ST-LUCIA

RODNEY BAY:  We stayed at the Rodney Bay Marina waiting for our friends Milt & Sharon to arrive from Colorado.  Since we've been here twice before, we opted to do boat projects rather than visit around.



HAPPY WHEN OUR FRIENDS ARRIVED FROM COLORADO

SUSAN & SHARON AT THE SANDALS RESORT



MILT & SHARON

MARIGOT BAY:  Once Milt & Sharon arrived, we set sail to Marigot Bay.  It's a very small bay, but way cute.  We took a mooring at the marina because the marina lets you use their infinity pool,   showers and exercise room. 





SUNSET AT MARIGOT BAY



INFINITY POOL

We toured around and visited the Diamond falls.  They are small but nice.  Unfortunately we couldn't swim there. 




















We went for a mud bath.  It's quite touristy but fun.  Good thing they had fresh showers !















I liked the Tourelle falls.  The water was cool but refreshing.  The falls were so strong that Sharon had a wardrobe malfunction.

We stopped by the Botanical gardens. 



















OLD COCONUT SHELLS FOR THE GARDEN

ANSE DE PITONS:  We took a mooring between the Pitons at Sugar Beach.  It's truly beautiful to be able to stay between the Pitons.  Tim and Milt hiked the Gros Pitons while Sharon and I snorkeled off of Sugar Beach near the rocks.  It's a really good snorkel.


SAILING TOWARDS THE PITONS

MOORED BETWEEN THE PITONS IN ST-LUCIA

HIKING PATH AT THE GROS PITONS



AT THE TOP OF THE GROS PITONS



SUGAR BEACH BETWEEN THE PITONS



FISHING VILLAGE

Information for cruisers:

1. Rodney Bay Marina has huge new floating docks.  It's a nice marina with a small expensive grocery store on site.  There are great showers and an ok pool.  You cannot do your own laundry here but there is a laundry service.  On site are also some restaurants/bars.  From the marina, you can dinghy to the lagoon and tie up at the dock at the Tapas Restaurant.  From there you can walk 5 minutes to 2 grocery stores.
2. Sunset downers:  Go to the very upscale resort called 'Ladera' for a great view of the sunset and Pitons.  It's got one of the best views from their bar.
3. Fish Fry:  Every Friday night at Anse la Raye, they have a fish fry and music in the streets by the beach.
4. Sugar beach:  There's a resort there and they don't let you use their facilities.  Instead, by the rocks and dinghy dock are free chairs, a bathroom and shower.  This is where you snorkel from.
5. Hiking the Gros Pitons:  We found a guide at the beach.  The guide will pick you up at your boat to the unofficial trail head.  A guide led them from the beach to an unmarked trail, bypassing the official trail head where the land taxis stop.  Here, you pay an additional fee to climb.  By going via the unofficial trail, they only increased their elevation by about 300 feet.  Took the boys 2.5 hours up and 1.5 hours down.  It is steep in sections.

SINT MAARTEN & SAINT MARTIN

SIMPSON BAY LAGOON:  We anchored in the Simpson Bay Lagoon, on the Dutch and French side.  It is a large bay with lots of room, and it's a calm anchorage !  The downside is that the water color isn't the nicest, thus we never swam off the boat.  We could of anchored at Marigot Bay on the French side or at Simpson Bay, before the bridge on the Dutch side however the anchorages are very rolly.  So, really, it's just a trade off.  Both have good dinghy access.

We walked up the Fort St-Louis for a view of Marigot Bay.  It's not the most well kept fort but the view is awesome.  I felt right at home here in a French country.


















MARIGOT BAY.  PHOTO TAKEN FROM FORT ST-LOUIS

GRAND CASE BAIE:  Grand Case Baie in French St-Martin was one of my favorite places in St-Martin.  It's very quaint, has lots of French restaurants, and has a nice beach.  It's a good place to just chill for awhile. 



ONE OF THE MANY NICE RESTAURANTS IN GRAND CASE



THE BEACH AT GRAND CASE

CALMOS CAFE AND RESTAURANT BY THE BEACH

KIDS BIKED OFF THE DOCKS INTO THE WATER FOR FUN

TIM, SUSAN, DARIA, SCOTT, KEVIN,

Our Commodore from our Lake Dillon Yacht club, Scott Snyder and his family and friends were chartering in the area.  I'm glad we were able to visit for awhile.

MELISSA & DAN ON S/V SLOW DANCING AND CLIFF & KATHY ON S/V NAVIGATOR

PHILIPSBURG:  We took a local bus for $2 to Philipsburg.  This is where the cruise ships are.  As far as cruise ship shops go, it's one of the nicer places I've seen, but still, it's all geared towards large cruise ship tourists. 

On the beach you can find cheap beer and there are several restaurants.  Just beyond the cruise ship stores, you can find real bargains !  The beach here is pretty long and actually, quite nice but busy with tourists.

CRUISE SHIP SHOPPING AREA

MAHO BEACH:  At Maho Beach in Saint Maarten, the airport is the main attraction.  No place in the world can people get so close to places that they can almost touch the fuselage as the planes fly over the beach and come in for a lading at the Princess Juliana International Airport.  A thin, 2 lane street separates the beach from the runway.  Thrill seekers flock to feel the jets take off and see them land.  Near the end of the runway, the Sunset Bar and Grill is packed with people.  Each morning, they write the flight schedule on a surf board and broadcast air traffic control instead of music. 

But, there's a real danger.  The massive jet engines can easily produce winds of more than 100 mph, blowing people and sand into the water.  There are signs everywhere warning people of the danger but in my mind, I just thought the signs were overrated....I was wrong.  Tim and I stood on the other side of the street near a jet getting ready to take off.  When the engines started, I was sand blasted so badly that I ran into the water in pain.  It really hurt !  THAT WAS SCARY !  I'll never do that again.  In fact, there were people right up against the fence !  It's quite something to see, but please, stay away from the jet engines. 

There are several youtube videos about this.   www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2IB54jb3tc

Hints for cruisers:  (Things may have changed since we've been there...)
1 - On the Dutch side, there's a store somewhat like Costco called 'Prime store'.  It's located near the huge ACE hardware store.  They do not have fresh fruits or vegetables.
2 - There are cruiser happy hours at 'Barnacles' on the Dutch side.
3-  If you like naked beaches, to go Orient Beach which is near the Butterfly farm.
4 - In St-Martin, there's a big grocery store called 'U Store' which has everything including cheap wine, cheese, ect... Across the way is the Bakery, get your fresh baguette's there and other sweets.  The 'U Store' is near the bus terminal.
5 - While we were there, there were numerous dinghy's being stolen from either boats or dinghy docks.  Lock 'em up !
6 - If you clear in at 'The Capitainerie' on the French side, it's cheaper than clearing in at Marigot Bay.
7 - Calmos restaurant on the beach at Grand Case Baie has live reggae music on Sundays.
8 - There's a cruiser's net at 7:30am on  VHFchannel 10 from Mondays to Saturdays
9 - On the Dutch side, if you like Shoarmas, there's an outdoor Israeli restaurant near Barnacle's.  They are really good and not expensive at all.  The owner is extremely friendly and he'll give you samples if you'd like.