Trip Report: St. Eustatius via St.Maarten/Martin
Ken Tough
St.Maarten. Travelled to Antigua, took the 7pm LIAT via
St.Kitts to Sint Maarten. Flight was slightly delayed
(about an hour) but short and good.
Overnighted (2 nights) at the Pasanggrahan Inn in St.Maarten.
Beach reconstruction/fortifications going on (as would be expected
in the off season) but was a nice place in a great location in
town. They have a new and a slightly more run-down building,
and as they're doing some rebuild, we were upgraded to finest
rooms free of charge. 'Twas fantastic. Nice big clean aircon
rooms tastefully decorated with beams to match older architecture,
right on the beach, nice restaurant in what was a very old (old
governer's residence?) traditional caribbean building. I'd
recommend them for the off season anyway. Staff was pleasant
and helpful, and the place was a very happy surprise. We were
more interested in being in town than a secluded beach, but
there was a nice stretch there all the same. The crowds would
normally be thick I suppose, but the place was quite empty for us.
(Double from US$88 PLUS taxes & service, off season).
Rented a car (banger, US$32, but waiting to see if my credit card
has been scammed by Ca***gie car rental) and went up St.Martin way,
for a look-see up Baie Orientale way. The beach was in gorgeous
shape, and all the cafes/restaurants were looking great. Very
lovely white sand stretch. Tasty meal in Grand Case as well at
the local creole barbeque (great value!). Was a bit surprised
that US$ seems to be the currency of choice on the whole island.
Was disappointed not to find as much duty free electronics as
I had hoped.
Flew DHC6 Otter to Sint Eustatius, stayed at the Kings Well hotel.
The owners were great, very very accomodating, and the rooms
are probably in the best location on the whole island, in
Oranjestad overlooking the little piece of beach, within walking
(naturally) of everything. Rooms were big and airy with showers
and adjoining balconies with lots of greenery all around. US$75
for double including breakfast and taxes.
Did some reef and wreck diving with Dive Statia, who were also
very accommodating and friendly and priced (I suppose) same as
the others. Diving was top notch, lots of corals and fish, and
an outstanding field of gorgonians, and picture-book coral.
Didn't do the archeological dive where you can find bits of
old pipe, beads, etc.
Carnival was on, which ran mostly through the early hours
(midnight-6am). Lots of (local) food at the carnival like conch
and dumplings, creole chicken&rice, belly soup etc, and some
big time calypso artists as well. The parade had incredible
spirit and fun for an island of 2000 or so.
The island's looking a bit dry (we're in a drought) but there
were thunderstorms and things are shaping up a bit better.
The hiking up the volcano (Quill) is not to be missed. It's
the archetypal cone which takes about an hour up to the lip.
Inside, it's full of jungly rain-forest. Bring yourself a
picnic, lots of water and sturdy shoes. Enjoyed it immensely.
Worth taking the "high road" at the lip to have a spectacular view
of Saba, St.Barths, St.Kitts, Nevis and even down to Montserrat.
Ate at a number of local places (Golden Era slightly pricy but
a wonderful building and the best piece of grilled snapper I've
ever had, Blue Bead had delicious greek salad for lunch, and
surprisingly lots of chinese restaurants--which we haven't seen
in ages--for a nice change). The Smoke Alley is americanized
with good but american-style fare and great atmosphere on the
end of the beach.
Travelled back the whole way in one day, St.Maarten to Antigua
was overbooked so (hard luck) I rode with the pilots up front
in the jumpseat of the DASH-8. I don't suppose you get a
better view. Didn't get to push any buttons though.
All-in-all, Statia is a lovely place for those who don't want
a beach holiday, especially if you like walking and diving.
It's a "working" island, not 100% picture-book but the people
are all very friendly, and you can walk anywhere, with time.
Give yourself -at least- 3 nights. Travel is only via WinAir
from St.Maarten (US$90 roundtrip), so plan a couple of nights
there too, on the french side if you don't mind slightly
higher priced accomodation.
Any questions, fire away!
cheers
--
Ken Tough
Montserrat
R J Carpenter
>
> Well, just got back from a week's away in St.Eustatius and
> St.Maarten.
Good trip report snipped
> Was disappointed not to find as much duty free electronics as
> I had hoped.
I smashed my watch while trying to replace the battery some years ago.
The hotel people directed me to "the Indian store" in Marigot, St
Martin, for a cheap replacement. IIRC, it's within a block of the Post
Office. They seemed to have a fair stock, but you might find better in
Philipsburg.
Ken's from Montserrat, but duty-free electronics are generally not a
good buy for US residents since prices here in the USA are so low.
Bob C.
Skip Elliott Bowman
your report, I wanted to pack my bags again!
From a fellow diver, thanks for including the dive info. I'm
cross-posting this to rec.scuba.locations so that all there may read it
too.
In the meantime, we have *got* to talk! Until Soufriere popped, we had
planned a trip to Monserrat, and I still miss it. Hope to come soon.
Skip
Ken Tough wrote:
>
> Well, just got back from a week's away in St.Eustatius and
> Was disappointed not to find as much duty free electronics as
> I had hoped.
>