16. Kingstown on the Island of St. Vincent

Kingstown on the Island of St. Vincent 

Our ship circled around last night, just 7 miles off-shore because it was so close between Martinique and today’s St. Vincent. The ship had to kill time.

Welcome to St. Vincent

St. Vincent is ‘English’ so people drive on the left side of the road. Most cars here are cast-off Japanese cars but in good shape. 

It rained ALL day, off and on but it rained.  I am getting used it now, but it makes for high humidity.

After our breakfast we went to the dockside and hired a large taxi, along with 2 other couples who wanted to share a ride. 

A Musical Welcome

Our driver was Milton Thomas but people called him Ozzie. He was a man of many things I learned in the short time he drove us. In his youth (he is now about 55?) he ‘worked’ in London, England and in Boston, U.S. He did not like the ‘work’ that construction demanded of him. To get up every day and go to work was not his idea of living. So he came back to the Island. He is a deacon of the Anglican Church on the Island but also a kind of ‘Justice of the Peace’ person. He intervenes when there are conflicts in ideas, marriages, business, etc. His manners are ‘mild’ and he even drove at a snail-like pace throughout the day. ‘Work’, according to my sense of the word, is not his strong point, he loves to philosophize and talk. 

More Rain

There must be a lot of philosophers on the Island because I saw many young men also just loafing about. They had their iPhone in hand and were hanging around the streets. 

Ozzie’s Idea of life was that it needed ceremony. An example he quoted was the way incense is used in the church. You swing the incense container 3 times towards the altar, 2 times towards the minister and one time to the crowd. That was Ozzie’s way of thinking, of living. Looking around me, in the Caribbean in general, it describes living the Caribbean way.

Doing the Tourist Thing

Ahoy Matey!

Pirates of the Caribbean Set

Cheesy?

Our first stop was the beach where “Pirates of the Caribbean’” was filmed. The housing, the trees, the beach made an idyllic spot but it now has become so touristy that loads of buses stop over to look at it. Well, such is Island life, whatever they think tourists want to see is what they show. Not just our taxi was there but a dozen others plus some tour buses, too. I believe every cruise ship that comes into port, with hundreds of people on board, thousands even, is given this tour… I was not impressed. 
Cheesy! 

Flowering Bush

Bird of Paradise

We stopped at the Botanical Garden on the Island and walked around trying to admire the variations of plant life. The ‘Park’ was nice yet somehow the point of a botanical spot is missing. I guess it takes ‘work’ to plan, plant and keep it orderly. While the park we visited was somehow taken care of, I had the opportunity to watch how the caretakers moved around, cut the grass, weeded, etc. No wonder the place looks like it does. 

Weird Growths on Tree

Life is good on St. Vincent, don’t worry, be happy.

After seeing this ‘Garden’ we asked the driver to take us back to the pier. The other 2 couples in the taxi agreed. 

We sat in a café and did our emails, it was better that way. Besides it poured rain.  I mean it P O U R E D rain. It came down like buckets were dumped on us. Luckily we wore ponchos. 

Colour Is Everywhere

After some time, we just went back to the ship. A man in front of us slipped on the wet, metal steps while walking up the gangway. He went down hard and hurt his elbow.  He blocked the entrance and we had to wait until ship’s help came before we could get inside, into shelter. Poor guy, his arm was in a sling for the following weeks.

We made a mistake at dinner; we were given a seat at a ‘permanent’ table, where the same people sit all the time. We were the newbie’s and everybody kept asking us prying questions. Annoying, not fun!

One of the fellows at the dinner table drove me insane with ‘his’ opinions about everything. He seemed to ‘know ‘it all but was ill-informed. An example was our talk about taxes to be paid if you own a car in Japan; the use of highway fees in Japan and the toll rate, the details of owning a car in Japan, etc. He knew for sure, he said so. I gave him the link below to read up on things.  I guess that shut him up.  Yikes, some people are like that. Not a good table to sit at. This guy drove me up the wall.

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/owning-a-car-in-japan-myths-and-reality-1770442115

The after-dinner performance was by a Canadian, Karen Granger.  Her singing was great, but I did not know any of her songs. So it felt a bit strange… really, when you don’t know a song, what do you do? Sure cannot sing along in your mind!

15. Fort de France on the Island of Martinique

Fort de France on the Island of Martinique - Off the ship at 8.00 am back by 6.00 pm.

