Sunday, 11 Sep 2005

Our plan for today was to visit some beaches we hadn't seen before, plus show Lynn a few beaches that we had. Also, we had to go back to Holland House to pick up both Judi's and Lynn's camera battery chargers that they (and I) had overlooked and forgotten to pack.

The day dawned sunny and beautiful, but we got a late start, and got rained on. However, the squall passed while we were headed to Philipsburg for the chargers. Luckily there were no cruise ships in, and that meant no traffic on Front Street. I got the chargers and we headed to Orient Beach for lunch.

A meal that's a work of art

Lunch was at Kakao (again this year). We love this place. Judi and I had steaks that melted in our mouths, and Lynn had a combination of various grilled fishes. Instead of sitting in the main restaurant, we were in one of the mini-cabanas among the palm trees. The setting was beautiful until another squall passed overhead. I switched seats with Lynn and got my back wet, while Judi put on a poncho for a few minutes. Then it was gone.

The food was awesome as always. The service was great until it got busy and then it was crappy as always. And the ice tea was real, as always.

One final note: As we sat in the mini-cabana among the palm trees, we were bitten relentlessly on our feet, ankles, and calves by tiny black bugs. That was not fun.

Next was a counterclockwise circuit of the island. The first stop was Baie Rouge, where we had Oasis Peche Tea. Yay! Yay, Chez Raymond on Baie Rouge! And they were tall cans, no less! Double-yay!

Long Beach and La Samana

Next we looked for Baie aux Prunes, or Plum Bay. The directions sucked. We made the correct turn off the main road (I know because there was a sign), but from that point the directions sucked. We drove down many roads, drove back, bounced on dirt paths, and passed scores of walled and gated properties. The strange thing was, when we could see inside the walls, it appeared that many of these properties didn't have homes built on them. They were beautiful walls and elegant gates around empty lots. Judi speculated that the residents built the walls and the gates for show and then live in tents inside them.

We finally found a beautiful beach, but I saw a big white building at the south end, atop a cliff, and correctly deduced that this was Baie Longue (which we had also wanted to see), and the white building was the famous La Samana (which it was).

We never did find Plum Bay.

And the water is very pretty at Baie Longue.

Cliffs at Cupecoy (photo: Judi)

Cupecoy was next. We saw the construction that had been started, and then stopped when it was clear that it would destroy the beach. Today the tide was high, the sand was low, and there wasn't much beach. Scratch that: There wasn't any beach. But we walked along the ridge at the top and got some spectacular pictures.

Part of the problem with touring the island and making lots of stops is that our rental Jeep has only two doors. This means that Lynn, who sits in the back, has to climb in and out through a low, narrow space. Backwards. It's not comfortable. However, Judi and I have observed that she manages it with the elegance and grace of an impala.

Guana Bay was next. This involved climbing a narrow, steep road with big chunks dug out of it in some places, and big piles of dirt left on it in other places. A herd of goats who were unaware that they were supposed to drive on the right just added to the adventure.

I love driving here.

And speaking of the driving, today was Sunday, and traffic was pretty light, but still I saw troublesome signs of more aggressive driving, especially risky passing. Please don't let this become like the States.

And back to the beaches: The variety of the beaches just amazes. Such a small island, so many beaches. Why, for example, would you go to Long Bay when there are so many others? Because each beach is distinct, often in small ways, and that means you have choices. Long Bay isn't as easy to get to (unless you live in the area), and has no services, but on the other hand, it's pretty, with lots of family-friendly sand and no crowds. Other beaches have different combinations of services, sand, crowds, and easy access. On this island you can have a very fussy idea of what you want from a beach and then find it.

The clothes-washing dance (photo: Judi)

And then it was back to Oyster Bay to attend a party featuring free drinks, music by the St. Maarten Boys String Band, free drinks, dancing by a local cultural organization, free drinks, and did I mention free drinks?

Okay, kidding aside, the St. Maarten Boys are an island string band -- banjos and guitars. Not your usual island music band, but at the same time pretty darned good. And the dancing, with explanations of their origins (washing clothes, sweeping floors, and other slave/servant tasks) was very entertaining. I enjoyed myself a lot.

Tomorrow: Dawn Beach.

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