St. Martin 2006

Friday, October 20 (Pat)

Our last day in St. Maarten. We wake up to pounding rain and lightning in the early morning and get up around 8am. It is dark grey outside again with morning rain. We do our breakfast routine killing time to see if it’s going to break up. By late morning it has stopped raining and the clouds are breaking up somewhat. We do email next door and by a little after 1pm are off in the car. We head for Grand Case. There is a big loop thru the town one-way. Along the waterfront are houses with narrow alleys for beach access and not much parking. After getting back to the main road it was decided not to stay in Grand Case so off to Orient Bay. The temperature was comfortable but not much sun. We got some chairs and watched the cruise ship people in front of us. Ron read while I people watched then took a walk to the north end of the beach. We had our cheese and bread, grapes, and chicken pockets. Ron’s neck was bothering him and he was mad at me so we just hung out until about 5:30pm. I suggested we have dinner on our last night somewhere in Marigot.

The traffic was bad getting into town and we finally made it to the waterfront area and found a parking space. They were having some kind of noisy activity in the center area so we walked up the street and checked out one of the restaurants on the sidewalk further from the loud drumming. Ron had Mahi Mahi creole style and I had a shrimp kebob creole style. When I asked for water they brought a whole large bottle of water! I was thirsty anyway. Ron also had chocolate mousse for dessert and I had a bite of it – very good. The bill came to $48 US. The waitress walked with me around the corner to the ATM – the buddy system! She was from Spain and came here twelve years ago to have a slower pace of life and really likes it. She also served us some home-made chocolate rum – similar to Kahlua and very good. Got change to leave a tip and headed back to the suite. Bob was waiting at the stairs. He is visiting while we get stuff together and start to pack. Check out is 10am tomorrow, the plane leaves at 4:15pm.

Thursday, October 19 (Ron)

I got up about 6:45am and got yesterday’s journal entry typed into the computer. It started raining again last night and it’s still raining. The sky is grey to dark grey in all directions. We have a leisurely morning waiting to see what the weather is going to do. While waiting for the rain to stop we go next door to the Sapphire Resort to get online. I check emails while Pat does stuff on the laptop. After an hour or so she finishes up and I use the laptop to upload some pictures to my blog. It slowly loads, finally says it’s done, and I lose my connection. I get back online and start loading the picture again. Same thing happens. Dang, this is starting to piss me off. One more time. It seems to finish then no connection. Time’s a wasting. I’ve got better things to do than fight with this thing. I shut the computer down and go back to the room. It’s a little after noon and it’s still sprinkling but the sky is clearing a little, so things are improving. We sit around and read for a while, Pat in her sweats and me wrapped up in a blanket. It’s cool enough today that we don’t really need the air conditioning going full blast, but since the thermostat for the a/c is in the adjacent room and we have no way to get in there and turn it down, we open the door to the deck and let in some warmer air. That helps a little. It’s still pretty grey, but the rain has stopped and we decide to go to Pic Paradis, the highest point on the island at just under 1500 ft. The road to Pic Paradis is just on the other side of Marigot, on the French side of the island. We stopped at a French bakery just as we got into Marigot. It’s called Lu Sucriere and it had a fantastic variety of pastries. They were beautifully decorated and look ready for the final course of a hundred dollar gourmet meal. There were also some non-dessert baked goods – Paninis, ham and cheese croissants, various rolls, pizza, etc. Everything looked wonderful. We ended up getting a chicken panini to split for supper later. Pat had a baked ham and cheese sandwich for lunch and I had a small pizza. For dessert Pat had a chocolate tort and I had a triple chocolate mousse. Words cannot begin to describe them. The sandwich and pizza were very good. The desserts were unbelievably good! We ate outside on the patio and when we finished we went back inside to tell them how much we enjoyed the meal and to find out how late they were open so that we could stop by on the way home. The lady was very nice and said they are open until a quarter till eight. No problem. It starts getting dark around 6pm so that should give us plenty of time. After lunch we walked around Marigot for a while. Marigot is the capitol city of the French side, but is still a small city. The entire French side of the island has a population of only thirty-seven thousand. The Dutch side is slightly smaller in size, but the population is slightly more. Driving around is much easier that Phillipsburg, Sint Maarten’s capitol. The driving is still crazy, but there is far less congestion. However, we walked, enjoying the small shops and restaurants. We got back in the car and drove to the north side of town, turned on the road to Pic Paradis and started up. Even the good roads on this island are not that good, and this was not one of the better ones. It’s rough and narrow. The further we went, the narrower it got. The road got very steep and very narrow, the tall grass along the edge of the road sometimes brushing our little car on both sides. We managed to make it to the top without meeting another car. At the top, the road doesn’t end, it just has a gate across it and becomes somebody’s driveway. There’s a small sign that says “Viewpoint” and points to the right. We took the trail and walked about one hundred yards to a spot where we looked out to the north and the town of Grand Case. There were several islands in the background. Nice view even though it was still a little cloudy and visibility wasn’t the best. The trail continued so we followed it, hoping for a better view. Now the trail is not so well used. It’s hard to follow at times, with the grass on either side reaching six to seven feet and laying across the trail. We hiked on, perhaps another two hundred yards thru the tall grass, to another clearing looking out over what we think is Phillipsburg or Oyster Pond. We hike even further on but don’t come to a good viewpoint, so we head back. At the trailhead there’s another trail going off in a different direction. I start down this trail and after about fifty feet I spot a nickel lying on the ground. I pick it up and put it in my pocket. That will be my lucky nickel. A few feet and there’s a penny on the ground. I leave it there for someone else. On a few more feet is a small stump about three feet high. It has a small, shallow, hole at the top with a quarter laying in it. What a weird coincidence. Another two feet and another penny, then several more spaced eight to ten inches apart. They must have been put there intentionally but I have no idea why. We return to the car and start slowly down the hill. We met several cars going up the hill and somehow manage to get past. There is a small chocolate shop in Marigot that we passed by and I quickly pull over and park the car. There’s a nice lady behind the counter who didn’t seem to speak English, but we point to the pieces we want and she puts them in a bag for us. It came to around thirteen dollars for fourteen little pieces of heaven. Have chocolate, will travel. The sun is setting so we park the car along the ocean front and sit on some bleachers that were set up in the market area where we were on Wednesday. The sun sets into the ocean and the lights of the city come on. Very nice. We had vowed to stop back at that bakery we were in earlier today, so we walked over to it and got some stuff for supper and of course some more dessert. Back to our room. Bob, a very sweet resort cat, is waiting for us. His name isn’t really Bob, but that’s what I named him because part of his tail is cut off. We invite him in and he joins us while we enjoy our supper, but it’s getting late, so he has to go out and we have to go to bed.