All the stores are closed on the Island; today is Sunday, a rest day. People here speak Patois. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patois

Old Catholic Church

Instead of taking a ship’s excursion, we walked to the pier and hired a taxi for a trip the driver advertised. Since he knows his Island well we just followed his advice on what to see. At several of his stops, we saw other passengers on a ship’s excursion.

His first stop was the Catholic Church in town. Being Sunday it was packed solid with worshipers. The participation of the audience was overwhelming, everybody sang out loud and everybody was very solemn and participatory. It has been a while since I saw such devout folks in church.

Rain Is Coming

Our next stop was the Jardin de Balata, a botanical garden and featured attraction on the Island. The admission per person for a 30-minute walk in the park was quoted as U.S. $14. We were standing in line at the box office when it started to rain, no it poured down on us. We sought shelter under an overhang and the time ticked away. We never bought the admission ticket; we just saw what was to be seen from the outside,

Weaving Baskets

under the protection of the overhang. A young man was weaving baskets with local plant material, sitting among the crowd; the atmosphere was humid and sticky. It was a bit of a surreal situation, standing in the rain, and waiting. Visiting the actual botanical garden will have to wait until the next time I get to Martinique. 

Finished Product

Outside the Botanical Gardens

   

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g147328-d147828-Reviews-Jardin_de_Balata-Fort_de_France_Arrondissement_of_Fort_de_France_Martinique.html

Fog Shrouded Mount Pelee

Back into the taxi and this time the driver drove us to an overlook with a view of the volcano (Mount Pelee) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Pelée

Pelee dominates the Island. We saw lush green hills forever from our vantage point. The island is overgrown with plants of all kinds. Many of the plants on the island are edible. In ancient times people lived off the land and they all ate well. Today, however I am afraid to think how much of it is commercialized.

Martinique is under French rule. The official currency is the Euro. The driver said that people can live on Martinique for about Euro $400/month, provided they have European Social Services, like Heath Care, etc. Many people from France spend 3 months or more per year here on the Island, to get away from the cold winters at home. They are the ‘French’ snowbirds, similar to the Canadians who move south to Florida in the winter months.

 

Enjoying Coconut Milk With Our Driver

We stopped at a small, but beautiful waterfall and small rapids where folks were selling coconuts for their juice, rather than the meat of the nut. Naturally I had to try that drink…. Delicious!   I paid U.S. $5 for the coconut juice. Nearby youngsters were romping around in the waterfalls that trickled down the mountainous waterways. It was an idyllic spot.

Kids Cooling Off

Ecology is an important part of living on the Island. I felt the European influence everywhere. Even the street layout was typically French. There are lots of round-about traffic circles and in the center of each round-about a statute or a piece of art was on display. 

The highlight, according to the man who drove us, was the rum distillery of ‘Depaz’ where we bought a passion fruit flavored bottle of rum.

http://depazrhum.com/index.html

Les Rhums Depaz

Depaz is an old distillery that has been making rum for centuries. The factory has updated their equipment and the rum made today is very sanitary and made according to the latest specs but with an old knowledge about how to make rum. There are connoisseurs of rum and the making of rum is an art form, just like making whiskey. Rum is made from sugar cane, the main crop that grew here during the early history of the Island. While sugar was exported as a main source of income then, I believe rum followed as an additional way to make money. Rum in the 17^th, 18^th or even the 19^th century was the main drink. The sweetness added to the way people wanted to drink.

Waiting Out the Rain

While at the distillery we had to sit out another rain shower. I am glad we had some kind of shelter nearby; it came down heavily. 

Our taxi driver showed us a black lava beach, but we were not impressed. I am just not a beach person.

Types of Rum Produced Here

Today, Martinique is a tourist place, just like any Island in the Caribbean. But I liked this place, it had an air of specialness, of romance, of originality to it. I am glad we took this taxi tour even though it was expensive. (U.S. $130 for 2 people and a 4-hour tour).

Before supper we visited our friends Jean and Ross 2 doors away from us and had a drink in their room. Their room is similar to ours, just tweaked a bit in the layout.

Black Sand (From Lava) Beach - Not Clean and Not Appealing

The performance at night in the theater was amazing. While the male performer played on his saxosynthesizer, his wife danced in the back ground. OK, she was not a great dancer but the light effects used in their performance were very modern and timely. Laser light flashes, rhythm sections that moved with the music, lights everywhere made me feel I was in a futuristic world.

Good show………and good night to you!