We drove into Marigot this morning in search of breakfast. I was tired of eating granola breakfast bars, but food here is very expensive and you could easily blow $50 by lunchtime. We wanted to eat at Zee Best, which has a branch on Simpson Bay and one I saw passing by in Marigot. They weren’t open so we went to a place called The Croissanterie. SQ and I both ordered crepes, mine was filled with bananas and oranges and topped with chocolate sauce. They were yummy, and the coffee was great too.
After breakfast, we drove back to Baie Rouge beach, also on the French side, to camp for the afternoon. The price to get the two-lounge-chair/umbrella combo here was the same as on Pinel - $15 for the day. The surf on this beach was incredibly strong, not a great beach for kids. At times the waves were so strong they came all the way up under our chairs, and we were nowhere close to the edge of the water. I did get in the water, but the undertow is so powerful I felt like I might be dashed on the sand. I just ended up with a bathing suit full of sand. SQ had fun bodysurfing with a couple of older gentlemen from England, who I called crazy after watching them all day. I’ve heard the snorkeling is good here, but I was too afraid of floating out to sea to do it. This beach is a definite change from the calm waters and packed sand of Pinel. The people here today also seem to be primarily American. There are two beach bars - Gus’s and Chez Raymond. The beer is cheap, $2 for a Red Stripe or similar, and the 80’s tunes are cranking here too, though of a more subdued variety than last night at Calmos. A beach peddler kept coming by, trying to sell her things similar to the beaches in Mexico. It irritated me…I instantly wanted to go back to Pinel. It did rain for about 5 or 10 minutes, but it’s so hot it seemed to dissipate as soon as it touched your skin.
We decided to take a walk up the beach, and it became very ‘clothing-optional’ the further along we went. The sand was very difficult to walk in, so we headed back for food. The late lunch/snack we had at Chez Raymond was outstanding. Another delicious plate of grilled ribs with some sort of yummy spice on them. The two blokes from England seemed to be continuing their quest to not let the waves get them, and now were doing cannonballs into the surf. We bailed out around 3pm, still attempting to get the sand out of our swimsuits. It was just like the consistency of birdseed and sticks to you like glue even when it’s dry.
Back to Sapphire for showers, then over to Grand Case again for dinner. We had a reservation at the Fish Pot, one of the best restaurants on the island according to reviews. They weren’t busy when we arrived, and there were only five tables of diners the whole time we were there. But this isn’t exactly high seasone either. The restaurant is gorgeous, and sits up off the beach so you have great views of the ocean, and of the island Anguilla off in the distance. Our very friendly waitress was Isabelle, originally from Bordeaux. SQ and I split an Onion Soup Gratinee, which was outstanding. Then I had the red snapper with a vanilla sauce for dinner, while SQ had chicken stuffed with shrimp. This was the best meal we’ve had on the island so far, and probably one of the best we’ve ever had anywhere. SQ was ’tisked’ for not ordering a glass of wine, but amused himself by sprinkling bread crumbs into the bowl on our table with a goldfish in it. So typical!! Isabelle also gave us a great recommendation for a boat to Anguilla, should we desire to go. I did, but I wasn’t sure if we would have time now, with all of the wedding festivities coming up.
We walked through the shops up and down the main road of Grand Case - they stay open until around 10pm. I wanted to go for a drink at Blue Martini (they have Leffe Blond on tap!). SQ preferred to go back to the condo. So we went back and called it a night.
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