Wednesday, March 15, 2017

The More, The Merrier

After arriving at Anse de Colombier in St Barth’s in the dark, we woke up the next day refreshed and ready to check-in to the country.  We were excited to show Edd and Becca around the island as it is definitely one of our favorites and taking them to most of the great spots would be fun!  We also had chores to catch up on like taking out the trash, cleaning the boat, checking emails, working on taxes, and provisioning.  We started at the captainerie to clear into the country and then we made  a plan to meet for lunch.  Baxter and I went to Tom’s Juice Bar to access the internet and Edd and Becca went exploring.  We met at L’isoletta – where they sell pizza by the meter and you don’t feel bad having a glass of wine at lunch just because everyone else is doing it.  From there, we provisioned, stopped at the chandlery, the pharmacy (they don’t sell ibuprofen at the grocery, only the pharmacy), and headed back to the dinghy.  There are often breaking waves in the small boat pass between Gustavia and Colombier since the area shallows from 100 feet to 5 feet in a small distance…and this was definitely one of those days.  We timed our entry by watching the wave sets, just like a surfer, or risk being flipped over with the outboard, the groceries, and the computers – it would not be good.  Thanks to Baxter’s excellent dinghy master skills, we ran the break perfectly and didn’t even have the bow come up, man, I’m so glad he’s my husband!  The rest of the day was spent playing with Kala on the beach, snorkeling and relishing that we would not be arriving in the dark anywhere tonight – we were already there. 

The following day we were excited to meet up with friends I used to work with in Utah.  Mary, Brent, Regina and Amado had flown into Sint Marteen and were taking the ferry to St Barth’s to sail back with us that afternoon.  Their ferry arrived on time and I was so excited when I saw Mary’s face come around the corner…then Brent, Regina and Amado.  Introductions were made with Edd and Becca and we were off to explore.  We hiked up to Fort Gustavia for a great view of St Marten, Saba, Eustasias, and Ile Forchue.  We also were able to catch a couple planes landing on the crazy runway that is St Barth’s airport.  We had lunch at Le Creperie – it was an insane experience – I don’t know if I’ve ever tasted anything so good – ever.  I have tried to replicate whenever I’ve had crepes on the menu and nothing can compare.  If you’re ever in St Barth’s – if you only have one meal – that is the place to go.  

While Edd, Becca, and Baxter dinghied back to Terrapin (through the small boat channel with the breaking waves), Regina, Amado, Brent, Mary and I took a cab to Anse de Flamande and hiked back to Terrapin along the rugged east coast.  As soon as we arrived, Baxter was heading to the beach with Kala to pick us up.  We shuttled back to Terrapin and set sail west for St Marten.  As we left, we had 12 kts of wind, and we were moving along at about 5 kts.  Shortly after passing Ile Forchue, the wind started fading so we flew the spinnaker…we were lucky to fly it for about 30 minutes but then the wind completely died and we had to motor the rest of the way to Marigot Bay.  We found a great spot to anchor and dropped the hook as the sun was setting.  Mary, Brent, Regina and Amado headed back to their condo and we made plans to meet up the next day. 

After logistical issues, we met back up the next morning and all hiked Fort Louis, including Kala.  Then we thought a day at the beach sounded good – if only we knew someone who was close to one…or had a condo rented on the beach…aha!!  We do!  We headed back to the Utah peeps condo and we spent the day eating, baking birthday cakes, swimming in the pool, sitting in the hot tub, using wifi, and enjoying air-conditioned living rooms (it’s been about 6 months since we’ve done that).  It was such a fantastic day – one that you couldn’t plan any better.  We topped it off with dinner at Little Jerusalem where when you order a falafel off the menu, the owner says, you don’t want that – you want the special (meat)…um, no thank you, I would like the falafel – ok that will take a long time…so we waited a long time and thankfully had great company for lots of laughs and fun stories.  Our dessert was the tasty cake that we had made to celebrate lots of birthdays - Mary, Regina (February 16) and Edd and Baxter (February 12).  It was a great day from start to finish!

The next day Edd and Becca’s headed back to the states and Baxter and I met with Regina, Mary, Brent and Amado to plan another four days of nothing but fun!
Le Select, aka "Cheeseburger in Paradise" as Jimmy Buffet calls it.  Becca is talking about how she will take us to Redfish Lake - can't wait!
Yup - by the METER

Yumza - with a piece of parmiggano in hand!
Four birthdays/ two days - four days apart
Sante!
Hiking from Anse de Flamande over to Colombier
What - wifi?? such a luxury
Birthday kisses
View from St Barths - So happy to see these girls!!
Even grocery shopping is fun in St Marten
St Barth's - love this place
Amado, Petra, Me, Becca, Regina & Mary...all smiles and ready for swimming
Ft Louis in front of Marigot Bay
Jus' Chillin' - isn't this how everyone spends a Friday afternoon
Little Jerusalem - where you want the special - not the falafel - but I want the falafel - oh, you have to wait.
Swimming pools, movie stars...or just us in a swimming pool

1 comment:

Mary Wootton said...

Huge smile the whole time reading this!!!!! What an adventure! It was soooo exciting seeing YOU as I came around the corner :) And man, that condo was top notch! To sail on your boat was incredible and see the spinnaker fly....ahhhhh! Wonderful times with terrific friends! Couldn't ask for a better birthday :) Thank you!

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