Mercredi 11.10.06 C’est pas Grève…
It starts off as such a pleasant day; the sun high in the blue sky, fluffy clouds just above the horizon and a refreshing breeze to ease the heat of the day. My bag is packed and I’m sunning myself while waiting for the bus to Fort-de-France, en route to Trois-Ilets. Though, when Nicola texted to say she had to get a lift with Charles earlier that morning I should have guessed that it’s not just the weather that like to act up here. In fact there was a grève de camions (truckers strike) with trucks going at snails pace along the motor-way. This meant that many of the main routes were blocked off with massive delays everywhere.
My wait at the bus-stop was not wasted as I met a new neighbour, John. Earlier in the week we had exchanged a brief ‘Hello’ from our driveway and I had told him we would speak English next time we met. John is from Guadeloupe and he just moved here a week before us. He has previously lived in France and travelled to other parts of the world. When I asked him what profession he had I misheard musician for magician. But when he started telling me about the saxophone something clicked. There’s also someone else on our drive who plays the keyboard so between myself on the tin whistle, John on the sax and our mystery piano (wo)man the poor neighbourhood must get no peace. John teaches music in nearby schools and he also takes private lessons. As well as that he plays at café concerts and recitals and while I was with him he received a call asking him to play in Fort-de-France on Novemeber 10th and in Guadeloupe the following fortnight – I reckon I’ve found some future weekend entertainment in him.
After almost an hour of road-side chit-chat it starts to drizzle and I decide to head home. It’s not long until there’s a downpour. Poor Nicola is stuck in town so she grabs a taxi for €12 back to base. We’re both fatigued; I’m tired of doing nothing and Nicola’s weary after going in for one class. My stomach is acting up too so a lie-down is in order. I wake just in time to watch the French football team outdo the Faro Isles. Since I’m still feeling under the weather and since the wild weather has been the pest of the past few days I think it’s time to introduce the Caribbean climates…
Martinique is under a tropical maritime climate. This means that it is constantly humid, with mild temperatures and ever-blowing trade winds. From July to October the season is called Hivernage. This is the weather of late which is characterised by frequent and intense, but usually short, downpours. Hivernage sees temperatures of about 32º with high humidity. The island is also sometimes in the path of tropical cyclones with start in the Cape Verde Islands, off Senegal. When this occurs winds can exceed 100mph with rainfall higher than 100mm in 24hours; if rainfall is a good gauge I reckon many tropical cyclones have passed by in the last week.
On the sunnier side of things from January to April Martinique experiences the dry season known as Carême (Lent). Trade Winds become more powerful and the air is much drier as the high pressure of the anticyclones of the Azores shift southwards. Sun, sand and sea is the norm with showers being short and infrequent. The less marked inter-seasons include the first heat from May to June and strong downpours from November to December. Bring it on ;-P
The reasons for these different climatic seasons are related to many things; such as the anticyclone of the Azores which directs the prevailing wind from North-East to South-East. These are better known as the Trade Winds or the Alizé. Another determining factor for the climate is Martinique’s proximity to the Equator. The island is located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator in what is known as the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Here low pressure presides resulting in a cloudy, stormy cluster of approximately 125 miles wide. It swells while shifting northwards in the summer and southwards during the Boreal winter. Martinique’s mountainous make-up also plays a determining role when it comes to rainfall. It rains much more at Mont Pelée and on the Pitans (X5 times) than in the southern past of the island.
With your minds opened to the wild weather of Martinique, and with the heavens about to open again, I bid you une bonne nuit. Hope you’ve no wet dreams lads!!
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