Here's the text, including the St Martin portion.
Day 1
After several frenzied days of packing, it was early to bed as the alarm goes off at 2am for the trek up to Houston Intercontinental (IAH) and a 5:15am departure. The US Airways flight was smooth and uneventful as was changing planes in Charlotte. We landed on time at Princess Juliana Airport (SXM) in St Maarten at 1:15p. After breezing through customs and collecting our luggage, we picked up the rental car and headed for the French side, stopping in Marigot for a snack at Sarafina’s.
Snaking through the narrow streets, we made our way to Cul-de-Sac in the northeast corner of the island and the Karibuni Lodge. We settled into the Chambre Jaune (Yellow Room) and enjoyed celebratory glasses of sparkling wine. After relaxing a while, we changed clothes and headed over to the quiet and intimate “Sol é Luna” restaurant for dinner.
The host, Christian, started us off with a royal mojito each and then we shared a plate of Monkfish spring rolls. For the main course, Lynn had flamed shrimp and Peter the creole style mahi-mahi. The wine was a recommended Sancerre and for dessert we shared a delicious crème brûlée pastry. The check was accompanied by the now customary shots of a tasty vanilla ginger rum.
Day 2
Mornings at the Karibuni Lodge begin by raising a pole mounted, colorfully painted wooden parrot above the adjacent privacy fence. Soon a tray arrives piled high with pastries, baguettes, cheese, fresh fruit, juice and coffee. What a wonderful way to start the day!
Besides breakfast, a stay at the lodge also entitles one to an early boat ride and complementary beach chairs at the Karbuni restaurant on Pinel Island. After a short stroll to the dock, Fabrio picked us up and in short order we were lounging all alone on our reserved chairs. Soon the regular boats began arriving with handfuls of “day trippers” from the cruise ships, although the island never felt particularly crowded as this was the low season. After a light lunch, we ordered a bottle of Clos beylesse Rose wine, which made for a very relaxing afternoon.
For the evening, we drove over to the "Calmos Café" in Grand Case to enjoy the sunset, which we promptly toasted with a Ti punch vieux each and shared a plate of Acras de Morue with a tangy creole sauce. Soon after dark, we squeezed inside to enjoy “Salsa Night” with the locals. Before leaving we picked up a few T-Shirts emblazoned with the cafe's slogan. "C'est la vie"
Day 3
After another "parrot-summoned" breakfast, we rode the boat out to Pinel Island for yet another relaxing day. There were no cruise ships in port today, so there were fewer, and mostly French, people relaxing around us.
Dinner took us to "Ocean 82" in Grand Case to watch the sunset over Anguilla. We were attended to by attentive and friendly staff, who recommended a very delicious Lobster and Mushroom Ravioli appetizer and a crisp Chablis. For the main course, Lynn order the braised lamb shank, but Peter had his heart set on Langouste Thermidor. Unfortunately the smallest lobster in their tank weighed in at 1.75 kg (almost 4 lbs)! Undeterred, everything was eaten one half at a time, and if that wasn’t enough, desert was a shared vanilla soufflé followed by an equally silky vanilla and cinnamon rum for each.
With packing to do for the trip to St Barths in the morning, we headed back to the lodge earlier than we did the previous night.
Day 4
With our last "raising of the parrot", we made a short stop for a bottle of Ma Doudou Banana and Vanilla rum and were off to St Barth. An advantage to staying at least one night on the French side is easy access to the Grand Case airport and a stress free boarding. The flight was very smooth and even the landing was much easier than anticipated. We were met by Stéphanie from SiBarth who lead us to Villa AUM overlooking St Jean. Wanting something fun to drive, Peter reserved a Fiat 500, which proved woefully inadequate for the roads. Stéphanie made a quick phone call to Turbe and arranged for a swap later in the day. Some quick unpacking and we were off for shopping, sightseeing and Le Select. From Gustavia, we drove through Lurin back to the villa. Wow! No online videos can possibly prepare one for this stretch of road! Fortunately driving this portion downhill is much less challenging than the other way, because the poor Fiat struggled mightily to even climb the villa's driveway.
