Re-Visiting St. Martin

We left Barbuda at first light and had a beautiful trip to St. Martin. The wind and seas were calm and the fishing was amazing!!! We caught 3 yellowfin tuna along the way- which is awesome! It definitely was the best fishing day all year. Unfortunately we haven’t caught much fish in the Caribbean. Most of the time it is too windy and thus we are too busy sailing to throw out a line. But even when we have been trolling we have hardly caught anything, not even a nibble. So to land 3 tuna in one day was a record and it made the crew on the Rum Runner very happy. We probably could have kept fishing, but after 3 we decided to take in the lines and focus on getting to St. Martin in time to catch the last bridge opening. And we did! So we pulled into the lagoon after a very long and productive day, excited to be back in St. Martin, and enjoyed fresh fish for dinner- yum!

We love St. Martin and think it is a great island with lots of diversity, there is definitely something for everyone. Where else can you start your day off shopping on the Dutch side where you find great deals on everything from electronics to jewelry to boat parts, enjoy a gourmet lunch at one of the seaside cafe on the French side, spend the afternoon at one of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean, then get jet blasted at the Sunset Beach Bar as you watch all the planes take off from the island, follow that up with a gastronomic feast of all you can eat ribs for dinner, and if you still have energy- go out to a night club or casino to end your day. And that’s not all! There are so many fun things to do in St. Martin, which is why we were excited to return. It is one of the islands that we will always come back to. This year we were planning on spending only a couple of weeks in the lagoon. Enough time to do all of our favorite things that we love but also explore new things on the island too.

One new adventure for us was to go to the street fair in Grand Case. It was so much fun! Every Tuesday during the “on season” the town of Grand Case on the French side closes its streets and throws a big street fair. It is a great way to spend an evening. All the art galleries and boutiques stay open and the streets are lined with vendors selling cool island knick knacks. We saw lots of great art, got a chance to talk to the artists, and even bought a couple of new pieces for the boat! As we continued to stroll down the street we followed our nose to the lolos which serve up some of the best bar-b-que on the island. We feasted on ribs and chicken and fish- so yummy! And then continued on to enjoy the party atmosphere. As the day turned into night in Grand Case, the live music and street performers come out. We saw capoiera being performed, which is an Afro-Brazilian art form that combines music and dance and martial arts- so cool! And a parade of people dressed in carnival costumes playing all types of instruments from drums to maracas to conch horns- so festive and fun! You just never know what to expect when you go to the street party in Grand Case. We went a couple of times while we were in St. Martin and always had a great time.

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