A Beer, a Shot and Moving Again, Day 10

Today was a fun day. I started the day off by writing a blog post and taking care of a couple e-mails. After that was done I spent some time looking at boats online and researching a couple that peaked my interest. Then I went downstairs to let my host know that a few of the outlets in the apartment I was in were not working. We ended up chatting while we waited for his electrician to get there to address the issue. Once the issue was resolved (a bad breaker), we all had a couple beers and a shot to celebrate the holiday weekend, St. Maarten Day. A bit later it was time for me to move back to the place I had originally booked on airbnb. I must admit I wanted to stay where I was but the fact that I needed a rental car reminded me that it was time to go.  I said my goodbyes and loaded up the car.

Upon arrival to the place I had booked on Pelican Key  I was given a very large set of keys and my host showed me what they all went to. He is very security conscious and all the locks are keyed differently. My room as it turns out is the original master suite for the place and it has a great view and even a private veranda with a couple chairs. The bathroom is also huge and pretty well appointed its rather obvious that when this place was built it was very luxurious.

The view from my porch

The pool deck/ main veranda

Oh look, a real bidet

I got settled in and went to return my rental car. After that I went to "The Soggy Dollar" and had some drinks at happy hour. I also went by the Yacht club for a few and then it was time to find dinner. I had heard about a German restaurant  that was not too far away and I went to check it out. The special of the night was Beef Stroganoff and it was delicious. I ended up sitting with the owner and chatting with her while I enjoyed my supper. After dinner I made the long walk back up the hill on Pelican key and called it a night. 

This used to be a bar, I believe it was called "The Pink Iguana" another Irma Victim. 

Beach Bar Chicken, Day 9

Today is moving day, I am changing Airbnb's this afternoon. This is part of the reason I rented a car, so that I don't have to ride the bus with my bags. I had to be out of my room at Shrimpy's by 10:00 but the check in at the next place was at 1:00pm so I had to figure out what to do with my bags until then. Leaving things in a car, much less a rental car is not an option here as they will likely get stolen. Luckily for me Shrimpy's has lockers for storage and Mike was kind enough to allow me to put my things in one so they would be safe while I was out driving around the island killing time and checking out the area near Cupecoy and Lowlands which was the only main area that I had not covered yesterday.

I drove out through Sandy Ground (sketchy area) and continued on past Nettle Bay then as I rounded the corner I noticed that the shops were getting much more high end and I even saw a gourmet grocer store advertising caviar. I stope at a surf shop looking for a better beach/ sun hat but I was disappointed to find that the only ones they had were $30+ so I moved on. Continuing  to follow the main road I came across a resort area with a few abandoned buildings that were victims of Irma.

This was the part of Rainbow Beach Club.

The view from the top of the bluff below the building.

Another Part of the former beach club. 

I walked down to the beach to see if it was nice and I noticed a sign for "Cupecoy Beach Bar" at the top of the stairs leading to the beach. I had seen a big sign for this bar on the road 1km or so back so I decided to go check it out. I hung out for a little bit and chatted with a guy from NY and found out that the bar had been there in one form or another for close to 25-years. He also informed me that Danny (the owner/operator) made excellent chicken and ribs for lunch. I had a couple beers and then continued on my trip around the island. I drove out to my next airbnb so that I had a basic idea of how to get there and to scope out the area. Now it was getting to be lunch time and I remembered what John had told me about lunch at Danny's Beach Bar (Cupecoy Beach Bar) and I circle back to get some chow. I ordered the chicken and when I got it a short while later I found it to be just as awesome as John had told me.

Mmm...Chicken

My minders while I ate, Lazzie (black and white) and Lucky (sheppard-ish).

After lunch I went back to Shrimpy's to collect my things so I could take them to the new airbnb. I got everything loaded up and headed back to Pelican Key where the next place was to be. When I got there I was told that there had been a booking mix up and I had to go stay at another place for the night.  I was assured  that the place I was following them to was a very nice and very safe place. This made me feel better but I was still anxious since I all I knew about the new place was that it was behind the airport.  When we arrived my anxiety was replaced my relief upon seeing a very nice house with two apartments upstairs and the ocean on the other side complete with a pool. 

View from the porch

View from the deck below the porch. 

The gentleman who owned the place was very kind and even gave me a couple beers.  I got my stuff put away and then I had to go the the rental car agency and extend my rental another day. The location of the house was great, if you have a car, but not so great if you have to walk. This was due to the fact that the closest bust stop was close to a mile away and taxis here on the island are insanely expensive. After extending my rental for another day I found a parking spot and went to Snoopy's bar for a bit of Happy hour fun before making a stop at The St. Martin Yacht Club to pick up some take-away food and visit with some friends before heading home for the night.

Another victim of Irma, this was a sailing catamaran. 