Wednesday, October 18 (Pat)

Woke up to pouring rain about 6am. Ron got up first and we had our usual morning routine then got ready to head for the Marigot market by 10am. Found a place to park and went to the waterfront area where the market was. By now it was HOT! Lots of people bussed in from the cruise ships. There were a lot of stalls with colorful island shirts, jewelry, trinkets, bags, etc. They had some variations between them so you would find different things or colors, etc. The first booth we stopped at had some wood-looking necklaces that were actually made out of dried banana leafs. Some had inlaid mother of pearl. They were unique and I liked them but wanted to check out what else was here first. Ron checked out the island shirts. We found a refrigerator magnet that we liked. Ron took some video and we cruised the booths trying to stay in the shade. He found a shirt he liked and bartered to get it for nine dollars. There were some good artists there, some nice stone/gem jewelry, fresh spices, wood carvings, some beautiful carvings out of a big seed of some kind. We got a drink to cool off while we were walking around. We also picked up a couple of coasters for the computer desk. No one else had the same kind of banana leaf carvings so I went back to the first booth and picked one out that I liked. It was twenty dollars. The matching earrings were clip-ons so I decided to pass on them. We returned to the car, hot and sweaty by now, stopped at the Supermarche for some bread, cheese, and chicken empanada things and headed for Friar’s Beach to the north of Marigot. It’s a drive back to the beach along some nice homes to Friar’s Bay. A smaller beach but a very nice bay with rocks on either side. We walked up to the beach hut area and a very energetic Rastafarian type black guy asked if we wanted some chairs. Jaabaah was great! He got our chairs set up under a thatched roof cover. He brought some rum punch, changed Ron’s chair to a taller-backed one, brought ice for the water we had, all the while singing, chattering, doing a dance or flips. He kept busy taking care of all of us on his beach!! It was hot in the sun and today was partly cloudy, so when the sun was out, it baked. The water felt cool and refreshing. No big waves, a nice beach to swim or hang in the water at. I snorkeled – pretty silty with low visibility but it kept me cool. We hung out for the afternoon until the sun was gone. Jaabaah’s dog came out to play – a Rott/Lab mix and he liked to be petted. We chatted with an English lady next to us on ‘holiday’. Enjoyed our bread and cheese and grapes. Jaabaah was fun, gracious and entertaining. So by 6pm we headed for the car, thought we’d lost the keys – found them and returned to Ocean Club resort. Showered – I tried to get online at the Sapphire resort next door but it was close to 8pm and the computer was too slow booting up. So we headed out to eat. Tried to find the Cliff Hanger Restaurant – couldn’t, went into Maho and got some groceries and cash and went to check out Bamboo Bernie’s at the end of the road. Finally found it – a sushi bar type place, not much going on and too expensive so we tried the Sunset Bar – kitchen just closed! So we headed back to the Supermarket where we had noticed some food in a mini buffet style. Salad, fruit, veggies, rice, chicken, meat balls, lasagna. We loaded some containers, grabbed a couple of cold drinks and headed back to the studio. Not bad – filled us up. Ron had his pear yogurt for dessert – it was very good! Journaled, read, and off to bed. Another tough day at the beach!

Tuesday, October 17 (Ron)
I got up around 6:30. Lots of thunder and rain overnight, but it’s not raining now and it is clear to the south. Every other direction is pretty dark. Made coffee and went out on the deck to read. Pretty soon Pat got up and we had breakfast. We’re not sure if our plan to go to Orient Beach will work today, depends on the weather. We decide a chance and go to Orient Beach. On the way we stopped at a small store in Marigot and got a loaf of French bread and some Camembert cheese to have for lunch. Got to Orient Beach, rented two chairs and an umbrella and settled in for soaking in the sun. Around five o’clock we packed up and headed for home. We got cleaned up and went down to a café at the Atlantis Casino for a light dinner.

Monday, October 16 (Ron)

We got up close to 7am. Had a leisurely morning reading, journaling, until 11am. Decided to go over next door to the Sapphire resort as we found out they had an internet café and superette. Thirty-five dollars for 7 days or thirty-five cents per minute. Since it took nearly ninety minutes to get the blog entries up-loaded and check both our e-mails, we went for the weekly rate. Got our food and went back to the room. Changed clothes to our swim suits, gathered up our beach stuff, and finally got on the road by 1:45pm or so.

We decided to take a quick jaunt around the lowlands to Baie Rouge. Found it just as we were thinking we had passed it up. Got two chairs and an umbrella. Five dollars each – two chairs plus one umbrella equals fifteen dollars. The French do it differently. We were both hungry so Ron went over to the shack to order some food. The beach is a long curved beach. The main area has a high golden sand level with a steep and long run out to the water. There were some big, solid rocks in the sand in front of us. Most of the time the waves would be fairly small and just run up the beach a little ways. Then there would be four or five big roller waves hit and the water would surge in, covering the rocks and almost to our feet. There were a number of people in the water as well as on the beach. Topless young girls were around.

Ron came back with two beers and then two large dinner plates of food. Cooked chicken, rice pilaf, potato salad, plantains, and some lettuce and tomato. He had ordered french fries too since we expected to be like yesterday’s meal. Not bad for twenty dollars U.S.! I filled up before I got to the chicken so wrapped it up and stuck it next to the ice-water bottle. The sun was out somewhat so it was hot and there were lots of clouds. Some big dark grey clouds were to the east.

