Our ship anchored out off the town of St. Pierre in Martinique.  We had booked an excursion through a company on shore, but they were located on another area of the island.  Then we booked a tour with the ship and it was canceled so we decided to do a walking tour on our own. 

We took the tender to the dock and were surprised at how hot and humid it was onshore.  There was a breeze, which made things a bit more bearable.  My husband thought we would be there for a few hours, but when we started walking in the heat I knew it would not be that long. 

There is an outdoor market set up near the dock.  We could not buy anything though because they would not take the U.S. dollar.  (My husband wanted to buy a banana.) Since we couldn’t buy anything, I didn’t look too closely at what was being sold besides fruit.  

We walked along the beach area, which was closed for exactly one week (I have no idea why).  One of the beaches had beautiful black sand. 

The landscape is dominated by this amazing volcano.  We had a lovely view from our balcony on the ship.  The eruption of 1902 and the ruins that it created are one of the attractions of the town. 

We had a map from the ship with several different walking tours. There was also a blue line painted on the ground that you could follow to see all the tourist attractions.  We did a little bit of both.  The first ruins we came upon were of the old warehouses. 

We came across some festive decorations on our walk. 

We also had a short conversation with some children who were leaving school as we took a water break. They were very excited to say hello to us in English.  

The most impressive ruins were of the theater.  You could tell how magnificent it was when it was intact.  

I love the curved architecture. 

You can see that they are rebuilding a stage.  It’s a big space and could accommodate a lot of people for different events.  

Next to the theatre is the prison. There is a famous story about a prisoner that survived the volcanic eruption.  It was due to his location in the prison. He still suffered from many burns.  He actually joined the Barnum and Bailey circus later as a “monster”.  

There is a statue created by Rodin’s assistant at the top of the staircase into the theater. I think it’s very sensual and I’m not sure why it’s there.

This house had a neat display of photographs in the windows. 

I like this angle of the house even more. 

Our last stop was the Cathedral.  It was free to enter.  There are some beautiful stained glass windows inside. 

We stopped at the supermarket next to the church and got some tasty juices and a fresh, still warm baguette and a chocolate croissant.  It was a simple look into one town of Martinique.