Caribbean Canons

We had a fun little adventure this morning. Even if it was PLAN D. We burned through a lot of other plans before coming to D
Plan A: visit Tintimarre Island and see some sea turtles. (too expensive and takes ALL day)
Plan B: visit Butterfly Pavilion  (didn't know where it was...dang it!)
Plan C: walk to Pinel Island  (not sure I wanted to dodge sea urchins just to find a half broken shell or two. Those urchins are brutal, man! One went through Robert's dad's shoe and broke off inside his foot. not cool)

And what was plan D?  We drove to Marigot to find the Fort!
What is this fort of which I speak? Why Fort Louis! It was built in 1789 by orders of Jean Sebastian de Durat, who was governor of St Martin and St Barth. Durat was actually overseeing this order from the King of France.  It's purpose was to defend the harbor warehouses.
The fort fell into disrepair, but was fixed up in the 19th century, only to be abandoned once more.

Of course that meant I had to see all the fun merchandise since we parked so far away.

We eventually migrated over to the mall, and after going through four different people just to get accurate directions, the pilgrimage began!!!!!!!
Nice Stairs, huh?  If only that was all it took to get to the top. We're just getting started!

 Well, about half way through, I was huffing and puffing like an 89 year old with emphysema.   It's no secret that I avoid exercise like werewolves avoid silver bullets.  Being skinny fools people into thinking you are "healthy". so NOT TRUE.  I could die any day of heart failure.  well, maybe that was a bit over dramatic. Let's just say I wouldn't pass a military grade physical any time soon.
Just before you reach the last staircase, there is this large, 12foot-ish sized crucifix.  Of course my 50mm doesn't lend for full view shots sometimes. oh well.
And this last view of winding handrails means that you are almost there!!!!

Wahoo! We're finally here! 

 Any usefulness this fort may have had is long gone, but the rustic, crumbly charm is still fun to explore.



But even inside the decrepit ruins, there are still higher levels of ground to reach.

Robert and I didn't feel complete unless we shimmied up to the top by the flagpole.

 







and here comes the "canon" shots.  (there's a double meaning in that if you think about my photography brand of choice..................ha ha ha ha ha ha!)

At one point, Robert sighed and said:  "I wish I had a canon".
I held up the camera and said: "we've already got one"
Robert: (silence)

Here is my ART contribution of the day:

Well the foreground came in nice and clear, but the tourists all paid the price.  Oh well. I didn't know any of them, so, no love lost here.

Not sure Why I love this rock formation, but I just REALLY LOVE IT!!!

Okay, it still cracks me up how much pink you can catch people wearing on St.Maarten. All three of these girls are sporting the color, and they weren't the only ones today.  I saw at least 8-9 other people wandering around Marigot wearing it as well.

Some specs for today:
I did use both lenses, but every picture on this post was taken with my 50mm.  I'm really starting to prefer it for EVERYTHING. The only problem with scenery is that you have to scoot WAY back to get something in a shot.  Sometimes that's just not possible (because you might plunge a hundred feet to your death) So I just do the best I can, and try to make shots interesting if going wide isn't an option.
shutter speeds varied from 1/6000 - 1/4000
f/ 2.8
ISO 200