Day 4 (Monday)

Had a great wreck dive off the point near Little Bay. I believe this is the MV Commerce freighter sunk about 25 years ago to provide an artificial reef. The wreck is covered with coral formations and a multitude of crustaceans and fish. I got some great shots of trunk fish and coral using my new camera setup. The wreck runs from 40-80ft deep.

Once back on the boat, we set sail for Sandy Island. Not too much snorkeling, mostly exploring the tiny island, sitting in the sun, and having a cold rum drink from the small bar on the island. Finally set sail to Maundry Bay, home of the beautiful & opulent $1000 a night Cap Jaluca resort. Anchored about 100 ft offshore, we enjoyed the sunset (and CDS).

Day 5 (Tuesday)

Woke up and had a nice swim over to the beach. We walked up and down the beach and didn't see any celebrities. very cool to see horseback riding on the beach. Ahh... the good life.

Our next stop was to Anse Marcel to resupply. For anyone who has sailed into the harbor there, the channel is insanely narrow. The Marina is definitely rebuilding, with the Radisson resort being rebuilt. There is a ton of construction, to bring the hotels there back. I assume they were damaged in a recent hurricane. It is here I met my true love of this trip, Ma Dou Dou Vanilla. Beach is very nice, calmest water we saw all week.

Set sail for Creole Rock. After anchoring, the local dive operator picked Paulaner Girl and I up and took us for a shallow dive at Creole Rock. It was a fantastic dive, as we worked our way half way around the rock. Highlights were the moray eels, and the spotted Peacock Flounder. Because we didn’t dive so deep, we stayed down about 52 minutes. Amazing! Water temp was 79 degrees…

Sailed into Grand Case. Lucky for us that Tuesdays are Harmony Nights and the place was hoppin! Wall to wall people. Bought more Ma Dou Dou. We had a table for the whole boat at Calmos Cafe. When we got there, there was a table next to the bar reserved for us. Of course, we convinced them to move us outside, only to find out later our captain has requested inside due to the impending rain… the staff went out of their way to fix us up with umbrellas. The Captain is always right. My starter was a plate full of anchovies. They were excellent. We then had some of the best ribs! Wow! Nice and juicy. Paulaner Girl had grilled shrimp. She gave it a big thumbs up!

Night cap at Blue Martini. Great band, but the soft p*rn on the TV behind the bar was a little too intense, IMHO, as they had a number of families there, including a little girls birthday.

Day 6 (Wednesday)

Our plan was to sail for Tintimarre, but losing 3 engines (2 on the boat and one in the dingy) curtailed this plan. Plan B was to sail back to Creole Rock and hang out for the day. The mechanic arrived and got one engine running. Jeff and I spent the day ferrying folks back and forth in the boat using our kayak, as well as climbing around the rocks. Paulaner Girl and Judee snorkeled all the way around the rock! Captain of the glass bottomed boat full of cruise passengers yelled at Judee to get out of the way! The top of the rock is a great spot to sit and watch the many boats in and out of the marine sanctuary. Spent the night at Anse Marcel.

Day 7 (Thursday)

Early morning saw remaining engines fixed up and ready to go. Tradewinds treated us to a trip to the Butterfly Farm while the crew took the engines on some sea trials. We stopped at Orient on the way, and Paulaner Girl and I had our photo taken at the famous OBBC sign. The Butterfly farm was really great. The owner, William Slayter, gave us a personal tour. He is a real character, his 30 minute monologue was hysterical, if you like British humour. But he has a purpose to his vocation, and is incredibly knowledgeable on the subject. I was amazed at how many butterflies there were.

By the time we got back to the boat, they were ready to have lunch and head off to Tintimarre. It was a crackin’ (good) sail. We got to the Island in mid-late afternoon and enjoyed a Noodle bar. Basically floating around the boat on noodles, drinking frozen drinks and trying to keep from drifting away. We also killed off another bottle of Ma Dou Dou. Without much light pollution, the stars out there were just phenomenal. You can see the Milky Way and thousands of stars.

Day 8 (Friday)

We started the day with a mud bath and ceremony on the beach. First we hauled a bucket of dust scraped from a pit just inland from the beach down to the water. We took turns mixing water in to make mud, then spread it all over ourselves. Once fully covered with mud, roll in sand and let it dry. We then spend the next hour rinsing, swimming, and discovering new places sand can get. 

