David is feeling the loss of his camera, and so we decided to see if we could find a replacement – a good excuse for a trip to the capital of Martinique, Fort de France! It is hot and humid at the moment, the temperature around 30 degrees, so the idea of driving into the city didn’t really appeal. So instead we headed down to Les Trois Islets to catch the ferry.

Les Trois Islets is probably the biggest town on the peninsula and one with an important history. It is the birthplace of Josephine, the wife of Napoleon and Empress of France.  As we walked down to the ferry, we noticed an unusual amount of activity around the church and particularly the cemetery with a number of people arriving in their Sunday best with flowers to place on the graves. We later discovered that it was All Saint’s Day known as ‘Toussaint’ a two day long holiday for honouring dead relatives. Traditionally, it is a time for sprucing up the cemeteries and also for getting together with the extended family to share reminiscences about family members who have passed away.

The ferry terminal is a charmingly low key set up – a couple of brick shelters to keep you out of the sun and a small jetty. The cost of a return is a mere 7 euros and the boats run about every hour. It is a very pretty ride, passing the three small islands (Tebloux, Charles and Sixtain) which give Les Trois Islets its name.  Again, we noticed a number of shipwrecks dotted about which hinted at hurricane damage. As we approached Fort de France, we noticed the impressive 17^th century Fort St Louis to our right which is still in use as a naval base today.

Once we landed, we headed from the harbour into the busy shopping streets. Fort de France stuck me as a real hotch potch of old and new. One minute, we were walking past a row of designer shops selling handbags and shoes, the next, a row of small traders crouched on the pavement – a shoe repairer with his mouth full of nails or a person selling chillis and garlic, laid out in small bundles on the floor.

We tracked down a camera shop. The shop keeper and his wife were delightful and did everything they could to find David a new camera but the prices were more than he’d pay in the UK and the range of models on offer was very limited.  So we left empty handed.

Feeling the heat, we dived into an air conditioned shopping centre and into a strangely familiar café. It reminded me of an English department store restaurant, complete with sandwiches and cake.

After lunch, we set off in search of the Schoelcher Library. This unique building was built for the Exhibition of 1889 in Paris to represent Martinique and was then taken down stone by stone to be rebuilt in Fort de France. It houses the original library of books , which were donated by Victor Schoelcher in 1883 on condition that they were made accessible to everyone, including former slaves. Since then, the collection has been greatly expanded. The building itself is very impressive. Unfortunately we couldn’t go inside as it was closed. As we were standing wondering what to do next the heavens opened and we dashed into a café and drank coffee while we waited for it to clear.

It was clear that the rest of the afternoon was going to be showery, so we decided to call it a day and catch the next ferry back to Les Trois Islets.

Returning to Anses d’Arlets, we noticed a film crew set up outside the church. A woman with a microphone stood in the street, doing a piece to camera – we guessed it was the local news channel’s annual ‘Toussaint’ article. We peeked into the church. It was crammed full of people dressed in white and singing their hearts out.