We had originally planned to do the zip lines at Loterie Farm, but I felt like we had been so busy rushing to different places at different times, so we decided to have a leisurely day with a loose itinerary. 2 coffees from Toppers, a banana, and we were off for Marigot.

In Marigot, we parked at the far end of the sand parking lot along the bay. The weather was overcast and hot, looked like it might rain. Walked through the Market Place, very colorful a sensory overload. Checked out a lot of different booths with a plethera of goods for sale. We saw a few things that we wanted but we decided to come back after lunch so we wouldn't have to carry things around. Met a merry Frenchman selling spiced rhum and had a couple of shots.

It was still too early for lunch, so we went to Ft. Louis. The sun came out and we tried to walk in the shade wherever possible. I couldn't remember how to get to the place we parked the last time we were there when I climbed the hill the 1st time 6 years ago. Lynn didn't climb with me that time and I wanted to make sure she got to see the view. We walked around the corner from the Mall of the West Indies and figured out we were going the wrong way. I asked an Indian gentleman waking the opposite direction if he knew the way to the Fort and he said "Follow me!" We talked as we walked, he was from Mumbai and his brothers had relocated to St. Martin previously and he had moved here to start a business with them. He showed up a stairway right in the middle of Marigot, we thanked him and started up.

The stairway elevated through some private residences and ended up at the parking area we were at the last time we were there. It was hot and a pretty strenuous climb but once we got to the top the wind was blowing hard and made it comfortable despite the heat. Incredible views from the top of Ft. Louis, we took tons of pictures and spent about an hour there, thoroughly exploring all the ruins. A really cool place, I'm very glad Lynn was there with me this time.

Once we got back to the bottom of the hill, we were plenty hot and ducked into the Mall for some water and AC. Stayed there until we stopped sweating and then went to eat lunch at the new restaurant catty corner from La Vie en Rose, sorry I didn't get the name. It is freshly painted and smartly decorated , very colorful with a little garden in the back and a view of the busyness of Marigot's traffic and the bay. The food was great, I had the grilled Mahi Mahi and Lynn had Chicken Tenderloin stuffed with shrimp in white wine sauce, very good! 44 euro, $60 with Pelligrino and tip. Very friendly owner and staff, I'll try to get the name and post later.

Walked back to the Market Place and purchased a St. Maarten license plate for $8, a manatee carved out of a Tagula nut, sun dried rock hard for 5 months, looks like ivory, $22. My daughter's band does a song about manatees, and it seemed a perfect little gift. Lynn got a dress I picked out, a beautiful white dress with blue and red flowers and a tube top, very sexy! There were some things we passed on as they would've had to have been shipped, such as some beautifully painted iron works.

We left Marigot and headed to La Samana, hoping to have a couple of drinks at the bar and to just check out the place. We got to the security stand and asked if we could come in to do just that.........they made a call, and said yes and gave us directions on where to park. The grounds are immaculate, and we found our way to the bar next to the al fresco restaurant and paradise on earth once again. The view is set about 50 feet over the shore, with the restaurant to the right, flat screen TV at the bar, high stools overlooking an area just below with 2 love seats perpendicular to a long sofa under a vaulted ceiling with a coffee table in between. The views were fabulous in more ways than one! There has been some really good work going on out there in the world of self improvement....;>)

We initially had a 15 euro drink apiece, Lynn had a Caribbean Village, rhum, tequila, and gin, I had a Pain Killer, 151 rhum and others. We milked those drinks, soaking in the sweet atmosphere and general laziness of the afternoon. There were some guests sitting below us in the love seats and sofa, but after they left we moved down to sit in luxury without a care in the world, permiated by beauty and satiated to the soul. Could've been the alchohol.

Eventually, we went into the main bar and ordered another round. We sat by the pool for a while, then walked around the front and down to the beach. I walked to the left end of the beach and took pictures of the caves there. After a very relaxing and rewarding afternoon at La Sammana, we headed home.

Once there, we had brats for dinner. I went to the litttle bar at the curve close to Billy Folly with the balcony going towards Phillipsburg. It always had intriged me, thinking it was a local bar, maybe not very friendly, but it turned out to be a really cool place, right on the road and very polished, unlike anything I had envisioned. Great Day!