It amazes me that a culture that could build Versailles can’t build simple infrastructure in a society. How has France been around for hundreds of years? Their internet is run by a squirrel. There is simply no other explanation. We still have no reliable internet options so when one of our phones makes a “ping” sound, we know we have possible internet for a couple of minutes and jump on as fast as we can to get our daily checklists done. Generally, we chalk up infrastructure issues on most islands as “first world problems” and we move on about our business making do. However, Martinique touts itself as “first world” but thus far, we do not see it. One of our friends described “first world” as “no one sells chicken on the side of the road.” I have come to the conclusion that Martinique can’t sell the chickens roadside because they are needed for some form of menial labor such as running the electrical plant. Our marina sits next to the airport and several times daily I find myself praying that the airports’ infrastructure is not run by a squirrel. Perhaps at least a nice strong donkey. In addition to internet issues, the marina we are in is very confused. Before we moved the boat up the coast, we had clarified that we would be staying for about a month. One morning, I went to pay the marina for the week and the guy said, “You were supposed to leave yesterday”. “No,” I replied, “We aren’t leaving until April” to which he replied, “No, I have another boat going where you are in two days.” Since my head was going to pop off, Bill stopped by the office to clarify. When he returned to the boat, he asked, “Do you want the bad news or the stupid news first?” He had clarification on the move…..such as it was. They needed to “move us” to the slip next to ours which would entail untying Galt, heaving on the lines until he shifted six feet to the left and retying. “Why can’t the other boat just go in that slip or one of the other empty ones?” I asked. Bill shrugged, laughed and said, “Because that would make sense.” That was four days ago. Each day, the dockmaster stops by and says he’ll be around to move Galt later in the day. We just smile and nod. To date, we still sit where we have since we arrived.
This week we are renting a car to go exploring. The island has so many rum distilleries that I lost count. Bill often tries to make the rum distilleries more interesting to me by pointing out other things they have. “Oh, this one has a garden”….”This one has a windmill”…..Just like when I try to point out things that would be of interest to him…”This garden has a brewery next door”….”This windmill is close to a beach bar”. We have definitely learned to balance our adventures over the past two years! I have spent the week trying to map out all the sites to see and we have at least a week’s worth of sites so I look forward to having some wonderful pictures and stories to share with you next week. I have to go feed the squirrel now so I can hopefully get this blog uploaded in the next 24 hours! PS: I spent all of lunch today watching the restaurant staff fight table umbrellas in the wind. The umbrella would blow over, they would pick it up. It would blow over and make its’ way down the dock, they would chase it, pick it up and reset it again. On and on went this routine for an hour. Seriously, how has France survived for hundreds of years? To me, it seems an impossibility. And now, I ordered the Lava Cake at the restaurant and the response was "no cake". What happened to "Let them eat CAKE???"
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AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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