St Barth is an interesting case study in how a small closed off community with plenty of education and resources can fail to stop the spread. I'm not blaming anyone--the opposite in fact. We all (myself included) tend to believe that if people would just do this or just don't do that then the spread would stop but it seems reality is much more subtle. Here in Boston EVERYONE is wearing masks so clearly that is not the magic bullet. In St Barth they are following their own particular (and peculiar?) path and are equally unsuccessful.
I'll repeat (don't read this Hawke--trigger warning) Grand Case in St Martin was a surprise success for us. It very much fit the description of "St Barth before all the glitzy people spoiled it" theme that is sometimes wished for. Of course it helps that St Martin is running at less than half capacity so there were no crowds anywhere and I am pointedly not recommending Sint Maarten, because it felt like an American mall or Orient Bay because I haven't seen it but have heard unpleasant rumors. But I can't imagine anyone going to Happy Bay or Baie Rouge and not feeling like they were at Columbier, Saline or Gouveneur. And of course it is not the same--it is it's own different adventure, but some similar traits shine through. Our standard St Barth trip of croissant and cafe au lait in the morning and a bagette sandwich for lunch at an empty beach followed by a nice dinner in town worked out 100%. We added in some very nice waterfront lunches and sunset dinners that are not normally part of our St Barth trips. We were paranoid about rental car break-in which we solved by renting with $0 deductible and not leaving anything in the car. We were cautious but had no scary crime fearing moments. That doesn't mean no one would ever have an issue of course. Just that we, and others we interacted with, did not. Sorry to be redundant, but every time I see someone blanket panning the place I worry that others, who might be more open, might miss out.
