Black"; because the population is overwhelmingly mixed, there is less racism to deal with but the "bekes" (descendants of slaveowners) are not loved for obvious reasons. There is a lot more racism in mainland France (what Martiniquans call "La Metropole") than in Martinique and the Metropole immigrants from the islands can have a tougher time than Whites when they look for jobs. It sounds very familiar, doesn't it?
Back to lunch. First there was some Italian rose champagne but, of course, you can't call it "champagne" because it is not made in Champagne. It's "sparkling wine". The only time AlteCocker has had rose champagne, uh, sparkling wine, was in Australia--and she loved it then and loved it today. The appetizer was accras de morue (basically fried morue fish but sort of pured and combined with a sauce). Yummy. Then there was the main course of cassoulet Martinique style (pretty much the same as what you would get in Toulouse but slightly spicier--and good). Then we sat around for awhile and this huge ice cream maker came out. Dessert was hand cranked coconut ice cream. The men all took turns at the crank. It was a social occasion as well but a lot of work and a big mess to clean up afterward. The family did not seem to mind and everyone enjoyed the ice cream. AlteCocker took some photos of the production. Other entertainment was provided by a crab that got into the house--the first time AlteCocker has seen that. It was a smaller crab than those in the Chesapeake Bay and they do not eat them. There was a lot of teasing of people with the crab. He was finally liberated outside the house!
Mariganne showed up and ate with us (but after we were done) after the market closed.
Because AlteCocker had imbibed too much of the rose sparkling wine, she did not try the red wine that was also uncorked. This time, unlike last, she did not fall asleep in the car on the way back. Tomorrow she is not planning to do much but you never know.
June 14, 2015: Finis Martinique
Today is another Sunday here with predictable closures--as in mostly everything after 1:00pm. When AlteCocker went out to fill the tank in the car, the usual gas station had closed for the day. She found another that is open 24/7 and left the car with a full tank. On the way to get gas, wonder of wonders, she found an open restaurant. It was, of course, Chinese, but the food was a mix of Chinese and creole. AlteCocker ordered fricasse of shrimp. The shrimp came in a messy sauce--full bodied shrimp with the heads on. So, it was a mess to eat and, just as AlteCocker was congratulating herself on not getting everything all over herself, the inevitable happened: She made a big mess of her clothes. Oh well. She can't take herself anywhere.
After eating and getting gas, the next job was doing laundry. Much easier to pack with clean clothes. A first load was done in the morning and a second--including the mess from lunch--when she got back from the fricasse of shrimp. The plane to Miami is not until 3:45pm tomorrow, so no rush to pack. That will be this evening. Laurianne will take her to the airport (about 10 minutes from the house) during her lunch hour. She will have to wait around but no big deal. She will do what she always does when she has to wait anywhere: Read a book. The airport has only one runway, so a sophisticated duty free shop is not expected. No rush to spend the euros that are left. She always husbands them for the next trip. This time the next trip is July 30th.
And so endeth home exchange #60. Thanks to all who read this blog all the way through--and happy travels.
After eating and getting gas, the next job was doing laundry. Much easier to pack with clean clothes. A first load was done in the morning and a second--including the mess from lunch--when she got back from the fricasse of shrimp. The plane to Miami is not until 3:45pm tomorrow, so no rush to pack. That will be this evening. Laurianne will take her to the airport (about 10 minutes from the house) during her lunch hour. She will have to wait around but no big deal. She will do what she always does when she has to wait anywhere: Read a book. The airport has only one runway, so a sophisticated duty free shop is not expected. No rush to spend the euros that are left. She always husbands them for the next trip. This time the next trip is July 30th.
And so endeth home exchange #60. Thanks to all who read this blog all the way through--and happy travels.