SXM Trip, Part 5-2 (February 21-28, 2015)

Let me tell ya, it felt great to escape the crazy traffic in town! Our morning circumnavigation of the island was fun and interesting, but we really needed some beach time. Unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you look at it, we had to drive back to our villa to pick up our beach stuff. Unfortunate perhaps because we more than likely would have chosen to camp out at Le Galion and skip Le Traffic, on the other hand we were fortunate to find Friar's Beach and all it has to offer. Funny thing, as we approached the long hill about a mile before the turn off to Friar’s we were greeted by construction traffic, dead stop…uggh! We were still entertained though, we watched a crazy bus full of dozens of cruisers at an overlook running around with those extendable cell phone selfie sticks, had there been a cliff there half of these folks would have blindly fallen over it!

Another fascinating thing to watch were the many aspiring Evel Knievel’s who attempt to dazzle the public with their overconfident self-indulgent “riding skills”. These free spirits straddle their less than well tuned 2 cycle noise makers and with nerves of steel navigate the tight traffic, occasionally using sidewalks with little regard for safety. Actually, I did see many “riders” who respected the power of these awesome smoke making machines by wearing a helmet, unfortunately the helmets available on island must be defective because they were always sitting on top of the head and not around it? I will give one gifted Evel Knievel wannabe the recognition he deserves, this smiling guy rode a wheelie from the bottom of the hill at the Friar’s turn all the way up that steep long hill towards the blind selfie stick people! Some of you are probably wondering why I would say he deserves recognition? Well, he was actually maintaining the speed limit and stayed between the lines!!!!

Ok, we finally made it to the bottom of the hill and escaped the traffic by turning hard left at the small sign clearly marking the way to Friar’s Beach. The drive in was smooth sailing, just after passing The Gut Restaurant/Bar we turned right crossing over a small one lane bridge and stayed on the main drag until we saw the entrance to Friar’s. The road into the parking lot is a tad bumpy, but from our experience we usually enjoy places with non-paved roads! From the big parking lot we could see the inviting turquoise waters and bright colors of Kali’s Beach Bar/Grill, fun.






We walked through Kali's and out onto the soft sand of this fairly wide beach. The crystal clear water of the bay was calm this day. Kali’s offered chairs, umbrella’s, had a little Reggae playing in its cool beach bar, but keeping with our routine we walked the length of beach to decide where we would stake our claim. There was only one other place along this beach called Friars Bay Beach Café. FBBC was very nice, but it had a few more people and we like Reggae, so once again we would walk all the way back from where we started, Kali’s!






A really nice waiter named Nicholas helped us with our chairs on Kali’s beach, he set us up just steps from the water. Come to find out we actually couldn’t hear the Reggae from the beach bar, oh well the view was awesome and we welcomed the peace and quiet! My wife really liked the calmness of the water here and we really liked the Presidente's that Nicholas brought us!






On this day the beach had a very family friendly feel to it, many children were having fun, nice. We enjoyed watching people try to gracefully cross a small band of smooth rocks that were just under the water's surface, I would simply roll into the water and float over them to my wife's amusement, her feet are tougher than mine!. It really is a beautiful bay and I'd recommend a float if you like just chill'in in the warm water.






My wife had brought her snorkel gear so later she decided to swim the far right side of the bay to see what she would see. We told Nicholas that we would be back after a swim and he put our beers back in the fridge, nice! We strolled past Friar's Bay Beach Cafe and my wife entered the water. I remained behind and moved into the shaded porch of FBBC and acquired a table with an awesome view. After about an hour my wife would exit the water with a big smile on her face. She said there's not much to see, but she really enjoys snorkeling. We decided to enjoy the view from the table and ordered a snack. I think we had some sort of fish kabobs, tasty!







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We returned to the comfort of our water front loungers and continued soaking up the rays. Nicholas quickly returned with our ice cold Presidente's, nice. I mentioned before that we don't frequent beaches with this kind of service, we could sure get used to this! We spent the next couple hours doing absolutely nothing but relaxing.

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It was late in the afternoon so we packed up and bid farewell to Friar's and Nicholas. We had noticed The Gut restaurant/bar on the way in and as we slowly approached it on our way out we decided to park on the edge of the road to check it out.

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It looked open, but there was nobody around? we snooped around this funky island hideaway until we heard someone say HELLO! This would be the owner Richard, great guy! He said he was napping and thought he heard someone, note to others...if you think he's closed just make a little racket! Richard asked if we were hungry and we said no we're just stopping in for a drink. He's an entertaining man, retired from the school system, self proclaimed bush doctor and full of local knowledge. He showed us his medicinal rums infused with herbs and various things, one in particular he said was infused with turtle wood, I said I hadn't heard of that tree, Richard and my wife laughed at me...turtle WOOD! geesh no thanks! Another couple couldn't resist stopping in this hidden gem and they were wonderful to talk with also, hello if you're reading! We talked and talked and the time got away from us, as is common when you meet new interesting people. It was getting late so we decided to eat dinner at The Gut. We decided on the Snapper special, even though the Iguana sounded interesting??? During our conversations Richard learned that I enjoyed cooking as well and invited me into his kitchen, awesome! It's a small tidy kitchen and he obviously takes pride in it. I watched him skillfully prepare and plate everything from simple french fries to fried snapper with plantains to spicy gourmet chicken wings. This was truly a highlight of the trip for me.

