Day 5, vendredi, 8 août (08.08.08!)
<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/tgif.gif" alt="" /> It was a mellow day. Got up early, then Kevin & I went to breakfast at the Sunset. Perfect poached eggs! I was still a bit parboiled so I opted out for sand gravity with an umbrella, while I studied for some classes (that started yesterday!) and everyone else did the kayaked about Petite Plage.
Nibbled on crackers & brie for lunch, then Leslie whipped up a great wheat pasta and marinara with a fruit salad. Then we watched some of the opening ceremonies in Beijing – the birds nest is pretty cool - and played a killer game of cutthroat Uno with the kids (always a source of much entertainment!).

Day 6, samedi, 9 août
Got up early to read and watched some healthy rain showers. As a reward I got a great photo of a double rainbow! We all got moving and took the Matchboxes to Baie Rouge. Traffic, again, was a little stiff. We made it past the Marketplace on Rue de la Mer only to find out that it was blocked down by the cemetery – the road was all torn up. So we back tracked and turned down the next street that goes by the Palais de Justice. Courthouse? It was closed and someone had tagged the front of the building. (Doesn’t that fulfill a definition of irony?). Then an amazing thing occurred that may also explain some of the traffic. Some young men stood in front of the car ahead of us, while their buddy backed out of the nose-in parking at the aforementioned Palais de Justice. They pulled up to the next intersection and stopped. After driving in SXM 3 years, as well as France, Spain, Italy, Germany, and even Morocco, I understand the way it is. Toot your horn as a positive communication, wave someone to turn in front of you, then watch as 2 or 3 keep coming til you inch forward to stem the tide. I get it. They are charming, quirky traffic rules. These guys just stopped for 10 minutes, waving every car ahead of them, until they thought the Simpson Bay Bridge was going up (which it didn’t) until the guy behind them laid on his horn. Now, it could be just more quirkiness. Or it could have been something orchestrated. I don’t know, just an observation (or possibly another thread).
But I digress. Back to happy. So I pedaled my beige Matchbox as fast as I could across the bridge (noting the construction that closed the aforementioned Rue route), and saw Rich pedaling his red one just as fast. Then, on my side of the road was an amazing, juicy sight: barbeque. Chicken and ribs. I idled past thinking about getting some, but moved ahead. Then I checked the rearview mirror. Leslie – a vegetarian-near-vegan – had rolled her window down and was trying to snort a rack into the car. Rich was laughing, we were rolling. What discipline. Just another beautiful personality of the Island!
I always miss the turn at Baie Rouge so I did the turn around, pulled in found ample parking and we trotted down to the beach. I knew we weren’t staying too long, so we politely declined chairs & umbrellas, went down a little bit and jumped in. As always, it was a beautiful beach on a beautiful day. Then Leslie drifted down further towards the end to do a little C/O. So Rich walked down out of documentary camera range and in a blinding flash (sure to be noticed on Google Earth) went C/O and ran diving into the surf. Great moment for them, as they thoroughly embraced the spirit of St Martin! When they returned smiling we walked up to Chez Raymond where the kids had some serious hot dogs and fries. We held back, for a late lunch. So, back into our Matchboxes for a nice leisurely drive through Terra Basses.
At the sign for Baie Lounge we turned right, drove past La Samanna (Yo! Big!) until we found the public access sign to the beach. With some people parked there we remembered the mantra – remove all personal effects – and walked down to the beach. Stunning. Long – as the name implies – completely uncrowded, and a healthy dose of surf that day. We walked back toward La Samanna and found a stretch with fewer rocks (couldn’t remember anyone talking anemones) and had great fun with some easy body surfing. Everyone worked up an appetite. So, we walked back, and drove into town. I can’t help but wonder what people are thinking building more things like Blue Mall as I drive by the Mullet Bay debacle. It would go a long way towards consumer confidence and discouraging ne’er-do-wells lurking there if someone could come in and do-over. Just MHO.
Traffic to Maho Beach was stopped, so we couldn’t check out the Sunset Beach Bar situation nor watch planes. So we kept going until we reached Pineapple Pete’s – the final resting place of many a generous lobster. We pulled in an noticed an interesting thing. The gravel on the side of the road for parking had been replaced by pieces of smoothed glass. What a great recycling idea: “Green” gravel. At PP’s we ordered a round of Rum Jumbie Colada’s (yes Jon C., Rum Jumbie is our friend!). Rich & I had Lobster Thermador, Tammy Prawns in a coconut sauce, Leslie Pineapple Chicken Caesar Salad (chicken on the side), and the kids simple chicken strips. We also had Chicken Sate and the Seafood Consuelo (which was mostly good calamari) for appetizers. All yummy, and top notch, friendly service. We pried ourselves back into the Matchboxes and drove back to GCBC. As we were full, we skipped food and filled all the corners in with Rum Punch at Happy Hour. Lots of corners. Lots of Rum Punch. Two old submariners telling sea stories, then staggering back trying to remember a shanty song. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" /> More tomorrow…

Day 3 & 4: http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/s...ge=2#Post883564