Ron cooled off in the water first and then I went in after he came back. The surge had a strong pull. There was just a short area where you could be in the water and touch feet to the bottom, then it dropped off. The waves could create a big pull back and then churn as the next one came in. It got to be fun to ride the waves in – sort of body surf then get back out before the next one hit. Ron got churned several times – disappearing in the tolling wave. Since I don’t like to be submerged without a mask on I would back pedal to get behind the wave and then go in so I wouldn’t get churned. It was fun. It was also work, treading water and working the waves. When you wanted to come in you had to time it with the small waves and get up the beach before the next big one hit.

One couple came out with snorkel gear in their hands. They got out in the water and talking with someone else and learned the snorkeling wasn’t very good right here. On their way back in a big wave hit, catching the man by surprise and he got caught in the churning surge. He as a big guy but the water just rolled him. Snorkel stuff went everywhere. With Ron’s help, diving for a flipper and another swimmer catching the other one and his wife grabbing the booties, they got those back. The mask and snorkel were gone. They left not too long after that.

Another group of Americans came in with their beers. One guy sat on one of the rocks, his wife put a towel down on another one and another guy went out into the water. Before long another big wave came in. They all went running and one of the hotel towels that was on the rock went out to sea.

We had some two-for-one Guavaberry coladas with happy hour. The dark clouds were now starting to drop rain. I went our for another romp in the surf and Ron stood under the umbrella out of the rain. For the next thirty minutes or so it rained off and on. The crowd thinned out. Several young French guys were playing Frisbee, some dogs were playing, but most of the people left were under the tarps at the food hut drinking.

As it got closer to sunset we headed for the car and back to the room after rinsing off. ‘Bob’ the black cat was by the stairs, exactly where he was when we left hours earlier. He came in for a visit while we showered then Ron took him back downstairs.

We decided to go cheap tonight for dinner. Went over to the store and picked up some more cereal, noodles, tuna, and string beans (canned). Ron had cereal for dinner and I zapped my left-over chicken, heated up the green beans and Top Ramen, and that was dinner. There was a big lightning storm going on just off the coast from our balcony. Big light-up-the-sky lightning strikes with good, loud, rolling thunder!

Ron worked on the trip photos on the laptop and I journaled. Off to bed for a day at Orient Beach tomorrow.

Sunday, October 15 (Ron)
Slept well last night for being our first night in a new bed. Got up about 7am. The air conditioning has finally gotten the room cooled down, in fact it’s a little chilly. Started the coffee and went out on the deck to watch a couple of locals fishing off the nearby rocks. Orientation for the newbies was at 10am down at the pool bar. We met 3 or 4 other couples staying here and the owners of the bar, Bert and Jill. Bert is from Philadelphia and kinda looks and talks like Sylvester Stallone. They seem nice and told us about some of the things to do here. They’ve lived in Sint Maarten for 18 years. After orientation, we decided to find a good, nearby beach. Cupecoy beach is where the resort is located, but the beach is pretty small, so we headed over to Mullet Bay. It’s very close, between Cupecoy and Maho. Maho is right next to the airport, and you can watch the jets come in. As they are approaching the airport they fly right over the beach, almost close enough to touch the landing gear. We left the resort and go southeast on the only road, looking for the turn-off. The word ‘turn-off’ may be too fancy of a word to describe it. Most of the ‘turn-offs’ are little more than a dusty trail with two parallel ruts made by the cars’ tires. The entire island, both countries, totals less than 40 square miles. There is one main road that goes around the island, hugging the coastline. The road is narrow, poorly maintained, and has no stripes painted on it. No center line, no pass/don’t pass lines, no fog lines, nothing. So we head over to Mullet Bay at noon, watching for the turn-off. When we get to Maho we know we’ve gone too far. We turn around and head back. We take the road thru the golf course. I can’t believe people are actually out there playing! It’s hot!!! Ninety has got to be the temperature as well as the relative humidity. This is the end of rainy season but the grass looks like it hasn’t seen water for months. So anyway, we take the road thru the golf course. It just circles around to the road we were on. We see another turn-off (trail) that goes in the direction of the ocean so we try it. Dead end. We drive back to Maho and ask a security guard outside one of the casinos. He was very clear – go back the way we came, take the first left after the speed bump. We head back and take the first left after the first speed bump. This is the road we were on, the dead end. How could we have missed seeing Mullet Bay? We pulled over several times to get out of the car and walk around to try and find the beach. No beach. We turn around and I stopped to look around. Walking over to the edge of the cliff, I spotted a couple of young guys nearby and asked them where Mullet Bay is. They were very helpful. One of them walked back to the car with me and pointed to a barely-visible car trail that cut thru to another road. Turn left on that road. Can’t miss it. We did as he instructed and within a minute or two we were at Mullet Beach. There was a bar-b-q stand on the beach selling ribs, chicken, pop, and cold beer. Pat and I each got a beer and we rented two lounge chairs and an umbrella. The beach was nice, quite a few people there, but it wasn’t crowded. The water was beautiful – crystal clear, very calm, no waves, and just the right temperature. We laid out for about three hours, going in the water when we got too hot. By around 4pm we had worked up quite an appetite. I went over to the food shack and ordered barbequed chicken and fries for Pat, barbequed ribs and fries for myself. That and two Coronas were $15. Pretty good meal for $7.50 each. Around 5pm the guys at the food shack started closing up and had to put the chairs and umbrellas away so we left and went back to the resort to relax by the pool. The pool area here is nice, a fairly large pool and well landscaped around it. We hung out by the pool for a while, sipping our happy hour, 2-for-1 Guavaberry Coladas. The pool area here is a good place to lay-out and relax in the late afternoon. One reason is the happy hour 2-for-1 drinks, also because the buildings and trees provide a lot of shade after about 4pm, so it’s a lot cooler. After sundown we came up to the room and showered. Read a while, then had supper. Left-overs tonight. Pat worked on the laptop while I did the journal.