After settling in for a bit, we hurried off to pick up our replacement Jimny, for which it became obvious why there are so many on the island. Rather than drive in the evening, we went for a stroll through the Villa Créole, stopping for cocktails at "Le Piment" on our way to "The Hideaway" for dinner. The pizzas came recommended and didn’t disappoint. The owner, Andy was off at the Indy 500, so a return visit was guaranteed. The rest of the evening was spent in the villa looking at the collection of journals the owners leave for guests to share their thoughts. Pretty amazing to read one’s current feelings being expressed by someone else ten or twenty years ago.
Day 5
The day started with a short drive over to L'Orient and a breakfast of chocolate and almond croissants at "La Petite Columbe". The baguettes looked irresistible, so we picked up a couple and headed over to the Marche U for a few groceries. From the airport, we decided on some sightseeing, so drove around the circle and over to the other side of the island, ending up at Anse des flammands.
The lesson learned is that if one is going to visit a beach, one should be prepared to stay. Fortunately, no drive on the island is proving a long one, so after a change of clothes in the villa, grabbing the chairs and a bottle of chilled “Whispering Angel”, we’re back. Unfortunately, while beautiful, the winds have turned the beach into a sandstorm. Never fear, the villa has a pool, so the rest of the day is spent floating and watching the sun drop lower in the sky until it has set.
For dinner, the plan was to walk down to the Hideaway again, but we stopped at the "Eden Rock Hotel" first and due to Stenphane's hospitality, never made it any further. The final round being Le Frenchy’s.
Day 6
Having spent a couple of days exploring, the plan for the next three was to spend the morning at a different beach with a lunch reservation nearby. Since "Santa Fe" is open Monday, we opted for Gouverneurs. The road from St Jean through Lurin is crazier than the plane ride, but when one begins to see peeks of the blue water and white sand, it takes your breath away. The beach was pretty empty, so we setup about half way down and just watched the waves for the next couple of hours.
Sitting on the deck at "Santa Fe" is a great way to spend a leisurely lunch (and is there any other kind). Besides the breezes, there are wonderful views of the nearby Dutch islands of Saba and San Eustatius. For starters, we ordered gazpacho and a tropical salad with scallops. For the main course, Peter had the roasted wahoo with ginger and coriander, while Lynn had a very tasty tomato tart with mascarpone cheese, pesto and prosciutto. Desert was crème brûlée and "The Colonel" (lemon sorbet with Grey goose vodka). Vanilla rum arrived with the check. Absolutely wonderful restaurant.
Meanwhile the sky clouded over, so we headed into Gustavia and then a visit to the Marche U for more groceries. With our complementary bottle of “vin blanc” still in the refrigerator, we bought pasta, tomatoes, a lemon and baguette in order to fix dinner in the villa. A nice relaxing change after several days of big meals.
Day 7
If "Grain de Sel" is open, it must be Saline beach today. After toasted baguettes with jam, we suited up and headed out. While the drive is easier than Gouverneurs, the walk was a bit more. Not too bad, but an amazing view of the beach when one crests the hill. Almost as deserted, but unlike yesterday, the winds were whipping the sand around too much, so we didn't stay long. Not wanting to return for lunch, we bumped our reservation to Wednesday. Leaving Saline, we took the scenic route around the east side of the island past Grand Fond, the “cul-de-sacs” and stopped at the edge of Pointe Milou for a few pictures. In L'orient we made a visit to the Ligne St Barth factory store, to pick up some "discounted" lotion.
The skies began to clear, so we headed over to St Jean beach and setup the chairs past the runway. After an hour or so, we walked over to "Le Plage" at the Tom Beach Hotel for a plate of Crevettes Croustillantes, a couple of drinks and some people watching. When it came time to leave, we stopped at the "Boucherie" in St Jean and bought a roasted chicken to go with the leftover pasta.
