60) Martinique

Marina du Bakoua, Pointe du Bout, Martinique

14° 33.382 N 61° 03.265 W

I got in the water at the dock to snorkel this morning and realized after my first descent that the sights were good enough and the water deep enough for scuba.  So, I got back onboard and set up my gear.  The visibility was about 20’ and there was lots of small fish, coral and sponges.  It’s always interesting to see what is below a dock and this dive qualified.  Lots of chain, restaurant napkins, bar glasses, 2 fishing poles, dinner knife that John dropped at the restaurant our first meal here, an outboard dinghy motor, etc.  The colors would have been much more brilliant had the strobe gone off.  But, the ambient light was enough to preclude a flash.  All these shots were taken in about 15’ of water directly beneath the boat and the immediate area.  

 

Clive, Rhonda and I agreed to meet at the pool for beers and sunset.  This turned out to be a very pleasant sit.  On my way to the pool a young lady approached the rear of Amor Fati because we were flying an American flag.  She was born and raised in Livermore and we immediately struck up a conversation.  She was on a large catamaran that was anchored about 300’ from us.  She moved to the Azores over a decade ago as that is where some of her family is originally from.  She is crewing on the cat across the Atlantic and around the Caribbean.  She is the lone girl among 5 guys of German and other nationalities.  They crossed the Atlantic from the Cape Verde islands in 15 days.  Catamarans are known to have very good speeds.  They too were short on water and had to ration.  On the other hand they saw lots of sea life.  Onboard was the owner of a whale watching/dive shop, etc and somewhat of a marine biologist.  They saw a blue whale, misc other whales, orcas, dolphins, caught tuna, Dorado and even a marlin!  I must admit they were a ragged looking bunch.   Anyway, I told her I was on my way to meet up for drinks at the pool and invited her to come along.  It’s nice to hear what other people have to say about their neck of the woods and what they think is interesting.  Her description of the Azores is nothing like what I thought it was.  Apparently, it is lush, populated and quite prosperous.  It’s a bit far from CA and unlikely that I would ever go there on a vacation but it was fun hearing about it.

During our sit at the bar it rained offshore and then after dark it rained where we were.  It rains everyday and every night, but not much.  It’s like Hawaii in that it rains for very short periods.  Dinner was great!  I have been drinking beer and eating pizza on my quest west and this little place on the adjacent marina next to the ferryboats produces a fantastic pizza.  It rivals anything I have ever had.  Tomorrow night I think I will try the local Tex-Mex BBQ or the ribs at the pizza joint.  It’s all about eating on vacation.  Why is that?