Christmas in the Caribbean - Martinique (Cruise with the Royal Clipper)

Today we headed to France: We first navigated to the capital of Martinique.

In Fort-de-France we took a city tour and skipped a guided excursion.

The fort, which is still an active military base, could not be visited today.

So we moved on and saw some murals adorning the city's buildings along the way.

The road to the ferry terminal was marked as “Iguana Path” on Komoot, and we indeed spotted two animals in the trees above the river.

Next, we came to the library, which is richly decorated inside and out, containing both old works and more recent books that can be borrowed.

Now it was time for a bit of exercise: We climbed some steps to a small chapel.

From the hilltop, we had a good overview of the city.

After returning to the lower part of the city, we walked past the theater and city hall.

We also made a small detour to the covered market halls. Here, some fruits were offered, but mostly spices and souvenirs for tourists.

Lastly, we visited the cathedral of Fort-de-France.

The architecture differed from the churches we knew from Europe.

Actually, we wanted to see the headless statue of Joséphine, Napoleon's wife. She was born in Martinique, but for her, Napoleon reinstated slavery because her family had become wealthy with the plantation here. Therefore, she is not very popular among the locals today. After her statue was beheaded repeatedly, it was ultimately completely destroyed, and only the pedestal remains.

After sailing a stretch along the coast of Martinique, we arrived in the afternoon at the bay of Les Anses-d'Arlet.

With the tender boat, we landed at a pier, right next to a well-frequented beach with many bathers.

A promenade ran through the town, past shops.

We ventured further out of town.

At the steeply rising road, many houses obstructed the view of the sea, but occasionally we could still enjoy the scenery.

Eventually, we found ourselves surrounded by forest and descended a narrow path down to the water.

From a rocky beach section, we had an unobstructed view of the bay.

We went a bit further because there was supposed to be a mangrove forest here.

There, we turned back and walked back to the beach and pier.