And of course, the grins widen once onboard that south bound plane.....
Rush hour at CLT prior to take off.....
Wheels up.....
Before you know it, the infamous Sunset Bar and Grill and Maho Beach comes into view and you know landing is eminent....
Our first stop was to check into our hotel, the Azure Hotel and Art Studio. We cannot recommend this boutique hotel highly enough! Ocean front on Simpson Bay, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves....
Hotel Sign
The view at breakfast each morning....
The view of Simpson Bay from Azure's chaise loungers...
And of course, the panorama of Simpson Bay from the hotel....
Azure Hotel as seen from the water....
The owner of the Azure, Michael Angelides. Staying here is like staying with family and he and his wife Fawnette will do everything in their power to make sure your stay is perfect!
Sint Maarten/St. Martin has 37 separate beaches, each with their own personality. This trip we set out to add a few to our "done it" list, starting with Happy Bay. To get to Happy Bay, you must take quite a hike over the hill you can see on the right side of this picture starting at Friar's Bay....
However, the hike is 100% worth it for views like this along the way....
Soon enough you turn a corner and are greeted with your first glimpse of Happy Bay...
Then you spend the rest of the day taking it all in.....
We like to try many of the dining options on the island, which is known for its gourmet dining from all over the world. This night we try Avantika, which offered exceptional Thai cuisine, highly recommended.....
Appetizer platter....
Drunken noodles.....
Pineapple Curry....
Our second full day we set out to see beaches not often seen by visitors. Most of the southern and the eastern side of the island we have not already seen.....We started at Simpson bay and followed the road past the power plant and happened upon Seaside Nature Park, on Cole Bay. This led to an amazing hike past the farm ending with views over to Cay (Indigo) Bay....
Some friends along the hike up the hill.....
Cole Bay from the Nature Park....
On our way up the hill.....
And once on top, the view of Cole Bay....
And Cay (Indigo) Bay.....
And the view to Simpson Bay Lagoon....
Our next stop was Cay (Indigo) Bay from ground level...what an amazing venue this would be for a wedding (which EuroCaribe can help you plan!)....
Following the road eastward we arrive at Little Bay...
Continuing east we stop at Great Bay, where the cruise ships dock....
If you've stayed on Sint Maarten, you know how great this shot of Great Bay is with exactly zero ships at dock this day....
Which means the boardwalk looks like this.....blessed be!
The courthouse in the distance.....
Along the boardwalk....
More Great Bay......
From Great Bay we continue east and drive up to the Point Blanche lookout. Here, hundreds of feet above the Atlantic Ocean, it is impossible not to stand mesmerized as the power of the ocean crashes ashore. Giant waves fly dozens of feet in the air as they hit the rocks below. The view is breathtaking....
Now officially on the unprotected east side of the island, the coast gets more rugged and the water more rough as the Atlantic Ocean makes her way ashore....next stop, Guana Bay.....
Topping the hill headed down to Guana Bay, you can see the seaweed in the unprotected water...
Guana Bay is rugged and beautiful but inhospitable during seaweed season. Yet, the pounding surf is hypnotizing....
From Guana Bay we head north to Oyster Pond and Dawn Beach.....
Oyster Pond....
Oyster Pond Beach (foreground) and Dawn Beach (background). No seaweed on Dawn Beach as the Westin (distance) keeps it cleaned up....
From Dawn Beach you officially cross the French border, and onto Baie Lucas.....
Baie Lucas is volcanic and makes it hard to believe you are on the same island. Regardless, the view is spellbinding....
Along Baie Lucas is the long abandoned La Pavillon which in its day must've been extraordinary. The view now is surreal....
From Baie Lucas we continue northward to Coralita Beach....
At the end of the day, we end up at Baie de L'Embouchure....
St. Barth's in the distance...
Exhausted, it was time for pizza! We headed to Pizza Italy in Simpson Bay. We can highly recommend this restaurant as the most authentic pizza experience we have had since leaving Italy....
Of course, no trip to Sint Maarten would be complete without a stop at Sunset Bar and Grill on Maho Beach to watch the planes come in....
Maho Beach with a plane on approach....
It's a bird...it's a plane...no, just a routine SXM landing....
AirFrance arrival from Paris.....
The uncommon runway 28 take off.....
A sunset landing....
The 4th of July celebration on Orient Beach is a bucketlist item to be sure. Yes, this is the clothing optional beach....
Of course, no trip to Orient Bay would be complete without stopping at Sarafina's in Marigot for breakfast...
You might even catch a glimpse of Steve Jobs' yacht at dock in Marigot Harbor....
Sunday night is Reggae night at Calmos Café.....
Where your table is justthisclose to the water.....
Sunset from our table.....
We also ate at Vesna Taverna, which was easily the best meal I have ever had on the island, Grand Case included....
The most perfectly done grouper in the history of the world. Buttery and melt in your mouth...
The Greek platter made 100% from the owner's grandmother's recipes. Incredible.
Crepes Suzette....
A few of my favorite ocean pics from the visit....
On the day we were to depart the flight was oversold so we volunteered our seats for another night and day on the island...this left us with these opportunities on USAir's dime. Thanks, guys!
We were housed at the Sonesta Maho St. Maarten....
The view from our room over to Mullet Bay....
Sunset at Maho beach....
And a really neat night shot across Maho Beach to Sunset Bar & Grill....
The view at lunch.....
The view from the rooftop deck gave me a perspective of Maho Beach and SXM airport I'd never seen before.....
Alas, we did have to fly home and the Big Guy in the sky blessed us with a beautiful trip home...
Wait, is that a dolphin???
On our home turf.....
And of course......