Saturday, October 14 (Pat)

We got up at 7am (Ron) and 7:30 (me). Had coffee and a banana and enjoyed our last morning reading. It was starting out with an early morning shower. The boat anchored in the bay almost disappeared as the squall moved thru. We spent the next two hours packing and organizing our stuff into the two big bags that could stay in the car plus some miscellaneous bags and our small roll-alongs and a small bag with stuff we didn’t want to get heated up in the car. At 10am we checked out and trundled the bags into the café for breakfast. Duane, the waiter, was there looking a little bleary eyed. The anniversary party went on until 1am, and he was back at 9am! Ron had the French toast breakfast and I had the omelet. It was nice, cool and comfortable in the restaurant so we pulled out our reading material and read there for a while. I was dealing with a nagging sinus headache so was not feeling like doing much. Before we left we stopped in to Jody’s place to purchase a turtle print that Ron had seen on the café wall. Jody was there so we chatted with her some more about her art and St. Maarten. The turtle print has a green turtle in the water in a colorful bay with “Paradise Found” written on it. A colorful border was part of the print. We bought the larger size for $20. Just the right size to get rolled up in a cardboard paper towel roll. So with that in hand we took our leave of Belair Beach Resort. Jody told us we were welcome to come back to enjoy the beach if we wished. Got in the car and headed west. Purchased some gas in Simpson Bay and made our way thru Simpson Bay, past the airport and into the Cupecoy area. On the way you drive thru Mullet Bay resort golf course. The Ocean Club Apartments is the last complex. The signage wasn’t real obvious so the first pass we missed it. We turned around and drove in the entrance and I showed the security guard our reservation confirmation and asked him “Is this the place?” It was – registration was at the end of the first drive. It was just at noon – check in is usually 4pm so we figured we would at least check at the desk. Sure no problem! Gave us a key to room 204 in the main building we were in. We drove around the complex to park underneath, and took the elevator up to the second floor. Ron opened the door to the room and I could tell by the look on his face and the gasp he emitted that something wasn’t right. The room was filthy. It was a studio apartment with a thick layer of plaster dust along the floor in the dining nook! The floor looked water stained. Dust was everywhere, some old dirty paper towels on the counter. The outdoor table and chairs were covered in dust and leaves. That studio hadn’t been used for a while. So Ron went down and came back with the key to the adjacent unit, #205. It was clean and a bit bigger unit with a dining nook and corner balcony. At first we couldn’t get the a/c to work. The attendant came up and checked something in the adjacent room and finally it was going. So we unpacked and headed out to explore the place. The pool is in the center of a bunch of two story buildings with balconies facing the pool. They are probably double units – upstairs and downstairs. The pool is like a clover leaf with 2 rounded areas. Large enough you can get a number of strokes in swimming from one end to the other. Surrounding the pool is a nice tile/cement border with lounge chairs and umbrellas. The local resort cats aren’t as friendly as at the Belair except one black one. He loves attention and followed us back to our room. We had to keep him from coming into the common hallway area so he could wander back outside. The beach area is reached by a narrow walk between resort villas to a cement deck area with some lounge chairs and then on down to the sandy beach. The beach is steep. There isn’t much shallow water so it’s more for swimming that we were hoping. The sand was soft so it gives you a good workout to walk to the end. It’s not very long and no one was on the beach. There is a pool snack bar. A raised wooden café area with a small bar and some eating tables. We ordered some Caribs and Ron ordered a Philly steak sandwich and I ordered the mango teriyaki chicken wrap. We were hot and there was minimal breeze coming in. We ate half our lunches and came back to the room. It was finally cooling off in the room so we read for a while and then decided to go take a dip in the pool. It’s now 5pm and a couple was leaving as we got there so we had the pool area to ourselves. The water felt great! Got cooled off, did a few exercises, and enjoyed being cool for a change. We had a Guavaberry colada during happy hour and read by the pool until it was too dusky to read. After showering we headed into the Maho Bay area to get some food supplies and eat dinner. We found the supermarket at the round-about and picked up some items and then went for the parking structure. Talk about narrow, steep ramps! Finally got a spot on the third floor. Walked around and ended up at Cheri’s Café just before 8pm. We got a seat at the back side area even with the dance area so we could see the band and stage/dance floor. They hand out plastic ‘clappers’. A set of three hand cutouts held together with a handle. You wave it and they ‘clap’! Wave it more vigorously and they clap louder. Ron ordered the Mahi Creole and I went for the coconut shrimp. For drinks Ron had an ‘All Night Long’ and I had a ‘Day At The Beach’. Very tasty. Soon the show began. Clapping with the ‘clappers’. There was the band – a couple of islanders and the performers. Three guys and two gals. They did a combination of skits/dances and singing. The big guy would come out as various female characters in fat costume, boobies, wig. The skinny guy would dress up as well in various wigs/outfits (granny was a good one). With the other guy acting as the ‘straight man’, he would dance/sing/run around/interact with the crowd. It was raunchy and hilarious. The island beat music was fun. They definitely can shake their ‘bootie’ when they get going. They got eight men from the audience to be made over into their butterfly dancers complete with short, shimmering skirts, tie-on boobies, colorful wigs, and butterfly wings. The guys had to model and dance for the audience to clap/holler for the best one. The men got into it and one was chosen as the winner. The restaurant served everyone a glass of champagne as part of the celebration for 18 years in business. It was lots of fun. Seventy-five dollars for the night so we can’t do it every night, that’s for sure. Back to the room – a last bit of reading and off to try out the new bed.

