Greg and I started our hike up Mount Peggy (Peggy’s Rock, “Ma Peggy”) at 6:30 a.m. so we could finish before it got too hot. This is a moderate hike. Too much of it is on the road for my taste, but the views are nice throughout most of the hike. Here’s a description from AllTrails:
Map:
I generally like museums, but the Bequia Heritage Museum was special to me. I credit the two docents. The stories they told, the songs, the history. . . it was all incredible.
But first we (Cathie, Greg, Michael and me) had to get there. We walked the uphill and downhill and uphill and downhill route to the museum from the anchorage. The views along the way were quite nice. The houses are so colorful!
We left Martinique on May 10, bound for St. Lucia. It didn’t go so well.
We’d sailed about 2.5 hours when our port engine started smoking. This was after bashing into the waves and even burying under one particularly big wave. Then we started losing speed with just the starboard engine running (we shouldn’t have lost speed), so we were thinking that something had gotten wrapped around the prop.
So we turned around and stayed at an anchorage on Martinique. It was lovely and peaceful.
I chillaxed on Seahike for a bit, then dove down to check the props, both of which were clear. If something had been wrapped around them, it had come off, possibly when Michael ran the engine hard in reverse.
The smoking engine was due to a broken impeller. I replaced it.
So we were good to go again, but we waited one more day for the weather to improve a bit.
Here are some pictures of Martinique as we left and the anchorage where we stayed two nights.
Mount Pelée had been calling to me ever since I started researching Martinique. It seemed to be a pretty tough climb so I was hesitant. I always want to finish what I start so I would only be happy with myself if I made it to the top.
There are many options for hiking Mount Pelée. I chose the L’Aileron trail. Here’s the info from AllTrails:
Length: 4.6 mi
Elevation gain: 10,820 ft
Type: Loop
Proceed cautiously on this 4.6-mile loop trail near Le Morne-Rouge, Saint-Pierre. Generally considered a highly challenging route, it should only be attempted by experienced adventurers. This is a very popular area for birding, camping, and hiking, so you’ll likely encounter other people while exploring. The trail is open year-round and is beautiful to visit anytime. The hike to the crater rim from Aileron is moderate. The track is generally in good condition and very busy. There are a few scrambles and it’s muddy in places, so wear hiking boots or good shoes. The counterclockwise walk starts out easy then becomes moderate as you approach the north end. If you continue to the end, the second half is tough! Long vertical climbs on wet rocks, dense mist and strong winds most of the time. In the second half you are walking in the caldera and it is amazing.
This is the map of the hike as well as screenshots of the preview of the trail:
We had a few days to ourselves before we flew to the US. Here are some scenes from one of the walks I took near the marina.