Jeff and I then set off on a hike into the interior of Tinitmarre. There are no paths, but we persevered, disregarding the signs warning about the insidious bush which spews Sulphuric Acid. There are a curious number of foundations, walls, and pens still on the islands. In fact one building appears to have a recent (last 15 years or so) roof and gutters. Most unusual were the large radial aircraft engines about ¼ mile from the beach. After looking around a little, we correctly deduced that this used to be an airport. In fact we found the wreckage of a small plane at the end of the “runway”, it wasn’t until I got back home that I discovered that this was a central hub for an early airline serving all the local islands. We walked about half way round the island and headed back to the beach.

Finally, we boarded the boat for our last major sail of our trip.  It was a smooth downwind sail to Marigot harbor, through the French bridge (very close tolerance) then Marina Royale. We managed to dock overnight, so it was easy to hop on and off the boat.

We had a table reserved at La Belle Epoch. I had the escargot for appetizer. I love escargot and never met a snail I didn’t like. For entre I had the mussels in crème sauce. While good, they were a little more “fishy” than I like. Dinner for 2 was $125. We finished the night with the crew at the Bali Bar. It was a great place for us, as they have semi-private couch areas where we could get all 10 of us together to celebrate the week. The bartender does a great fire show, setting half the bar on fire with flames from his mouth.

Day 9 (Saturday)

Up early, ate, packed, stowed the bags, and headed off to the Marigot Saturday Market. Loads of crafts, hot spices, spices, shirts, trinkets, art, fish, and trash. We were definitely there too late for the best fish, but enjoyed walking around and gawking. Headed back to the boat dock and stopped for pan au chocolate and coffee. We also walked around the Marigot cemetery right by Marina Royale. Definitely needs a cleanup for sure, but interesting headstones and history.

Caught a cab to the Pasangrahan Royal Guest House. We had rooms 16 and 22. Both were clean and decorated with nice art and Indian linens and drapes. 16 was a little nicer right on the beach, while 22 had a balcony with a view of Great Bay. This is a very charming property. Unfortunately the bar and restaurant was closed on Saturday (supposedly so the kitchen can be cleaned).

I was struck by the difference in Philipsburg and the Marigot. Front Street in P’burg reminded me of so many of the cruise ports in the world. Same stores, jewelry, designer clothes, t-shirts, Cuban Cigars, liquor, and Americanized restaurants and bars. Just like Cozumel and Charlotte Amalie. Nevertheless, I had a great Cuban Pulled Pork sandwich at Tequila Mangos on the boardwalk, and of course, beer.

Upon recommendation from TTOL, we went to Chesterfields for dinner. Due to construction just past the water Taxi pavilion, we had to walk out to the sidewalk/road and up to the restaurant. It will be nice once the boardwalk is completed all the way to the cruise dock. Of course we had to stop at The Green House as it was 2 for 1 cocktails. I’ll give their Mojitos an good grade of A-.

At Chesterfield’s Paulaner Girl, Judee, and I had the grilled lobster. I am not normally a fan of spiny lobster, but this was juicy and delicious. It really filled us up. These were huge. Our dinner for 2, with drinks & dessert, ran us about $175.

Due to being completely stuffed with food and drink, heading over to the Carnival Village for the reggae concert was out of reach. We did, however, manage to crash a private party at a local bar for the Special Olympics. It took them a while to realize we were not part of the party. Of course, it was a shock to us when the waitress came over and said we could sit, enjoy the music, and finish our drinks, but then we had to leave. We then we realized…. Finished with a nightcap at The Holland House. For the first time since we got on the island, we heard someone speak Dutch.

Day 10 (Sunday)

Had breakfast at The Pasanggrahan. Paulaner Girl and I both had the poached eggs on hash with potatoes. To quote our companions…”the pancakes were the best I have ever had”. Highly recommended.

We then went shopping, scavenging for last minute gifts. I bought some Absinthe, the nice Indian shopkeeper (himself an expert in US law) assured me it was legal to take into the US. We had to leave for the airport early, as the first parade of Carnival was at 2. Got to see the infamous Heineken Airplane Bar and the salt pond. Check in was flawless and after being assured we could get food inside of security, headed to the gate. It wasn’t until we got through security that we discovered food choices to be limited inside of security, with no sit down service. Had a cheeseburger at a snack bar. Picked up some more Ma Dou Dou (only $12 a bottle) to drink at home.

Flights on Delta, with connection through Atlanta was slightly delayed, but we arrive in San Diego at 11:45pm.

Summary

We had a great time on our trip. St. Martin is a fantastic destination. TTOL really helped us know the universe of things to do, so when it came time to “do” something on the island, there was minimal thrashing on “what”. I feel like we only scratched the surface of the things to see or do. The food, the people, the beaches, and the list goes on. Look forward to our next visit!