Carbo-Loading in St. Martin

What happens when your AM running route ends at a row of pâtisseries. We’ve been busy testing them all to find the best croissants and baguettes. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it.

Nightingale Tune, looking like an ant in Marigot Bay, as seen from Fort Louis

After our dreadful trip through the Anegada Passage from the BVI to St. Martin, we treated ourselves to a long, slow lunch of moules-frites and a bottle of Chablis at a dockside restaurant. The mussels were brought in from Prince Edward Island.

Desserts in the case at Sarafina, one of three competing pastry shops in Marigot Bay.

The best baguette: Le Divin on the water in Marigot Bay.

We’ve officially entered the part of the Caribbean that is prone to theft. We’ve stepped up dinghy security with locks and cables, and spray painted the engine cover to make it more distinct and (hopefully) less desirable to would-be thieves. I picked out the cornflower blue spray paint back in the Bahamas.

Lagoonies is the big cruiser hangout, located conveniently among the many marine supply shops on the Dutch side of the island. Lagoonies is reputed to be a fun place to chill and listen to live music. Unfortunately, I was recovering from a bad cold during our visit and wasn’t in the mood to stay long.

$1 Presidentes during happy hour at Lagoonies.

With access to wonderful produce, French cheese, and decent bread, most of our meals have been simple salads and cheese. We’ve really enjoyed shopping for just a couple groceries at a time, preparing and eating whatever looks good in the market.

I dig the european vibe at Orient Point. There’s no BYO beach blankets here. Instead, beach-goers settle into a lounge chair at one of the dozen beach bar establishments. 10 Euro at Aloha buys your chair and umbrella for the day, one drink, and a cute Aussie surfer dude server to wait on you.

We’ve had surprisingly few beach days since we started cruising, mostly because we fear additional sun exposure. But under the umbrella at Aloha, I was reminded how relaxing a beach day can be.

Grand Case is a funky seaside enclave that is considered the culinary capital of St. Martin.

Most of the casual restaurants are beachside, and some provide beach chair service to sunbathing patrons.

During the day, the LoLos are where it’s at. LoLos are the local BBQ places where they cook on big, open air grills and $10 will get you a plate of grilled meat and sides. The Talk of the Town is one of the more popular spots.

Line of LoLos, as seen from the water

Grand Case has a funky mix of old and new architectural styles along with fancy and casual restaurant choices.

We stopped for lunch at the funky/chic LOVE hotel.

Pitcher of delicious, cold rosé sangria at the LOVE hotel, which we enjoyed from stools overlooking the beach. We loved the vibes of this place – it was stylish without being stuck up.

LOVE Hotel serves an Italian-leaning menu, but the sensibility here is undeniably French. We ordered a caprese salad and a pizza, which came topped with brie. We’re eating tomatoes like it’s our job – they must be in season, wherever they are being grown.

View of Dutch St. Maarten from a lookout above. Other than getting marine errands done, we didn’t spend much time on the Dutch side, which is far more commercial, with restaurants and shops that cater to cruise ship vacationers.

Brian at the top of Fort Louis, which overlooks Marigot Bay

Impressive collection of Champagne for an average commercial grocery store. I could get used to this.

Toasting my 37th birthday and our 1 year anniversary of living aboard Nightingale Tune. What a year it’s been! Looking forward another great one.

We traditionally have Maine lobster rolls and Champagne on my birthday. Caribbean lobster fishing season is over in St. Martin, so we opted for homemade steak-frites on the boat instead. It was the first steak we’ve had in nearly a year.

Shrimpy’s, a one-stop cruiser services stop, sits alongside the canal that leads into the big lagoon in the center of St. Martin. The owner, Mike, is a kind-hearted Frenchman who holds court on the CruiserNet six mornings a week (VHF ch. 10 at 7:30AM).

There are no laundromats in St. Martin, only wash and fold services. I happily handed our disgusting, smelly laundry bags over to the crew at Shrimpy’s, and received these tidy bundles the very next day.

We’ve been checking out all the bakeries to determine which has the best croissant and the best baguette. It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it.

We had our rented car for a couple of hours on Sunday morning, so we decided to do some provisioning. We pulled up in the parking lot outside the Super U – our favorite grocery store in St. Martin, where there were already three dozen locals waiting outside with warm baguettes under their arms. We rounded the corner and discovered where all that bread was coming from – Au Pain Gourmand. That’s how we stumbled into our favorite bakery in St. Martin for croissants, macarons, and classic pastries. Here, Brian is about to devour an almond croissant filled with frangipane (almond filling).

Some of the cheese haul from our provisioning trip. With the exception of the Époisses, all of these cheeses will be vacuum sealed and frozen for us to enjoy all summer long.