First Timer 1/18 - 1/28/2019

Dan'l

SBH Member
I've learned so much from this forum that it's only right to try to give something back. So here goes.

Flew out of JFK 8 am arrive 1pm SXM time. Was wisely told not to book the 2pm Winair flight and take the 3:30 by this group. Good advice - our flight was delayed because of late arrival by 45 mins. Still we landed and were through immigration at 1:30 and with tickets in hand told if we had our bags and at the gate in time we could catch the 2 o'clock. As fate would have we decided to check bags (originally we weren't but figured since we had the 3:30 why not) and they were the last to get off the belt. Go through the second round of immigration and security and by this time it was 2:30. So... a little wait and we were in the air looking forward to the famous landing at St Barths airport. We were not disappointed! Having woken at 2:30 am that morning ( we live on the east end of Long Island, 1 1/2 hrs from JFK and who knows what kind of time is needed for security with this Gov't shutdown) by the time we got settled in our rental we were pretty well beat. Went to L'ardoisse in L'orient and after a longer wait for the food than we were prepared for we settled in for a good nights sleep anticipating fun in the sun for the next ten days. We are staying in modest accommodations in Vitet. AirBnb pool house with a great view looking towards the north with the east end of St Martin to the left and Anguilla in the distant. Very quiet here with the owner nonexistent.

First day and night was fabulous. Got to Saline beach with sandwiches from Petite Colombe before lunch and spent the day there. Beautiful beach. A side note; we have just turned 60 and have been traveling throughout the Caribbean since 1981 (Our honeymoon in St Thomas). Saline is right at the top. Anguilla has nice beaches also but at this point we are nit picking. Anyway. Dinner at Ociela, on the rail with that wonderful view. Very enjoyable, nice guitar music with female vocalist. Martinis were prepared well and we were happy. We had 3 small plates and two entrees. Small plates were kale salad, tabouli & avacado dip. Entrees were fetticunni alfredi and shrimp with zucchini noodles with pesto. At about 8 o'clock (we are early diners usually 7 - 7:30) we heard drumming down below and were told they were practicing for Carnival. They started marching up the street and became so loud our musicians had to stop! The drummers continued on into town and we resumed our meal. Having finished dinner, we went looking about the town and hearing the drumming we were drawn like moths to the light. What fun! Something about drums. The rhythm and power. They had steel drums, snare drums and different sizes of bass drums. When the the guys started banging on the big bass drums you could feel the air being moved. Everyone was dancing and mesmerized. The drummers would hang out at various bars, restaurants (we caught up with them at Le Select) then move on. They would move ahead for 50 feet or so then walk backwards for 30 feet, hang out then on we all went to our next destination. We finally left them around 11. I think they are ready for Carnival! A great end to our "first" night in St. Barths.

Yesterday, our second day, was just as good if not better. Slow start to our day and being inexperienced caused us to miss our beach time. The inexperience because we do not know the beaches. Since our beach time was short, we decided to go close to home and try Grand cul-de-sac, didn't really care for it, then Petit cul-de-sac, no good either, then Toiney, then Grand Fond. None were our cup of tea but we parked along the side at Grand Fond, pulled out our chairs, and enjoyed the raw nature of the land and sea with our salads from Petite Colombe. Then drive back home, shower and ready for our evening and in town by 3. Why so early? We had a lot planned! Thanks to Amy from an earlier post on the main Forum we went to Domaine Felicite. And she was right. What a treasure. We were the first to arrive as they open at 3. Allan Magras and his sister greeted us and asked if we spoke French. Nope. No matter, Allan spoke good English and for the next 2 hours he treated us as royalty. I don't want to go into too much detail but the buildings on the property are loaded with Gustavia history and especially his family history. The Magras family being one of the "original" (after the Indians of course)11 families have an interesting history on St. Barths. Shopkeepers from the beginning I believe he said they control 250 shops. Don't quote me here a lot was thrown at us. Allan owns/manages the AMC stores, his cousin the C.C. P. F. along with Lou Lou's marine and many others. What he has done with Domaine Felicite is a gift to this Island. They just opened in November and I believe will become an institution. We had plans to go to the Anglican Church for the Hawaiian Music concert and Allan was still going strong with his tour. There were other people there, they were on their own but Allan was our personal guide! We were finally heading out to the gardens,, and they are absolutely beautiful, the time was 4:40 and I didn't know how to tell Allan we needed to speed it up and go to our concert. But tell him I did and graciously he did his best to get us on our way and satisfy himself that we got our money's worth, all 5 Euros worth!. His knowledge of the plants is fascinating and the garden is diverse. Many rock features along with the plants. We may be first timers but I bet we have as good, if not better, knowledge of the island then many old pros!
On to the Hawaiian Music. I don't have their names handy unfortunately but the trio are special people. The whole affair was special. The old stone church ( I am a mason by trade, working for the rich and famous on the east end of Long Island NY and love looking at old structures), the local people, Gustavia, the weather, champagne at intermission in the courtyard, just everything. We are blessed to be able to experience such things. The guitarist was an expert in Hawaiian Slack Guitar. He explained what it is and his skill was phenomenal. The percussionist also phenomenal. His father pioneered "exotica" percussion and he learned from his father. Exotica percussion incorporates nature sounds along with the traditional percussion instuments. The way this man whistled sounding just like tropical birds, incororated other instruments to sound like waves and wind, added with the guitar music, along with the beautiful young lady performing the traditional Hawaiian dances, was a treat to the sense. So glad we were able to experince these two venues.
What could be the perfect ending to the afternoon?
Dinner at Tamarin! We sat in the garden for cocktails. Beuatiful. Full Moon. Palm trees. Lilly ponds. Music. and my Loved One period!
Dinner was 2 green salads, burrata, tuna tar tar, chicken and veal. Sorry I've forgotten how they were prepared! I will have to take a picture of the menu next time to get the ingredients correct. I'm not a big poster on these forums, nor a food critic. I do love food! Who doesn't? Food was great. We sat in the "main area under the wooden roof. I would have preferred, and I recommend to you, to sit in the garden area to the side. Intimate dining there and a little quieter with just enough plantings to give you privacy but still feel like you are out and dining - seeing and being seen!