Sticker at "Dannys Beach Bar"

A couple of yachts in Cupecoy Bay.

Island Road Trip, Day 8

After being on St. Martin for more than a week now I felt that it was time to do some more exploring around the island. Up to this point I had been to both the french and the dutch sides but I had not see much more than what can be seen from the local buses. That along with the fact that I had to move from Shrimpy's to a different airbnb on the Dutch side compelled me to rent a car for a couple days.

I shopped around online and found that by the time I added the insurance that Sixt was one of the less expensive options. I rented the smallest (cheapest) car they had since I didn't need much; as it turned out I got a nearly new Hyundai i10 (looks like a Honda fit). When I picked it up it only had 170km on the clock and not hardly a scratch or scuff to be found (one small scuff on the pass side near the wheel well). I started my trip with a stop at Topper's Restaurant and Bar since I had heard that the food was good. I also knew that I may not have find another place with such good parking and known good food for a while once I set out. Even though hurricane Irma is now 2-years in the past much of the island is still trying to recover. The issues they seem to be facing not only come from the fact that the destruction was so massive but also form the both the local governments and the insurance companies.

After lunch I began my journey around the island by heading out of Simpson Bay towards Philipsburg. I made stops at various places around the island to enjoy the view and take photos. Some of the places I stopped seemed like they were recovering well (Philipsburg and Grand Case) while others were still seemingly struggling to recover (Oyster Pond and The French Quarter). I also stopped at a free museum called "The Old House" which was quite neat. According to the signs around the property the foundations were built in the 17th century and its been rebuilt a couple times. There is a nice viewpoint behind the house that gives a view of the salt ponds and the ocean. You can also see a vacation home development too.

I really enjoyed touring around St. Martin by car, it allowed me the freedom to "stop and smell the roses" as I pleased. While it may have been more fun to have someone else with me I also enjoyed the solitude of my drive around the island. I am sure that I will have another opportunity to do more exploring in the not too distant future.

View from Bell's Lookout

Oyster Pond from the hill behind 

View from Rotary Lookout Point

Abandoned food truck at Rotary Lookout Point

An old boiler from the sugar mill at "The Old House" Museum 

View from behind "The Old House"

Wild flowers behind "The Old House"

An Afternoon Sail...Install , Day 7

Today marks one week in the Caribbean, so far it's great. The food is good the beer is cold and the people are friendly and kind. While I was eating breakfast Mike (the owner of Shrimpy's) came over and asked if anyone could help a friend of his put up a new mainsail that afternoon. I said that I'd be happy to help and he said that his friend would be by around 2:00 or so. I had nothing really planned except writing a couple emails and catching up with my blog.

When lunch time came around I decided I was in the mood for pizza since we had been talking about possibly getting everyone together to chip in for a couple pies from the local pizza place. I grabbed some cash and went over the bridge to Pizza Hayo in Sandy Ground (not the best area but usually safe in the day) and ordered a Hawaiian pizza because its my favorite. I took it back over to Shrimpy's and dug in. The pizza was quite good, as I had been told it would be, and I ate about half of it. The other half would be dinner. After lunch I got back online and looked at boats for sale in the area and checked my emails for replies from the crew boards. Alas, no replies yet. By this time it was getting close to 2:00 so I put on some sunscreen so I'd be ready to go.

Mikes friend David arrived right about 2:00 to pick me up. We took his dinghy out to the boat which was anchored in Marigot harbor. The boat was a very well kept Beneteau First 41.7 that he and his wife Jan have been sailing for 20 years. After we got to the boat we discussed the plan for a couple minutes, the wind was up a bit so we needed to make sure we all knew who would be where and doing what. We pulled the sail out of the cabin and got it up on deck below the boom. The boat has bat-cars instead of regular sail slugs so each one has to be attached as you raise the sail up. The wind was blowing around 10kts or so which made the job a bit more of a challenge. After we got the headboard attached to its car (it was the most challenging) we were able to get the thimbles in for the regular sliders and we put the battens in as we went. Originally we wanted to also attach the reefing lines as we put the sail up but the wind made this difficult so it was decided to do it later.  Once we got the tack bolt in place we were done with the install and we just had to pull up the lazy jacks and flake the sail into the stack-pack. Unfortunately when I pulled up the starboard lazy jack one of the knots came undone and the line went up into the rig.  David and I talked about it for a minute or so and I said that I'd be happy to winch him up the mast if he was game to do it. That way the rogue line could be retrieved and put back together how it should be. Then David got out his bosuns chair and I cranked him up the mast to where the line was. Then he could untangle it and tie the part that came undone back on so the lazy jack would once again do its job. After David safely arrived back on deck I helped get the line threaded back though the ring so it was set up like its friend on the other side of the mast. After both lazy jacks were up we though about gettin the side of the stack pack up into position but then quickly realized that we had tied them down to the boom when we put on the sail ties and that we didn't want to undo them with the wind up. David decided to wait until the next morning when the air was calm to get the stack-pack set up. Now with the work don we went to the cockpit and the 3 of us hung out and talked about sailing and cruising for a bit before it was time to take me back to Shrimpy's so David and Jan could take care of a few other things before dinner.

I had a good time helping David and Jan get their new sail on. There were a couple challenges along the way but none of them insurmountable. I really enjoyed getting to hear a couple of their stories after we got the job done and I do hope to cross paths with them again here in the Caribbean.

Orgasmic Ribs, Day 6

Being in need of more cash I made a trip to the Dutch side of St. Maarten specifically  to Simpson Bay. The only bank on the Island that I can use without fees is Scotiabank now called Republic Bank and there happens to be a branch in Simpson bay. So I took the bus from Marigot to Cole Bay and then on to Simpson Bay which was a bit of an adventure in itself. We got stuck in traffic behind a rather large work truck that kept stalling out on a big hill and we eventually got a chance to pass it thankfully. Then I accidentally missed my stop (at one of the island's KFC locations) but thankfully I was able to get a bus going the correct direction from the next stop and the driver was even nice enough to hail the other bus for me. I then took that bus down the hill and into Simpson Bay where I got dropped off right past the blue bridge. Then I easily found the bank and got the much needed cash.

Then the hunt was on for lunch, by this time it was about 12:30 or so. I was walking down the main road in Simpson Bay looking around at the different restaurants. After evaluating a couple different options I settled on a place called Captain's Rib Shack, in part because on their sandwich board it said "Orgasmic Ribs." I ordered a rack of ribs and decided to forgo the sides simply because I didn't think I could eat everything and carrying back leftovers was not an option. I will say that the ribs were deserving of their moniker as they were exceptionally good.

After lunch I decided to keep wandering around the area for a bit and I went down to the beach by the rib shack and hung out for a little bit before continuing on. 

Then I landed at the St. Maarten Yacht Club bar for a beer which turned into hanging out for while including happy hour enjoying conversations with some new acquaintances. During happy hour I saw a familiar face walk into the bar and realized it was someone I knew from the Charleston sailing/ racing scene. We talked for a while and her husband also came for happy hour. We talked about the goings on and of course about sailing. Then at the end of happy hour they were very kind and gave me a lift back to Shrimpy's in their dinghy. The ride through the harbor at night was really cool. I was amazed to see all the wrecks on the French side of the harbor. I'm told that some of these have been there since the late 90's when the last big storm came through (pre-Irma). I found this to be fairly odd considering the hazard they pose especially at night since they are not lit in any way.

Overall it was a great day filled with good food, cold beers along with new and familiar faces, a great day indeed. 

The Day After, Day 5

Today was not such a great day, I had quite the hangover from drinking too many Rum and Ginger Beer cocktails last might. I forgot how ugly hangovers can be when you don't have a waffle house type place to help with delicious greasy food. Thankfully I had plenty of nice cold water since it was a rather hot day here in St. Martin. I also got reminded that I need to go the the pharmacy and pick up a bottle of Tylenol since that would have been a great help to be sure. I do miss the days when I could just crack a beer and then the hangover would go away but I think those days are in the past. Nowadays I need to simply remember to make sure I eat a good dinner with plenty of water and then simply not drink as much.

I spent most of my day in my room at Shrimpy's surfing the web and watching videos on Amazon (thankfully it seems to work fine here). I also made a trip to the market across the bridge to get some more water and a couple bags of microwave popcorn since I didn't really fell like eating much else. I did get to watch the whole second season of "Jack Ryan" in one go which was kind of nice. I also found the Cup of Noodles make pretty decent dinner when you are hungover. I will definitely be trying to avoid such days going forward since you are not really able to accomplish anything and it sucks to feel crumby all day. I do miss the days when hangovers were gone by 11:00...

Shop and Chill, Day 4

Today was a fairly uneventful day. I decided to walk into Marigot and go to the grocery store. The store I chose to go to was "Super U" which is a French grocer. I found it very neat shopping there since there was such a variety of product from France and the EU. The prices left a bit to be desired but that is what I expected being that I am on an island in the middle of the Caribbean. I did make the mistake of going there a bit hungry but I managed to keep control of my urge to buy everything that looked good. After getting enough stuff for the next couple days I made the 20-25min walk back to Shrimpy's and put away my food.
The I decided to just relax for the rest of the afternoon and hide from the sun since I had gotten a bit of a burn when I went to the beach on Sunday. I mainly spent the afternoon surfing the web looking at boats and reading forums. Then I made a couple Rum drinks with the Mount Gay rum and the Jamaican Ginger Beer I bought and just hung out with the others at Shrimpy's.