Friday, October 13 (Ron)
Went down to the Gingerbread Café for breakfast. Pat had a bowl of oatmeal and a bowl of fruit. I had the breakfast skillet – fried potatoes with onions and peppers, covered with cheese and topped with scrambled eggs. After breakfast, we came back up to the room. Pat decided she would do laundry, and I wanted to go into town to upload the journal to my blog. I also wanted to pick up some Guavaberry liqueur. I drove into town and traffic was terrible. Front Street is the main street thru town going east. It is one lane with lots of shops lining both sides. Back Street is the main street thru town going west. There are two other streets going east-west, both of which are two lanes. There are a few alleys connecting them but often they are blocked by a car parked in it. There is little parking available on either Front Street or Back Street. I was finally able to park, so I took the laptop and went off to find an internet café to upload the journal. So now I’m lugging the laptop and my camera around, and man it’s hot. I see a sign that says “Cold Beer – 3 for $2” so I went in. They also sold liquor and souvenirs. Also other stuff, but I wasn’t paying any attention. After much discussion I purchased a bottle of Cuban Rum aged 11 years, and a bottle of Pusser’s Rum, which is the very same rum issued daily to every man in England’s Royal Navy since 1655. ‘Course I also got those three cold beers. It was a beer from Venezuela. Finished the first beer as I talked with the proprietor. I had him open the second beer and went to put the booze in the car and move it closer to the Guavaberry Emporium. At the Guavaberry Emporium I had three or four samples of the different flavors. I decided on one bottle of the Guavaberry Liqueur, a bottle of Guavaberry Almond Liqueur, a bottle of Guavaberry Rum, and some very smooth sipping rum. They threw in a free t-shirt and three airplane-size bottles. The total came to just under $50. I slowly made my way thru traffic to the resort. It’s now a little after 3pm. I showed Pat the rewards of my pillaging Phillipsburg, and discussed the plan for the rest of the day. The resort is having a singer come in to entertain the guests at the café. Jody had told us that on Friday evening after all the shops close at 5:30, a lot of the locals stay in town for a while instead of fighting traffic. They all hang out on the boardwalk. There is music and entertainment, talking, and fun for all. We decided it sounded like more fun to hang out with the locals than with a bunch of fat, old tourists. We drove back into Phillipsburg and finally found a place to park the car. We walked down Front Street a while, then over on the boardwalk. Not a lot going on. There were some kids practicing their karate moves or something that was fun to watch, but that was about it. We went back to the resort and hung out in the room for a while before going down to the resort’s café for supper. The singer was there doing his thing, which I didn’t think was all that great, but what the heck – it’s free entertainment. There were only three other couples in the café when we got there, and they soon left. Outside the café in a covered area was what appeared to be and anniversary party with a buffet. There was a pretty good crowd for that. A few of them came in, then the rain started pouring down and more of them came inside. They were laughing and dancing and having a good time, so that was cool. A couple of cute little girls around 5 years old came over and talked to us for a while and Rover, the resort dog, came over and laid at our feet. Our last dinner at Belair Beach Resort. We came back upstairs and I did the journal while Pat dozed. We can’t sleep in tomorrow because check-out time is 10am, so it’s off to bed – 11pm.

Thursday, October 12 (Pat)

Ron got up before I did since I slept in ‘til almost 9am. Had some coffee and a banana and we went down to the café for some breakfast. Ron had an omlette and I had the French toast with bacon and fruit. Both were very good. We came back to the suite and Ron worked on the computer while I read.

It was much cloudier today with rough seas and bigger waves hitting the beach. A number of people were out on the beach enjoying jumping the big waves. Early afternoon there was a rain shower. Ron checked out the car rental and at 3pm we went down and completed the paperwork and checked out our little white Hyundai Getz. Just the right size to get around in. We got our stuff and headed into Phillipsburg.

We found a place to park near an RBCC bank and the government building. Our goal was to find an underwater flashlight, get some Guavaberry liqueurs, and get wi-fi access. We didn’t manage any of them. We found the Water World place in the marina area but the only submersible flashlight they had was $50. I nixed that idea.

We walked up the boardwalk to find a place to eat and stopped at Taloula Mango’s. They had wi-fi card access and an interesting menu so we picked a table along the boardwalk and sat down. I was gung-ho for the Spinach salad but they were out of spinach. We were also going to share the egg rolls and they were out of them as well. So Ron ordered the Margherita pizza and a Mango margarita. I went with the Thai cobb salad and water. Just after the food came it started to rain. Ron had purchased a half-day smart wi-fi card and was getting the computer going. We picked everything up and moved inside to a table to get out of the rain. The pizzas and salad were good. Mine had chicken strips so it was a good meal. There were two black and white kittens about 3-4 months old running around that were very cute. They were friendly and belonged with the restaurant. After we finished we moved over to a table with plug-in next to it and tried to get the wi-fi access. Before long it started pouring rain. That cleared out the boardwalk as everyone ran for cover. Unfortunately, the rain may have been messing up the wi-fi signal as we couldn’t get it to come up and get connected.

About 6pm we left and headed back to the car. The shops were closing up and the Guavaberry Emporium was closed. We made our way around water puddles to the car. Tried again to get wi-fi access – no luck. So we headed back along Back Street and went back to the Belair. More reading. About 7:40 we had the urge for some dessert – chocolate – so we went down to the Gingerbread Café. I ordered the chocolate brownie with ice cream and Ron had the chocolate mouse cake with ice cream. Yummmm! Spent 40 minutes on the internet and back to the suite for some more reading and journaling. Hopefully back to a sunny day for our last full day at the Belair tomorrow.

Wednesday, October 11 (Ron)

I got up and rubbed in some more aloe lotion. Pretty much all of my back, chest, and stomach are burned. Not real bad, just a little. Pat got up, we had breakfast, and decided to have a down day today. Just lay out on the beach under an umbrella.

We had some coffee, talked, entered the journal into the computer, and read. Before we knew it, it was time for lunch. We had decided already that we wanted to eat at the resort next to us sometime, so this is as good a time as any. Divi Little Bay and Belair Beach Resort are the only resorts on Little Bay. Little Bay is right next to Great Bay, which is where Phillipsburg, Sint Maarten’s capital, is located.

Anyway, we walked over to Divi. We had eaten there once the last time we were here, but that restaurant had something going on in there, so it was unavailable. Divi is a lot bigger than Belair and we walked along the beach side looking for a place to eat. All we found was a beach bar and we didn’t want to eat outside, so we passed it by. Nothing else on this side, let’s try walking back on the parking lot side of the resort. We asked some resort employees and they told us there was a deli on a little further. We found the deli and went in. At least it was air-conditioned. We ordered a couple of sandwiches and a couple of Diet Coke’s. There weren’t any tables to eat at so we carried our lunch back to the suite and ate there.