So, I spent too much time here on the deck pounding away on the computer keys. Two rainbows have passed over the sea and a faint third one is lingering. Rain every night since we've been here and sun all day. We are off to Gouverneur beach and have no reservations for this evening. Maybe we'll linger at the beach or cocktails right after the beach in a casual beach bar or.... whatever! Other reservations remaining are: L'Esprit, Orega, Sante Fe (maybe we'll see our fellow Long Islanders Amy & Phil!), Black Ginger & Quartier General.
Thanks too all who post,
Dan'l
 
Super first couple of days. I think you got the spirit of the island down pretty good. :party: If you want a nice lunch drive into Gustavia and go to Le Repaire. Check out the specials on the blackboard. I don’t see Les Bananiers on your list. It’s very good for lunch or dinner.
 
Thank you Dan'l. It was very enjoyable reading about your first few days. Wishing you much more fun to come! My career started as a mason as well. Stone work on St. Barts is very nice to critique. Keep pounding the keys, we love to read.
Bob
 
Keep up the posts. Sorry so many of the beaches are not your 'cup of tea.' Consider booking lunch at Shellona and the lounge on Shell Beach. Be forewarned that beach is made up of shells not sand. Orient is very nice as well.
 
Whatever you do, don’t make your next run of beaches, Public or Corrosol!! Those two, and the ones you already hit are the “worst” on the island. At least for swimming. Also, avoid Anse de Cayes for swimming.
 
Sounds like a wonderful start to your trip! Make sure you don’t miss out on some Les Bananiers pizza while there.
 
Whatever you do, don’t make your next run of beaches, Public or Corrosol!! Those two, and the ones you already hit are the “worst” on the island. At least for swimming. Also, avoid Anse de Cayes for swimming.

Are you just trying to keep those two fabulous swimming beaches to yourself, Bart? :cool: Both Public AND Corossol have been (year-after-year) excellent swimming beaches for me. Last summer, my 11 y/o granddaughter's first St Barth trip, she got incredible GoPro footage of octopuses, lobster, turtles and a variety of colorful fish at both. We swam there every day and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
 
What gives, Chopper? You trying to pick a fight with me?!?!!

I hear you and believe you!! I think I have some mental hang up about swimming near a boat parking lot. I always picture leaking oil or worse coming off the boats. Probably irrational, but it’s just another side of my mental illness!! :wink2:
 
What gives, Chopper? You trying to pick a fight with me?!?!!

I hear you and believe you!! I think I have some mental hang up about swimming near a boat parking lot. I always picture leaking oil or worse coming off the boats. Probably irrational, but it’s just another side of my mental illness!! :wink2:

Not ever...in a million years, mon ami! :peace-sign1:

I thought the same thing for years until someone pointed out the error of my ways. Once I put my face in the water at both, I was blown away! I choose to believe that nothing is leaking from those boats...possibly another side to mine. :D
 
Re: Public and Corossol swimming . . . I'm with Missy -- great swimming, though I stay away from the areas where boats are docked. I particularly like the area just in front of Maya's Restaurant.

Your account of first days on the island, Dan'l, was great! You've packed a lot of activity into your days and may want to slow down a bit for the remainder of your visit. I particularly recommend finding a luncheon restaurant where you can enjoy an afternoon. Personally, I like the beach area at Le Toiny (swimming available in the pool, but not recommended in the sea because of undertow) . . . scenic and serene.
 
Not ever...in a million years, mon ami! :peace-sign1:

I thought the same thing for years until someone pointed out the error of my ways. Once I put my face in the water at both, I was blown away! I choose to believe that nothing is leaking from those boats...possibly another side to mine. :D

Consider myself schooled! Next trip I’ll check out some new beaches!!
 
Terrific report, Dan’l. You have certainly captured the “vibe” of the island. For lunch, try Au Regal and then go to the beach at Corossol—quiet and fine for swimming.
 
We did, exactly as Julianne describe, two weeks ago. We enjoyed the daily special for lunch with our group at Au Regal, never disappoints. We followed lunch by a leisurely swim at Corossol. Very calm waters, lots of sand and gradual slope outward. Wonderful memory of a beautiful day together.
 
. . . and Corossol beach is refreshingly “like the old days!” Not many folks there, & the few that you’ll see likely are “locals” — especially in the hour or so after school gets out.

Also worth noting, swimming at St. Jean, in the area between Eden Rock & Nikki Beach, is very cool in the morning . . . with breakfast across the street at Kiki e Mo.
 
Adding to this as a fan of Petit Cul de Sac. Yes, not great for swimming, but it is pretty and SO quiet. Great place to spend the day reading. And if you go far down on the right side you can get in/out pretty easy if you want a dip to cool off.
 
Well as soon as I had reported on the sunny days, posted my report & turned off the computer the rain came. Not a big deal in Caribbean but it did come down hard and stayed for a while. The rest of the day was pretty much cloudy. So we decided to go into town and not hurry to the beach. Breakfast at Le Bar de L’Oubli, very busy with the cruise crowd, we lingered there then walked around town. I didn’t pack any type of sweater or sweatshirt so we are looking for the perfect one and are still looking. Back to the rental, still not beach weather, so after hanging out for a while we went back to town for a leisurely lunch as prescribed by Cec1. Ended up at L’isoletta. Not quite Le Toiny but we did enjoy the unhurried pace of having nowhere to go. Back to the rental, no reservations for dinner, back to town, watched the sun go down at shell beach, drinks at Bagatelle and after a few laps around town stopped into Eddy’s for dinner. They were full with two couples waiting for a table, we decided not to wait and went to Black Ginger To Go and brought our dinner home to eat.
The morning broke with the promise of a beautiful day and so it turned out so. Reservations tonight at L’Esprit. After breakfast at Petit Colombe, and with a sandwich in hand for lunch, we were off to Gouverneur Beach. Found the beach to be beautiful. The road down to the beach with the dramatic views and the parking with the entrance to the beach all very nice. Sandy bottom throughout the entire beach with dramatic coastal cliffs on either side. We watched as the goats climbed their way around the point with a little one lagging behind yelling, “wait for me”! If we are to be critics we will rate Saline still number one in our book. What makes a good beach is personal, everyone has his or her opinion and reasons. We like a calm entrance to the water, clean clear water and a sandy bottom. Gouverneur has a slope down to the water, which makes it a little tough to walk the beach, and the sand is soft. Soft sand is good, but for walking it tends to bog you down. So we were good soldiers and toughed it out down here in St. Barths soaking up the sun and watching the few clouds go by, really was a beautiful day.
L’Esprit is a top-notch restaurant. A funny thing happened though. We were the first to arrive right at 7pm sharp. Warmly greeted by Christophe the headwaiter and seated at a nice table. After getting our flat water I noticed we were in the portion of the restaurant with no ceiling. The area being a square, three-quarters is under a roof. In an uncharacteristically cautious moment for me, I asked Christophe what do they do if it rains? “We cry” he replied. I’m thinking I don’t want to deal with that so I asked if we could be moved. As fate would have it not long after the restaurant filled you, guessed it, the patrons were moved to the front and tables were set for them. Christophe gave me the look and blamed me with a laugh.
Next morning broke with the wind. If you can believe him, the weatherman says it will be breezy for the next three days. Breakfast at L’oubli again. The waitress, a hardworking young girl handling the entire floor, is getting to know us. A very astute young lady, the other morning she cleared the table, we sat and waited. We were tucked behind a column on the outside edge along the rail and we had the sun on our backs sitting side by side. We were comfortable just sitting there. We watched the crowd and while others came after us, were served and had eaten, we waited. (Kitchen service is fast here) She noticed us, realized we had been waiting and took the order. She apologized, we told her not to worry, gave her a 10 euro tip on a 20 Euro bill. A very hard working girl that deserves some appreciation. “You’re a nice man” in her accented English she said.
So the wind is blowing what beach to go to? The forecast says it’s out of the East. You get to the beach and it’s blowing from every direction. After breakfast we stop at St. Jean and check out the conditions. Blowing a gale at the airport. Looks better all the way at the other end past Eden Rock. It is! We go home, get ready for the beach, and go to Saline! Why, I don’t know we’re drawn like moths to the light. Wind is kicking up the sand at Saline but we’re toughing it out like the good soldiers we are. 2:30 showers are coming through, the wind is blowing and we’re leaving. Back to town for walking, we’re not really shoppers although I did buy Rhum Vanille at M’bolo. Dinner tonight at Orega. Another well-run establishment. We had a window seat and thoroughly enjoyed our meal.
Well, it’s a little after 8am and we have zero plans at the moment. Sitting on the deck looking out towards Anguilla. There’s a breeze in the air but plenty of blue sky along with a few clouds. Time to get off the computer and start living the dream! Dinner tonight at Santa Fe.
 
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