St. Barts

The launch takes us into the beautiful town of Gustavia.

Colorful buildings cluster along the harbor. Shops, and restaurants line the narrow streets. Along the waterfront you will see many boats of all sizes. There are Yachts worth millions docked in the harbor. Like the rest of St. Barts you will see no sign of poverty in Gustavia. Here is a small bit of history for you. Unlike the rest of the Caribbean, the native population on St. Barts is white, descendants of the original French and Swedish settlers. Because the island was unsuitable for sugar production, St. Barts never had a large slave population. In 1847 what slaves the island had were set free and most left the island in search of more promising jobs in nearby islands. This was due to an economic decline the island was in. Economic decline is not a word being used now in St. Barts. The island is now considered a playground for the rich and famous. The people of St. Barts are mostly French and they are FRIENDLY, yes surprise, it is a French island that is friendly to Americans! The first thing a lot of us do is rent a mokie (oversized golf cart) for driving around the island. It is easier to drive around then the jeeps (which you can also rent) since the island is full of winding and curving roads. You get some outstanding views of the ocean, beaches, cliffs and the many beautiful houses driving up and down the hills of St. Barts. After I rent the Mokie I head toward the airport. Now that is some airport. The little planes fly in right over your head and quickly drop into the small landing strip. It is a sight to see. Makes me glad I took a ship to the island. Right by the airport is a grocery store where I buy French wine, water, cheese, snacks and ice. I always carry a small foldable cooler with me for St. Barts to bring on the beach. The island has many wonderful French style beaches and Saline Beach is my favorite. But you should be aware that two main things one should consider when on that beach. No snack stands of any kind. You park your mokie, walk up a fairly long path and you see this wide beach. A very pretty sight. The beach has (like the other beaches on the island) an unmistakably French influence. Most women casually take off their bathing suit tops. I for one have absolutely no problem with this. Saline and Governors beaches are also clothing optional with most of those folks hanging (little play on words) out on the right end of the beach. The rest of the beach you will see some folks without swimsuits on but mostly you will see women who are just topless and some with the full bathing suit on. Of course those must be mostly Americans. . For you guys with a faint heart, I warn you now, most of those women are the kind you like to see topless . As for any of the women reading this you might be interested that there are some nice French males on these beaches too. I have seen during my last two cruises some of our fellow female passengers give going topless a try, even the shy ones. To appreciate the beauty of the beach one does not make it a point to stare. There are other ways of viewing and I must admit that I am pretty good on it. There are a lot of pretty French women on this beach! Remember it is not polite to bring your camera and take pictures of people you do not know. French women tend to get upset if you go right up and take their picture.

After doing some viewing, swimming and sunning I break out the wine and cheese for lunch. One of the great things about windjamming is that there is always a small group of us (both male and female) who hang out on the island together. This is where sharing the wine and cheese is really nice. I normally spend around two or three hours at Saline then head back to the Mokie to drive around the island to take pictures of the different view I mentioned earlier. Then I head back into Gustavia for some shopping and a hamburger at a restaurant\bar called the LeSelect. Some say that Jimmy Buffett wrote the song 'Cheeseburger In Paradise" there. He has been known to show up from time to time at LeSelect. Shopping is nice but you have better bring your GOLD Visa, the prices can be high. Right by town is a small beach called Shell Beach. It is a great place to spend an hour. The beach lives up to its name, there are a lot of small shells on the beach and in the water. I have brought back a lot of the shells for friends and coworkers. It is a great cost free present. I tell them that Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman might have sat on that very shell I gave them. It is possible since they visit the island during the winter months. A lot of movie stars own or rent homes on the island for winter visits. After leaving Shell Beach I usually drop off the Mokie to the rental folks. They drive me back into town so I can catch the launch back to the Polynesia for a wine tasting party. St. Barts is a great place to buy wine. Of course you all know that the French are famous for their wine and French wine it considered the best in the world. Every passenger is asked to pick up a bottle of wine while they are ashore and bring it back on the ship for their fellow passengers to taste. With 126 passengers that means a lot of wine is around to taste. After couple hours on the ship for the wine and dinner on most visits there is a party with a band at the LeSelect. The passengers go back ashore, drink and dance. The French males love to dance with the American females. On St. Barts there a something like seven males to each female, so those French guys are drooling. I have to say the French women sure know how to dress sexy. I feel strongly that American women can learn a few things from the French women. I also on the other hand feel that American men can equally learn a few things from the French men. Around eleven we all head back to the ship. Around midnight the sails are raised to the playing of Amazing Grace and we sail into the starry night.

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