After lunch, we read some more, then went down to the lobby to get on the computer and check e-mails. Still no way to get online and add to my blog except to type it all in again. We will rent a car tomorrow and can drive into Phillipsburg where there is a Wi-Fi hot spot and we can get online with the laptop.

Back up to the suite to do some more reading. It just occurred to me to describe the suite. The outside door opens up to a hallway. On the right is the master bedroom and bath. There is a king size bed with a night stand on each side, and a short dresser across from the foot of the bed that is about the width of the bed. A small TV sits on a stand in the corner. On each side of the bathroom door is a wicker and wood armoire. The master bath has a tub and shower combo, a double sink, and a toilet.

On the other side of the hall is the second bedroom. It has a full size bed, a small dresser, and a large wicker and wood armoire. It has a separate bathroom with a shower, sink and toilet.

The hallway opens up into the living room, dining room, and kitchen. On the living room side, at the end of the hallway is another closet, so there really is a lot of storage room. Even with four people here, there would be plenty. The living area is very open and roomy. There are two couches, a coffee table, and a TV in the living room area. The dining area has a round table with four wicker chairs. The kitchen has a full size refrigerator/freezer, a microwave, a toaster oven, a toaster, and a coffee pot.

The wall on the beach side is all glass so we get a great view of the beach and the ocean. We are right on the beach and the ocean is about 50 feet away. There is a sliding glass door that opens up to the balcony. The balcony is about 8 feet by 22 feet and has a small table with four chairs. The balcony is completely walled off at each end so everybody can be out on the deck but have total privacy from their next-door neighbors. The deck is totally open to the beach with just a railing. We really enjoy sitting out on the deck, listening to the ocean, and just relaxing.

About 8pm we went down for supper. The only downside of staying at this resort is that there is nothing nearby. Phillipsburg is within walking distance, maybe a mile and a half, but that’s pretty far to walk in this weather. For supper, Pat had grilled tilapia (fish) and I had citrus chicken. Both were very good. After we finished, our new friend, Brenda, the waitress at the Gingerbread Café, wanted to buy us each an after-dinner drink. We declined, but she insisted, so we accepted her generous offer. Pat had Amaretto and I had Grand Marnier. The restaurant is right next to the ocean, maybe ten feet away, and open to the outside, so it was very nice to sit and sip our drinks and talk.

We decided to rent a movie to watch this evening. The convenience store at the resort has VHS and DVD movies to rent and there is a VHS deck in each suite so we got a VHS movie that looked interesting. It wasn’t! Robert DeNiro was in it and it was supposed to be a thriller, but I kept falling asleep. We went to bed about 11:30.

Tuesday, October 10 (Pat)
Ron and I kept waking up anticipating our early wake-up to get ready before our 7:50am pick-up time. Ron got up about 6:45am and I got up just before 7. Quick breakfast, getting stuff together for snorkeling and we were down in the lobby by 7:48am. Dedrick, the shuttle driver , was running a bit late so he showed up at 8:04am. Island time! He drove us to Simpson Bay, back towards the airport and dropped us off at Skip Jack’s. That’s a seafood restaurant right on the lagoon with a dock. One other couple from the Belair Beach Resort was there when we arrived. We watched the big bunch of spiny lobster in a tank, checked out the sailing décor in the restaurant and as other couples from the resort came in we saw the Garfield pulling up to the dock. She is a twin-hulled motor-boat with two 115 horsepower motors, a shade cover in the middle, and a large bench seat in the front. A cooler was filled with various drinks and lunch. Rodney, a young man, probably in his late 20’s or early 30’s, was the leader/captain for the day. We all got on board (5 couples) and he gave us the game plan for the day. We watched a big tarpon swim alongside the boat several times while docked. Apparently there are quite a few in the lagoon. We headed off across the lagoon to exit under the Marigot bridge. Then we headed north and skimmed along with a short ride paralleling the coast line so we could see all the various houses and beaches on the French side of St. Martin. Our first stop was Creole Rock. A big hunk of rock with smaller ones on one end by itself. The east side of the rock was protected and had a great place to snorkel. We all donned our snorkel gear and jumped in. The water was very clear. There were lots of fish. A huge school of three inch fish was right near the rock wall. The swarm of fish would shift shape slightly but maintained the clustering of small fish. Away from the rock face it was probably 15-20 feet deep. We saw most types of the common tropical fish. Some coral and sponges were present, lots of black sea urchins. We skimmed the shallows watching the fish for probably an hour. On the way back to the boat, going over some deeper water, I spotted a Barracuda cruising by and pointed him out to Ron. Back in the boat we had some fresh fruit and drinks and headed off to Tintemare (teen-tuh-MAR-ee) Island. It is just on the northeast corner of St. Martin – a small uninhabited island. The beach was golden sand, turquoise water in front and some colorful rock cliffs on one end. The rest was relatively flat with some sea grape trees and a few bigger trees. We anchored and noticed another big Barracuda cruising around the boat. A number of us jumped in the water to see the Barracuda. He was 3-4 feet long and checked us all out. Ron saw him a couple of times as well as a stingray. Rodney brought the bags and some umbrellas onto the beach. Then he grabbed a bucket and went to the other side of one of the big trees and filled it with clay. Tintemare has a deposit of high-mineral clay in one area. You add a bit of water and slather it all over you. It’s a grey-tan color. We had fun getting mudded. Walking around for a while dries out like a good mud mask. Then you can get in the water and rinse it off. It makes the skin feel very smooth afterwards. Ron even did it twice. After our mud treatment, Rodney brought out the sandwiches and we ate. When we first arrived there was a small black and yellow bird that landed on the boat checking us out. On the island there were several of those little birds as well as 3 chickens and a peahen. All looking for treats. There were egg, tuna, beef, and chicken sandwiches, some Pringles potato chips, and drinks. I headed for shade under a big sea grape tree. There were lots of lizards as well as the birds. Two sandwiches for each so we got filled up. Since it was hot afterwards we all hung out in the shallow water to stay cool. By 2pm we were ready to leave. Also worth noting, while we were there a boat with 4 naked middle aged, not so slender people pulled up down the beach from us and they all came to the shore and sat around and chatted on the beach. They were all nicely brown all over and were all quite nonchalant about their nudity. We all got back onto the boat and headed south, the way we had come. This time we passed Marigot and continued around the southwest part of the island, past Baie Rouge, to the southern side and to a place called Seaman’s Point or something. This protected cove had a wall of cliffs surrounding it. The water was fairly quiet but more silty. Back in the water. This area had lots of sea fans, some tube sponges, fire coral, some staghorn coral, as well as fish. Some areas were pretty shallow and others were ten to fifteen feet deep. We spent a while there. Near the boat was a type of angel fish. Big silver bodies with typical fish shape but the long dorsal and ventral fins of the angel fish. Back into the boat. More drinks. We headed further up, along the coastline, past Long Beach and stopped at a beach with another tall rock wall on the east side. They were doing some construction so there were several bulldozers, a dump truck, etc. making lots of noise. We only snorkeled here for a short while. I now have discovered that the backs of my upper thighs and parts of my hips didn’t get covered with enough sunscreen and are bright red. One of the other ladies gave me some of her 45 SPF sunscreen so I lathered that on and put on my t-shirt. We made one last stop at Mullet Bay. Ron and I were the only ones to go in this time. A wall, some big rocks, and some interesting coral and fish. I saw two big puffer fish this time and a small stingray near the boat before I climbed back in. We were all tired by now and Rodney motored us around to the Dutch bridge back to the lagoon and Skip Jack’s. A fun trip. Beautiful weather – 4 snorkel stops and a free mud spa treatment!! We said our good-byes, waited for Dedrick a short while, and headed for the Belair. A nice shower felt good to get the salt water off! Lathered up the aloe lotion on the sunburn. Ron’s back got a bit red as well. Ron uploaded some pictures he took and is getting a nice collection. We had dinner at the Gingerbread café again. Our regular waitress was there again but in a much better mood than the last couple of nights. Ron had the curry chicken with baked potato and I had the coconut shrimp with rice. Both were very good. The waitress got into talking with us about some of the smuggling drugs and people that goes on in St. Maarten and some of her experiences visiting the US. Traffic, immigrants, trust, and crime all came up in the conversation. Afterwards – back to the suite. Journaling and computing. It’s now time for bed – 10:20pm.