Following dinner, we retired to the deck to watch a very beautiful sunset while enjoying mojitos made with genuine "Havana Club" rum. A most excellent evening.
Day 8
Over a breakfast of egg, ham and cheese croissants in the villa, we elected to return to what would become our favorite beach, Gouverneurs. The skies were a bit overcast, so the beach was more deserted than the other day, but just as relaxing. By noon, it was time to pack up and catch lunch over at "Grain de Sel" next to Saline beach. When we arrived, they were quite busy and as a result our lunch became an afternoon affair. While this tested our American sensibilities, the food was worth the wait. Peter ordered the Grilled mahi-mahi with creole sauce. Very light, but with just the right amount of spice. Amazing. Lynn had the Chicken breast in Coconut Sauce, which was moist and tasty.
The plan was to give Saline beach a second chance afterwards, but since it was already after three, we decided to head back to the villa. Curiosity about east side of St Jean quickly lead us back out with chairs in hand. Other than the handful of people at "Nikki Beach", the crowd was as calm and relaxed as the water.
After cleaning up, we walked down to "Hideaway" where we were greeted by the very friendly and tall Andy. As we awaited our pizza, he stopped by to chat a bit about the Indy 500 and Texas. A true joy to watch him move so easily around greeting each customer as though they were long lost friends, which in some cases they probably were. He really seems to embody the spirit of St Barth.
Day 9
Our last full day in St Barths. Following a breakfast of toasted baguettes and coffee, we head out to Gouverneurs, which is once again deserted. Over the next couple of hours, more people began to show up, including a large catamaran which weighed anchor nearby. Two crew members came ashore and set up a table, umbrella and chairs next to us. They returned with a couple, who then watched their teenage daughter and five friends swim their way to the beach. Having already been there about three hours, we decided it was time to leave. With food still in the refrigerator, we headed back to the villa for ham and cheese sandwiches on baguettes and an afternoon of reading.
For our final evening, we had reservations at Maya’s, but with our twenty-fifth anniversary coming up, Peter requested some special touches. Maya’s really delivered. When seated, there was a beautiful arrangement of red gingers and bird of paradise awaiting us. For starters, Lynn had the Tomato and Mango salad while Peter had the Whitefish Tartar. A nice Sancerre accompanied the main courses of Grilled Shrimp and Duck Breast. For desert, they brought out a mousse cake with “Joyeux Anniversaire de Mariage” written in chocolate on the plate. It was almost too beautiful to eat, but we managed anyway. The vanilla rum was simply the exclamation point on a fine evening. With an early flight, we opted to offer the bouquet to the couple seated next to us, who were celebrating their honeymoon. Some of the magic of St Barth lies in the threads that tie everyone together. We felt this upon reading the thoughts of previous villa guests and by passing on our anniversary flowers, I think we created one of our own.
Day 10
Our final morning in St Barth. After finishing our packing, we fixed a hearty breakfast from the remaining eggs, ham and cheese in the refrigerator. Rain began to fall, so we hurried up before the roads got too slick and headed to the airport. A final coffee in the upstairs café kept us out of the rain that was pelting the seats on the first level. By the time our plane took off, the rain had stopped, so we were able to take some decent video of our departure and landing at Princess Juliana airport in St Maarten.
Once we cleared customs and checked our bags at the US Airways counter, we had four hours and a handful of euros to spend, so we hailed a taxi and headed over to the "Sunset Beach Bar" for burgers and a Carib. We had gotten a bit bored with online videos of planes landing over the beach, but when the KLM 747 appeared, it was a moment that had to be experienced. While thrilling, I wouldn’t build a vacation out of it, like some of the folks appeared to be doing. A couple of hours later, we were in the air headed to Charlotte and ultimately Houston. We landed thirteen hours after leaving St Barth, also in the rain. Was this yet another thread?