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As we finished our lengthy delightful dinner a nice local couple arrived from the Dutch side. They said The Gut is one of their favorite restaurants to get away to. They also mentioned they were moving back to the Netherlands soon and would enjoy returning to St Martin as tourists some day. OK, it was getting late for us and we had a fantastic time with everybody at The Gut, but it was getting past our bedtime!!

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To be continued...<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for the report and pics.

SXM??? Wendell

Great report, thanks for sharing.

So glad you discovered Friars Bay - it's long been one of our island favorites and the food at FBBC has always been delicious if a bit on the pricey side. We've never eaten at Kali's but I've heard it's equally good but a little more beachy island style in its offerings.

But Gutside - this truly is an island gem IMHO. Richard's loves seem to be equally divided between his cooking prowess which he told us he got from his Mama and his Nana, and his building abilities and particularly those he's used in building his Gutside Restaurant which always seems to be a work in progress, and he does an awesome job with both. And Lourdes, his wife, usually hovers unobtrusively somewhere in the background, or at least she did on the two visits we've made.

We went with a good sized group one evening and he regaled us with amusing banter, or at least, I thought it was, and on the only other occasion we were there it was a time of quiet island chatter which I thoroughly enjoyed. So very glad you had the occasion to experience a little island time with him. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Richard said he was familiar with TTOL! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" /> Great place for a party!

Beerman--thanks so much for the daily dose of beautiful pictures! I thought that Kali's had changed names, but I guess they changed back to Kali's. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" />

Love reading all your reports. We go every year and have never been to half of the places, you write about! All of them are so interesting. Thank you for all your posts and spectacular pictures!

We went to Friar's a few years ago, but decided FBBC was too pricey so we didn't stay. Is Kali's a little more reasonable? Cash only? Would love to try Friar's again, and also Gut Side this year! (how far from the beach is it?)

Only drawbacks to Friar's is every time we have been there there were always little rocks in the sand that were very uncomfortable when stepped on not to mention the smell that occasionally comes from the pond in back.

Love your reports, thanks! Do you know the hours and days open for Gutside. Have only been by there during the daytime when it always seems to be closed.

As soon as Photobucket completes my resizing I have a couple more photos..........

First, I must apologize to Richard, I kept calling his restaurant The Gut, it's Gut Side! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

I took a photo of his sign and it shows 00am to 00pm for hours and closed on Sundays, I would walk in and make some noise! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Friar's Bay Beach Café was pricey, we paid 22 euro for mahi kabobs with ratatouille, rice pilaf and salad, we shared that as a snack! Hamburgers, Club sandwich with fries and salad there are 14.50 euro.

I can't remember pricing at Kali's, but it was less formal and the grill smells awesome!

Yep, there are rocks on the beach, you can see them in my photos.


<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />

While I'm not sure about Kali's chair rentals, I know the menu prices at Friars Bay Beach Cafe include free chair and umbrella usage. The only 'on the beach expense' at FBBC was if you wanted the thicker chair cushions and that was minimal - three or four dollars perhaps as of Dec. past? Our thought on FBBC is the food is so good, it's not much of a big deal to us to pay the menu prices and still be happy. What I found particularly expensive there was their frozen drink menu - a lot of money for a paper umbrella, IMHO!! But we only go round once, right? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />

Next trip, however, I am determined to try Kalis at least once based on so many good comments, particularly your grill aromas comment, Beerman.

Can't wait for the remainder of your photos to post. I love to write and usually do trip reports but the addition of photos just makes the story complete. Sadly, I have no clue or inclination to do this since I write daily while there and our internet is questionable at best where we stay. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Loved this report! Gutside is a special place and Richard and Lourdes, the owners, are truly interesting people. Richard will cook to order and everything is fantastic. So glad you found this special spot on your first visit. Many have been visiting for years and have never found it.

Love the report and pics. FBC is always our go to spot!!!

Lovely photos, and another place to add to next year's "visit" list.

Carol, this sign hangs inside the building, I assume it's Kali's?



Gut Side's sign with opening time 00am, more importantly look at the beer prices, $2 <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />





Who would not want to sit here for hours? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

I don't doubt you, as far as Kali's. I guess they must have changed the name back.

Greeting BEERMAN! We certainly enjoyed visiting with you and your wife that night at the Gut along with Richard. It never gets old talking to people that were new to the island. Your adventures mirror our 18 years we been coming to the island and we're glad for some reason after spending the day at Happy Bay we hit the brakes and stopped for a drink and food after a few more drinks.... Your pictures are awesome. It will help us get by until our next visit.
Tell your wife hi from the 2 of us

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />

Another good read with pictures. Thanks.

Thanks for another interesting report and great pics. Your "flexible, adventuresome" trips are wonderful to read and see.

Kbd, how's it going?! Gut Side was a good time. We saw your wife during our sunrise beach walk the next morning! Say hello for us <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />

SXMnorm, Flexibility is the only way to go, after many sailing trips we never know where the winds will take us and where ever we go, there we are! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

I just started going thru your bvi reports. Fun group.

axd0424, Thanks for digging in and reading! I enjoy writing these as I'm sure others who write do to and I'm glad the stories don't just fade away. Please check out the BVI Talk forum and search ARC-Euro Trash Girl from November, it was a fantastic blue water adventure from Annapolis to the Bahamas. FYI, I have just committed to delivering the same sailboat, s/v Euro Trash Girl, from Charleston back to her home port of Annapolis this spring, very excited <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />