Ha ha, Bob . . . a disconcerting fall in the Villa on Sunday, but no broken bones. “Gettin’ old ain’t for sissies,” as John Wayne famously said! Of course, despite bruises & some soft tissue damage, I’m successfully returning to my dining circuit! My favorite local restaurants have become caregivers . . . making sure that I’m well nourished!
This time is a Goodbye and not an Arrivederci.
- Thread starter dsrc
- Start date
So sorry to hear about your fall
! Please be extra careful with your wrists as you need them to lift a fork and a glass
. Recently, I fell UP the stone stairs and have a new scar to prove it but why walk when you can run?! Some of us never learn
!
le_reve
Senior Insider
I fell "up" my stairs a few years ago after returning from - - you guessed it - - Nikki Beach on a Sunday. I now have a permanent scar on my knee to remind me daily that I am not 25 any more, regardless of what my brain may tell me.So sorry to hear about your fall
amyb
Senior Insider
Beachcomber
SBH Insider
My wife and I love SBH but the traffic and price gouging have proven to be a bit too much for our taste. There was also an incident on our last trip that was quite unsettling to me. We had rented a villa overlooking the Toiny coast to try to stay away from the busy side of the Island. On our last night we were all packed up and I was enjoying my last few hours with a nightcap by the pool listening to the waves crashing on the beach. Our villa had some lights pointed up at the palm trees on the property and all of a sudden there was a shadow cast up on a tree. I looked around to see a person running through our yard crouched down and moving very quickly. This was around 10:00 at night. I was shocked to say the least. I have always felt completely safe on SBH so this really surprised me. I made sure the doors were locked that night and I slept with one eye opened. My wife and I met each other at the old Match grocery store by the airport 25 years ago so SBH has a very special place in our hearts but unfortunately it’s just not the same place each of us fell in love with over 35 years ago. I may still go back for a quick three day trip to Saline for my last body surfing excursion the next time we go to Terre Basses but I’m afraid it’s time to move on to quieter pastures. It would have been hard to imagine all those years ago that I would find refuge from an overly hectic SBH on SXM of all places but I guess times change.
Wow - AMEX was accepted? Seems like it's hard to find a anyone accepting it on the island these days!
le_reve
Senior Insider
I know they don't take it at Marché U, they tell me every time I pull out my American Airlines branded Mastercard!
Yes . . . I get that, too — it apparently, at first glance, looks like the Amex “Black Card.”
le_reve
Senior Insider
It's a black card, it says "American" - - but it ain't no Amex Black Card!
Sad to read the replies, so many of us who 'discovered' St Barths so many years ago. There have been many islands in my life & my husband's too from my year living on St Croix at 25, Bermuda ez flight from PHL to BDA, got crowded, try new places... Changed to then known as 'Out Islands of the Bahamas' specifically the Abacos checking out Green Turtle before settling on Elbow Cay for a few years where we rented houses, could rent only a boat, but not to use at night, no golf cart rentals then so dining out at nite meant a walk into town a mile each way. On one of our Windstar trips of that cruise lines infancy & early in our marriage, a day on SBH had us hooked with a nice lunch at the original Eden Roc...I like that spelling...and a field across the street full of sheep or maybe goats...long ago. So SBH was our new to go to escape from daily life in PA, then SC. Now with our ages & some health issues, we no longer can travel. We have memories of such a wonderful island with friendly people, great affordable restos, oh the beaches, especially Gouverneur, the many villas we rented, mostly all very special. And friendships made still intact...
le_reve
Senior Insider
My neighbors, who are in their 80s, recently installed some railings on our shared walkway steps. They are very nice, and the bonus is, I get to use them, too!
Dennis, hope you are on the mend from your fall! Hope you got checked out! Doug had one too, but on our street so a month of wound doc appointments from the gravel damage to his right arm from elbow to wrist.
As an aside & tips...my last 2 trips to Italy only a couple of years ago, afraid of falling, I took rubber mat for the hotel shower, wore water shoes in the shower & a portable grab bar...and a cane too...I also did this for our last cruise & our last time on St Barths. As most international travellers know, just about any foreign country, there is no ADA, everything is uneven, handrails probably don't exist. And as the former Girl Scout in me, be prepared...or was that the Boy Scout motto too?
amyb
Senior Insider
Boy Scouts had it first…Lord Baden Powell.
KevinS
Senior Insider
Many who discovered the island decades ago are aging out, especially those with mobility issues. I can no longer count the ones who I know personally on the fingers of one hand. It now takes both hands.
I resemble the issue, Kevin! (but continue in thinking of Mom’s mantra, “At least we have our youth!”)
jvelardo77
SBH Member
The Island has always been insane. My parents brought me there first in 1992 and i have gone back basically every year since now with my family.
1. Scooters. In 1998 while driving to Colombier a kid flying down the road lost control and ended up on the hood of our Moke. Fortunately he was not hurt. So not much has changed un 28 years. After Irma scooter were truly out of control.
2. Fancy restaurants have always existed. Mayas during the High Season used to be the hot ticket.
3. Roads. I feel they are so much better than ever before. Also in 1998 before Abramovich redid the Goveneur road my parents were forced off of the road and blew a tire. Fortunately a nice resident up the road let them use their phone. I like the sidewalks and the speed bumps they have installed everywhere.
The island is far from perfect but it is pretty damn close. I have since travlled to Anguilla... insane beaches and the resorts are amazing but driving around the island is not scenic (trying to be nice). Turcs and Caicos, I was shocked at the state of the island outside of the resorts. But again beautiful beaches and amazing resorts.
We are heading back at the end of march into April and staying in Lurin. We will avoid Nikki Beach but we will sit on the beach with a bottle of super market Rose' on Sunday while my kids play in the water and we enjoy their music for free!
1. Scooters. In 1998 while driving to Colombier a kid flying down the road lost control and ended up on the hood of our Moke. Fortunately he was not hurt. So not much has changed un 28 years. After Irma scooter were truly out of control.
2. Fancy restaurants have always existed. Mayas during the High Season used to be the hot ticket.
3. Roads. I feel they are so much better than ever before. Also in 1998 before Abramovich redid the Goveneur road my parents were forced off of the road and blew a tire. Fortunately a nice resident up the road let them use their phone. I like the sidewalks and the speed bumps they have installed everywhere.
The island is far from perfect but it is pretty damn close. I have since travlled to Anguilla... insane beaches and the resorts are amazing but driving around the island is not scenic (trying to be nice). Turcs and Caicos, I was shocked at the state of the island outside of the resorts. But again beautiful beaches and amazing resorts.
We are heading back at the end of march into April and staying in Lurin. We will avoid Nikki Beach but we will sit on the beach with a bottle of super market Rose' on Sunday while my kids play in the water and we enjoy their music for free!