Monday, October 9 (Ron)

We had a very nice moonlight walk on the beach last night and a good night’s sleep. I got up a little after 7am, had some coffee and read out on the balcony. The sound of the waves invigorating me and relaxing me at the same time. It is another beautiful day – the sun warming you and the ocean breeze making sure you don’t get too warm. It is so cool to be sitting there with the sun telling you it’s going to be a beautiful day and the waves inviting you to come on in and cool off. A little after 9am we left the resort and walked into Phillipsburg to do some shopping. It’s not a long walk, maybe a mile into town and another half-mile along Front Street, but by now it was getting warm. That’s OK by me – I didn’t come here for cold weather – but Pat was starting to feel it. Being the savvy shoppers that we are, we stopped at the first shop we came to, ‘cause the air conditioning felt so good. We bought some T-shirts, a beach bag, and a beach towel. The clerk was very nice and helpful. We walked a little farther down Front Street, enjoying the walk. Front Street was just recently completely renovated and it is very nice. Stopped in at another shop and got some postcards, another T-shirt, and a turtle to add to our collection. Finally, near the far end of Front Street, we came to the Guavaberry Emporium. As soon as we walked in a lady asked us if we’d like to try a free sample. Before the sound waves even reached my ears, I replied ‘Sure!’ She gave us each a sample of Guavaberry Colada, then one small sample of the Guavaberry Liqueur straight, and a sample of the Guavaberry Rum straight. All were downed with many thanks and much appreciation. Since we were walking I just got one bottle of the liqueur and some hot sauce. They had a good selection of other flavored rums, which we will purchase when we have a rental car to haul it all in. Shortly after leaving the Guavaberry Emporium we reached the end of the business section so we walked one block over to the boardwalk and headed back, looking for a place to eat lunch. We decided on a nice looking place right on the beach. Actually, they all were, since we were on the boardwalk. Pat had Curry Chicken Salad with Mango dressing and a lemonade. I had a Plantain Canoe and two Carib’s. The Plantain Canoe was pretty good, a plantain cut lengthwise, filled with hamburger and sauce, sprinkled with parmesan cheese. Both meals were very good, very well presented. The total bill was just under $25, a real bargain. After lunch we walked a little farther, down on the beach with the wave keeping our feet wet and our bodies cooled. We reached the end of the beach, so we went up, crossed Front Street to Back Street. Front Street is one-way going away from our resort and Back Street is one way going toward our resort. We stood there on the corner, discussing whether we wanted to start walking until we could flag down a passing taxi, or if we wanted to wait there in the shade until one passed by. Of course we decided to wait in the shade. Within a minute a car stopped and an older gentleman asked if we needed a taxi. We said yes, to the Belair Beach Resort, and asked how much. He replied ‘Eight dollars’ and we said ‘Great’. So he and his wife took us back to the resort. We got back to the resort at 1pm and relaxed for a couple hours before going down to the beach to relax some more. Laying out we got a few sprinkles, but hardly enough to notice. It cleared up and was nice and sunny. Then about 5:00 it started sprinkling again. By 5:01 it was really pouring. I made a run for the covered area by the restaurant. Made it there before getting totally soaked. Sat there for a few minutes and the rain stopped, the sun came out, and it was beautiful again. Read for a little linger then went up to the suite to shower and get ready for the Wine-and-Cheese meet-and-greet. We got cleaned up and went down for the free wine and cheese get-together put on by the resort. Not much wine, not much cheese, but it was fine. Jody, the owner of the convenience store at the resort, took our picture and will give us a print and the negative to make more prints if we want to. I think she did it for us because Pat and I make such a lovely couple. I did notice that she did it for most of the other couples as well. Not sure why, ‘cause they weren’t that great. Oh, well. After the wine and cheese, the restaurant had a Bar-B-Q buffet for $15 per person. We had already gotten our names on that list. There was salad, coleslaw, potato salad, curry rice, chicken, and ribs. It was very good. I went back for seconds on the chicken and the ribs. Then I saw the desert. They had some kind of chocolate bar type of cake thing, a rum cake bar thing, and a fruity cake bar thing. Of course I had to try them all – come on, give me a break, they weren’t that big. The chocolate one was by far the best, it was delicious. We sat at the table for a while and listened to the band (‘cause we were so stuffed we couldn’t get our butts out of the chairs). Around 8pm we made it up to the suite and read for a while before going to bed. Big day tomorrow, a snorkeling excursion. Should be lots of fun.

