SXM Trip Report Day 5

Got up about 7AM and made it to the dock to catch the Rapid Explorer for the day trip to St. Barts about 8:15. The departure time was to be 9:00, so we killed time walking around the area, taking pictures of Phillipsburg. The trip cost right at $100 apiece, round trip. I had really debated about the best way to get to St. Barts - I had read inTTOL that some people got seasick no matter what type of vessel they took on the water. I had also read that the plane ride over was an adventure in itself. I decided on the Rapid Explorer due to price ( cheaper than flying ), and convenience. I figured the trip only took 40 minutes, so even if we got seasick, it wouldn't be for very long. But I really didn't think it would be a concern.

The Explorer pulled into port after making it's 7AM run to and from St. Barts, and we boarded after our passports were checked. The seating was kind of like airline seating, but a little more spacious. We grabbed window seats on the right side of the ship. The Rapid Explorer is advertised as a high-speed, high-tech luxury ride, and the vessel is quite impressive. One of the deckmates came around offering drinks as we slipped out of port. We travelled slowly past a large cruiseship, and once out of the harbour, the Explorer revved it up, and we were off! The ship sliced through the water with ease, spewing large rooster tails off of both bows as it bounced through the sea. The bottom of the windows are right at eye level as you sit, so you really can't see too well unless you are taller. Some passengers stood so as to see better.

The ride was pretty cool at first, and the bouncing of the ship wasn't that bad, although there was the occasional big dip that felt like a roller coaster ride. After a while, it was kind of boring, the 40 minutes ticking away slowly. About 30 minutes into the ride I saw some passengers were not doing too well, and soon, Lynn was one of them. The deckmate suggested sipping Ginger Ale very slowly, just a little bit at a time to combat the seasick feeling. She did OK the rest of the way, but she was glad to get to Gustavia.

We left the air conditioned cabin of the Explorer and ventured into the heat and beauty of Gustavia, St. Barts. The harbour is something out of a fairly tale, absolutely beautiful, a long, u-shaped port surrounded by hills and mountains dotted with red-roofed buildings. Red blooming flamboyant trees contrasted against the greenery. The harbour is immaculate, clean, and ringed with upscale shops, decorative lightposts, and alfresco resturants. There were many sailing vessels anchored as well as some large yachts and one mega-yacht, the biggest one I've ever seen. A group of people walked right in front of us onto the ship, smiling and taking the time to greet us - ( take us with you!), I thought. We walked along the docks all the way to the curve in the "u" of the harbour, taking pictures along the way. Then we doubled back to a small resturant across the street, open to and facing the harbour, La Cantina. We had a cup of coffee, enjoyed the view and pondered our next move.

We saw alot of people buzzing around on scooters, and I thought it would be a pretty neat way to see the island, so I suggested it to Lynn. To my utter amazement, she said, "sure". So we went down to an area where we had seen rental businesses and asked someone exactly where do we go and who do we see to rent scooters. The man pointed to a small shop that turned out to be a sort of pet store, with fish and pet supplies. After waiting a while, a French lady came in to help us - I asked her the price for a scooter rental, and she said $75 apiece for the day. Lynn had assumed I meant to rent only one scooter and that she would ride on the back. I thought it seemed pretty out of character for her to agree to ride around on a scooter.......:>) The lady said we could rent a mini-jeep for $50 for the day. Humm........air conditioned, room for storage........yeah, we went with the Isuzu Jimmy.

From there, I started looking for a way to the tops of the hills overlooking Gustavia. The streets on St. Barts are very narrow, two cars can pass anywhere, but barely in many places. The roads are mostly concrete and at some intersections there are mirrors so you can see what's coming from the sides. We went to the opposite side of the bay from where we landed, and travelled up the hills, looking for a photo op. Coudn't get a clear shot of the bay, but got to drive through an area of residences to die for. We stumbled onto a stairway up a hill, with a parking area and, of all things, a basketball court. We parked there and went to the end of the land there and came upon an incredible view in both directions - to the left, a rocky cliff with blue waves crashing on it, and to the right, off the shore, a couple of rocky islands looking towards St. Maarten, with what appeared to be a yacht race through the rocky isles, as they were straight line to a point, and then reversed their course, about 9 boats. AWESOME!

At the entrance to this area, there is a rough stairway up the hill leading to the top of the hill over Gustavia. Of course, you don't know that until you make the climb, but these are the opportunities I look for - sometimes these things pan out in an awesome way, and sometimes you get disappointed. In this case, we hit the jackpot. I scurried to the top, while Lynn took her time - if it was a bust, I would go back and tell her to turn around, but this was so promising that I was sure something good was ahead. Lo and behold, the vista from the top of this climb was the best of the trip! The top of the hill was well visited, a evidenced by 3 fire rings on the top. The view to the left looked straight down on Shell Beach, and if I've said an "absolutely incredible sight " before, please forgive me, but words cannot describe the beauty of this island. Walking along the top of the hill, we gazed over the clear blue sea to the west and continued to explore the top of this hill. Walking back to the north, I climbed a few boulders to get a panoramic view of Gustavia bay. I was surrounded by greenery, including cactus and startled lizards. The view down towards Gustavia was breathtaking, as was every view from the top of this hill.

