Posts Tagged ‘Beaches’

For an early dinner I took the family to see the Big Rude Jake Duo (“BRJ2”) who were playing at the nearby Castro’s Lounge restaurant. I’ve loved Big Rude Jake‘s stuff since his first album release, and was pleasantly surprised to find a while back that he has a regular Saturday afternoon matinee gig at Castro’s Lounge. The food is all vegetarian there, and it is a small venue which was perfect for the BRJ2.

I didn’t want to use my flash at the show which would distract the players and disrupt the intimate scene, so the pics are all using natural light, tweaked in PhotoShop Lightroom to bring out a bit more detail where possible.

A good concert, I enjoyed the vegetarian menu selection at the restaurant, and it’s safe to say I’ll return for more classic blues standards from the BRJ2.

Big Rude Jake at Castro’s Lounge #1

Big Rude Jake at Castro’s Lounge #2

Margaret Stowe with Big Rude Jake at Castro’s Lounge

After an all-night sail from St. Lucia, we arrived early in the morning at the town of Fort de France on the island of Martinique.

Our first view of the town of Fort de France

We started to come into the east port of the town, which took us by a French frigate stationed there (the Ventôse), but in the end the anchorage wasn’t deep enough so we sailed back to the western part of the town, and anchored offshore.

The French frigate Ventôse alongside the light ferry ship Francis Garnier

Shortly after anchoring we went ashore to see the town. By this point it was late in the morning and was getting increasingly hot. We didn’t find the people in the town to be at all friendly, though we did our best to speak in halting French. Stil, it was a pretty town.

Walking up a street in Fort de France

The cathedral in Fort de France (Cathédrale Saint-Louis de Fort-de-France), Martinique

Erika with a yellow flower she found placed in her hair

The Tricolore flies over Fort Royale; Martinique is considered part of France, so we visited Europe while in the Caribbean (and paid for the privilege in Euros).

Annie and Erika sorting out the shells Annie had collected

Some sample shells

The beach adjacent to the west side of Fort Royale

Close-up of a collection of shells (and these were the rejects!)

Twilight over Fort de France