Sunday, October 8 (Pat) We both had a good night’s sleep. The bed is pretty comfortable for me – a bit soft for Ron. We woke up a little before 8am. Ron got up and I snoozed a bit more. Ti felt good to not have to be anywhere first thing. Got up and joined Ron on our balcony. The morning was beautiful – warm, a few clouds, the sound of the waves. We watched some of the early risers in the water and had breakfast. A bit before 10am we went down to the outdoor patio area to hear Lorna talk about the week’s activities. We decided to sign up for the day snorkel trip on the Garfield. A motorized boat holding 10 people plus the captain. Stops at several places for snorkeling. Last visit we did a snorkel trip too that was fun so this one will go somewhere new. We came back to the suite, changed into our swim suits and went to the beach. We got set up with towels, chairs, and an umbrella. The sun was warm and comfortable. We sat and read for quite a while. It is so peaceful to just bake in the sun, watch the other people, and read a good book. Mid-afternoon Ron went up to get our snorkels and masks. We started out along the rocks in front of the Belair. A few fish but pretty silty from the tide. I suggested we go over to the other side of the bay where there were more rocks and quieter water, so we walked over to the Divi beach. The water was clear and calm. We donned our snorkel gear and swam to the rocks. It was a rock bottom so the visibility was great along the rocks. There were lots of small colorful fish – sergeant fish, damsel fish, yellow stripe, squirrel fish, parrot fish, blue and yellow tangs, needle fish, and others. We cruised along the rocks for about an hour. Some live coral, feather worms, lots of big black spiny urchins and other types too. We are thinking of doing a night snorkel as well. Definitely a fun place to snorkel. We didn’t even get swim fins. Afterwards we came back and had a light lunch at the Gingerbread Café at the Belair. Ron had the chicken cobb salad and I had some fresh fruit and cottage cheese. A little more reading on the beach and before we knew it the sun was down. Soon it was getting darker and harder to read. I also made my first purchase today. Joy, who does hair braiding, etc. came by with these beautiful cloth beach bags. They had side pockets for water, a separate smaller bag for money, a matching hair tie, and a sarong. All for $20! What a deal. I picked out a tangerine/blue print with flowers, sunset, and palm trees. It will be great for the next two weeks and I can see using it at home as well. So at the end of the day we showered, and got cleaned up. I finished my first Reader’s Digest story and Ron entered the journal notes on my laptop. Around 9pm we decided it was time to eat. Back down to the Gingerbread Café. I chose the Penne Primavera and Ron had the Penne Alfredo. Nice tasty pasta meals that filled us up. The moon was out so we walked along the beach to the other side of the bay and back. It is so warm and pleasant in the evening – even the water was warm. Only one other couple was out and about on the beach besides us. Back to the suite – more reading, writing, and living!

Saturday, October 7, 2006 (Ron)

We’re here! It’s warm and beautiful. We left Portland yesterday at 10:45pm, slept most of the way, arrived in Philadelphia around 7am this morning. We had a couple-hour lay-over so we had time for breakfast before boarding. The flight down here was a little bumpy as was the one from Portland to Philadelphia. Arrived in Phillipsburg around 2pm. Got off the plane and it was hot! It felt good after being so cold in Portland and Philly. We walked across the tarmac to Customs. It was very slow, but what the heck, we’re on island time now. We made it thru with no problems. Customs just stamps your passport and sends you on thru. We got checked into the resort without any problems. We unpacked and had a couple of Red Stripe beers while getting things put away. I had e-mailed them ahead of time to have some beers chillin’ in the refrigerator. You may be asking yourself ‘why unpack? Get out on the beach, the sand, the sun, the water!!!’ We had to unpack in order to find shorts and flip-flops. After unpacking & changing into something cooler, we went down to the beach. That’s pretty easy to do ‘cause the resort is right on the beach! I could almost stand on my balcony and spit in the ocean. It is right on the beach – so cool. The sound of the waves rocks you to sleep at night. Anyway, we got down to the beach just in time for Happy Hour, 2-for-1. We each ordered a Guavaberry Colada, so we each got 2. Guavaberry grows only in St. Martin and makes a wonderful liqueur. We each took one of our 2-for-1 drinks and walked along the water to the other end of the bay and back. Sat down outside and finished off the second of the 2-for-1’s while enjoying the ocean, the sand, the sun, everything. By now it’s after sundown, so we came upstairs to the suite and showered. Oh, by the way, the suite has a small kitchen with full-sized refrigerator/freezer, a dining area, and a living room, as well as two bedrooms and two full bathrooms. There is a balcony running the full length of the suite that looks out onto the ocean. So we showered and went down to the restaurant/bar on the property for dinner. Nothing fancy, but again, it is right on the beach. By now we were both pretty tired and didn’t feel like a big dinner, so Pat ordered a house salad and conch soup. I had the salad also and an appetizer of Conch Fritters. I wasn’t really sure what a conch was, just that they came from the sea. Pat said they were kind of like a large sea snail. They were pretty good, as was the salad. After dinner we just came back up to the room. I did the journal while Pat dozed. We are both pretty tired, so it is now bedtime, about 9:30pm local time.