13 April On the buses in Fort de France

Fort Louis, FdF

A week on from Petite Anse D'Arlet and we're anchored in the lee of Port Louis in Fort de France, the capital of Martinique. The anchorage is larger than it appeared on the chart with room for all, with the exception of captains who believe less than one boat length from your neighbour is OK, and good holding. There is an excellent dinghy dock and an awful bottom slap from the incoming and outgoing ferries. Nothing may be perfect, but we are happy enough with the balance of positives and negatives to stay.

fresh market in FdF

While here in FdF our plans are to max out on retail therapy, visit the Yamaha outboard dealer to buy spare impellers and hire a car for a couple of days. For the car we have to wait until after the busy Easter weekend which starts tomorrow.

The Martinique bus service is nothing like the rest of the Caribbean; bendy buses with AC, a reliable schedule and an honesty system for purchasing tickets. Buy your ticket before boarding at a machine, swipe in on entry. Martinique has motorways with traffic jams too! Bus A runs between the esplanade and the airport and passes all the big hypermarkets, Decathlon and the Yamaha dealership.

super size me - 400 hp outboard

First stop for us was Yamaha to buy a couple of spare impellers. Then Decathlon. David has a shortage of shorts...I might need an extra pair too. Like the porridge for Goldilocks nothing in store was just right for David, but perfect for me. Three pairs and new neoprene socks to wear with my snorkelling fins (small feet need extra padding) for me worked a treat.

Last stop of the day was a big, European style mall complete with hypermarket attached. Why is this mundane chore exciting? Because the variety and range of items you can buy is a rare treat for us. Not only can you find, say, basmati rice, but there are five different brands to choose from. Over the years of our sailing we have visited places where the local supermarket may have full shelves, but each shelf is stacked the same brand of sugar, the same rice, the same packet of biscuits. Now I am that child in a sweet shop not knowing what to choose...for two minutes and then I revert to type and fill the basket.