This was our highly anticipated, first trip to St. Martin. Our trip included one night in Grand Case, 7 days on a catamaran sailing around the island, and a final day in Philipsburg. Most meals were on the boat, and the first mate continued to amaze us with what she was able to prepare on board!

Day 1 (Friday).

Arrived in SXM (my wife, Paulaner Girl, and her sister and hubby) on time from Atlanta on Delta. Unfortunately they had lost one of our parties’ bags enroute (blame TSA). Nevertheless, our driver from St. Martin Blue Concierge service was there and kindly waited for us to get the logistics down correctly. We then picked up a phone chip from Sharon (queenofsxm). In the ride to Grand Case, I managed to get my phone up and running with data access (thanks Sharon!)..

We shared a large oceanfront suite (700 bldg) at the Grand Case Beach Club. The folks there were very friendly and our room was great. Fantastic view, a lot of room, and nicely appointed, 2 balconies, kitchen, living room, and 2 bedrooms. They gave us 2 bottles of wine upon arrival and we managed to make them disappear in no time. 

The walk to the Grand Case had a number of security guards along the way. We felt very safe. If I was running the hotel I might consider a small golf cart running back and forth.

For dinner, we had a table at Le Ti Provencal reserved and were seated immediately. This is a charming restaurant, the wait staff was very accommodating, and I got the sense they really wanted us to have an enjoyable dinner.

At Le Ti, we had a superb meal. For dinner, I had a combo Trigger Fish and Trunk fish entree. I had never had either, and this was great experience. The blend of herbs & fish, served with rice and grilled vegetables was perfect. Combined with a nice crisp Chardonnay, my wife had the Wild Shrimp. Even though the dish only contained 2 shrimp, my wife could barely finish her entrée, they were huge! Dessert was another treat, I had the lemon tart, and Paulaner Girl had the chocolate dish. Total bill was about $200 before tip (about a 1.4:1).

Afterwards we went to Zen It and listened to the band and had a few beers. The band was unusually good, being the only bar band I have ever seen attempt to cover Prince, and do it successfully. The walk back to the hotel was a little scary, but OK.

Day 2 (Saturday).

We went to Marigot and checked into the boat at the Tradewinds Crusie Club office in Marina Royale. We had lunch at The Village. I had the escargot pizza, and others had Lobster Pizza, 4 cheese, and the lobster entrée. I also tried the Pomme Frites. All were pretty good, but the Pizzas were definitely big for a personal serving.

We went exploring and Jeff and I climbed up to Fort St. Louis and uncovered the Geocache up there. Great view of the harbor. Quick drinks at the bar at La Belle Epoch. Decided that Presidente was better than Carib.

At 5 we boarded the boat and sailed into Simpson Lagoon for cocktails, dinner, and sleep (CDS)!

Day 3 (Sunday)

We sailed to Prickley Pear off the coast of Anguilla. Some pretty good snorkeling and beach was very nice. There were a good number of boats anchored there but not too crowded.

We then sailed to Little Bay on Anguilla, which is a wildlife sanctuary. The cliffs house a lot of birds, and the bay has lots of turtles. Nightfall saw us going to nearby Crocus Bay for CDS (sensing a pattern?).