Monday ended up being a nice beach day, and we spent it at Karakter with our friends. Even though it wasn’t brightly sunny all day, it didn’t rain and the wind was mild. David and I had appetizers on the beach; I the cocoanut shrimp, and he the crab cakes. Both were very good. Lunch was also delicious, and the service much better than it had been last week. I had the creole Mahi-Mahi, which was quite tasty, and David had his favorite Indonesian Karakter. We left around 3:30, to change for Elizabeth and David’s going away party at Marty’s Dream Bar. Even though it poured down rain, we still had fun, packing everyone inside the bar.
At the bar, a young lady named Kim, who reads the forum, recommended Bajatzu for dinner, and since others had also recommended we try it, we decided it was a good choice for the night. With the heavy rain threatening to continue, we didn’t want to drive far. Shortly after we were seated, I heard a voice in my ear, and looked up to see Pat’s smiling face peeking out from the booth behind us! What a treat to see them, even though we didn’t get to talk a lot.
For dinner, David chose the duck breast with green peppercorn sauce, and I had the grilled snapper. Each meal came with a nice salad, and one side. I got the mixed vegetables, and David the garlic mashed potatoes, and we shared. Both meals were perfectly prepared and delicious. My fish came with a nice chilled sauce, that included bits of fresh ginger, and David’s peppercorn sauce was very rich. The service is excellent, attentive but not overly so, just as we like. Accompanied by a nice bottle of Medoc, the meal was right at $100, and service did not appear to be added to the check. It was a very enjoyable evening, and the perfect choice for us, as the heavy rain did continue pretty much the entire time we were in the restaurant.
Tuesday we had planned to sail the 12-Metre Regatta with Todd and MJ, but the day turned off very calm, with huge swells….not the best sailing weather….so we cancelled and went to the beach instead. Orient was not too crowded, and Kakao was our destination. Carl was happy to see us since we hadn’t been there “since a week”. I love French translated into English! We took our traditional morning walk, and Todd and MJ joined us later. The beach is pretty much covered with seaweed from the storms, and the water near the shore is definitely not clean. Carl said the truck had come by and cleaned the beach completely, and an hour later it was covered again with seaweed. It’s sad for the cruisers who have never been to Orient, and think that this is what it looks like, because it wasn’t pretty today. Still, Orient on a bad day is better than most beaches, and we had a wonderful time nonetheless.
We reserved a table at 1pm, and my favorite waiter ( I have no idea what his name is, but whenever I’m there, he finds me and serves our table!) was ready for us….and then the electricity went out! No problem, the wine is still chilled, and I guess most everything is cooked with gas. David and I shared a bottle of rose, and Todd and MJ a bottle of burgundy. MJ had a seafood assortment that looked delicious, and Todd, being the meat-eater that he is, had the prime rib. Both declared their meals delicious. David and I each had the shrimp special, which was flambéed in a delicious tarragon butter with assorted vegetables (you know, of course, that I loved the vegetables….). After the meal, our waiter conveniently “lost” the MaDouDou bottle on the table. What a wonderful day of great company, conversation, and food!
After lunch MJ and I walked up to Club O so that I could meet Sugarae. It’s so much fun to meet folks that you interact with online.
The drive back through Grand Case and Marigot was pretty ordinary, and we’re hanging out at LVB tonight…..After such a huge lunch, leftovers seem appropriate for dinner. The weather seems to have moved completely out, and it looks to be a gorgeous sunset.
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