We eventually climbed down the hill, back to the jeep, and headed to St. Jean's Bay, where I had seen an internet site for Eden Rock. The pictures on the net were very enticing, and I very much wanted to either eat lunch there, or just enjoy a happy hour there. We followed the signs to St. Jean bay, climbing up the hills overlooking Gustavia harbour, past private residences that are the epitome of living the good life. The road was narrow, and between catching glimpses of the scenery and dodging the daredevil drivers on the island, I had Lynn on edge. We stopped along the way for photo ops of Gustavia before continuing to a little "T" intersection that was the turnoff to St. Jean's Bay. At the bottom of the hill, we ran straight into the Eden Rock complex. We parked there, about 11:00 and walked to the restaurant. The "Rock" itself, a restaurant on top of a peninsula that divides St. Jean Bay, didn't open until 7PM...........bummer! The restaurant at the base of the Rock didn't open until 12, so we walked the area and the beach to the right. There is a club next door to Eden Rock, Club Nikki, I think, that seemed quite the party place, with an open facing towards the beach, music and topless beach revelers to rival any I saw during our stay. We walked the beach past Club Nikki, all the way to the end. From there, you could see the airport runway, and it was cool to watch the takeoffs and landings from afar. White residences with red roofs dotted the mountains surrounding St. Jean's Bay, some with elaborate patios accented with beautiful flora. The electric blue water supported many anchored sailboats, with rocky uninhabited islands in the background. Eden indeed........

We had lunch at the open air resturant to the left of the base of Eden Rock, looking out over the sun worshippers on the beach and the bay. We ordered sparkling water and a couple of Caribs - soon, a splash and dash cloudburst came down, causing the staff to scurry to roll down the plastic rain windows and the beachgoers to scamper inside the resturant. Almost as soon as it hit, it was over and the sun came out again. Lynn ordered Veal Scallopini with sage and lime on a bed of pasta with zucchini, carrots and tiny beans on the bottom. I had lobster pasta, served in a bowl with a light red sauce. The meal was very good, Lynn especially enjoyed the poppyseed bread. With 2 more Caribs our tab came out to 85E or $112. It was a good meal, but it wasn't a $100 meal........but everything is expensive in St. Barts.

We inquired about the beach chairs and umbrellas in front of the resturant, thinking that maybe since we ate lunch there, they would be complimentary - wishful thinking, each chair was 15E plus the umbrella. We weren't going to be there long, so we passed on that and went back to the beach we walked earlier, laid our towels on the sand and soaked up the sun. I took a few swims on my back almost all the way out to the anchored boats, which revealed more and more of the mountainsides surrounding the bay, a stunning view..All too soon, 3:00 rolled around, and we fought the sand gravity of this beach paradise to pick up and head to Shell Beach and Do Brazil.

We had seen Shell Beach from the top of the hill overlooking Gustavia earlier, not knowing it was Shell Beach. It is tucked away behind the back of the "u" of the harbour.We parked close by and walked down a short street that opened up to the beach. Do Brazil, which I had read about through links from TTOL, is a little corner of paradise surrounded by cliffs, situated under palm trees. There are a variety of seating options, barstools, small tables for 2, benches, but very small and eclectic. There is a dance floor upstairs that operates at night, some sculptury, and even a bed on the beach. There was funky French reggae music, along with other French dance music, and we just kicked back and let the rum punches flow. The bartender there was very friendly, and I dusted off my rudimentary French to converse with him, which he seemed to appreciate. After 31 years, I finally got to use a little high school French. I think he got a kick out of the fact that I made an effort to speak the language. If you ever make it to Do Brazil, I hope you get Dominique for your bartender, he made us feel very welcome.

All good things must come to an end, and it was time to head back to the dock for the return trip. We returned the jeep, and walked down the main street on the harbour of Gustavia, and arrived a little early. We went into another alfresco resturant across from the departure sight to spend some time before the Explorer arrived. We had a leisurely drink, talked about the day, and looked at pictures on the digital camera.

The trip back was easier on the passengers, I didn't notice anyone getting queasy. It seemed to take longer to get back. It was a full day, maybe the best of the trip........we headed back to the Flamingo where Lynn crashed, and I took in some of Game 1 of the NBA Championships. Went to bed with no real plans for the next day.