Drift Reality

After relaxing for a little while we decided to explore Grand Case and see if we could get a little beach time before the sun set. The receptionist at L’Esplanade told us about a small beach near the hotel called Le Petite Plage. After a short walk we discovered that Le Petite Plage was in fact, truly petite so we decided to walk to the main beach in Grand Case and check that out.

Grand Case has a truly local feel that differentiates itself somewhat from some of the more touristy destinations on the island. There are a number of small, quaint restaurants along the path (I’ll write about one of the better ones a bit later) as well as some small boutique and souvenir shops.

After walking for several minutes we arrived at the Sunset Cafe, where we had a couple of drinks while we watched a group of children playing in the water while the sun set over the horizon.

After about a 30-minute drive through Saint Martin, we miraculously arrived at L’Esplanade and I sort of held my breath as we drove up the steep incline that lead to the hotel’s reception area.

I was holding my breath because I was not entirely sure what to expect from the place. Sure, Trip Advisor had ranked it as the top hotel in Saint Martin and had awarded it the Traveler’s Choice award in both 2005 and 2006. Sure, it had a snazzy Web site and an amazing photo gallery.

I was still nervous that we were driving into a dump.

My fears instantly disappated the moment we parked and entered the reception area and were presented with this view:

“Your room will be ready in just a few minutes, would you like a drink while you wait? Perhaps a Carib?”the receptionist asked.

“You had me at Carib,” I thought to myself and nodded affirmatively.

After a few minutes of basking in the Saint Martin afternoon, our room was ready and we were delighted to see that the pictures from the Web site were not all smoke and mirrors.

The owners, Kristen and Marc, had really paid attention to the little things - the fixtures in the kitchenette, a painting on acrylic tiles in the patio, and small flowers sprinkled throughout the room.

There was even a little kitchenette that would come in handy after we discovered the French market near Marigot.

The pièce de résistance however was clearly the view from the patio. As far as things to wake up to in the morning, you could do worse:

 

After the long trip it was nice to catch our breath for a few minutes while gazing out over Grand Case.

We arrived at Juliana Airport in Saint Martin at about 3PM on Friday afternoon. The moment we stepped off the plane and I could feel my stress dissolve into the warm Caribbean air. After grabbing our suitcases we headed to the car rental place to pick up the “convertible” I had reserved the previous night. I was a bit surprised but undaunted when the car rental manager pulled up in an old white jeep wrangler.

“This is our convertible?” I asked.

“Yes, these are what people drive on the island,” he responded.

I turned and could see my companion skeptically eyeing up the car.

“Err…is this okay with you?” I asked, to which she responded in the affirmative. I turned back to the rental manager and asked, “Can you help me take the top off?”

After a few minutes of struggling with a mess of latches and zippers, a struggle I realized I would never be able to duplicate, we had the top off and the suitcases in the backseat. As we were gearing up to head off, a middle-aged woman from Boston who we had met on the shuttle from the airport to the rental car place leaned over and warned us not to leave anything in the jeep. With that, we set off for our hotel in Grand Case.

Getting ready to drive off in the “convertible”

The area directly surrounding the airport was actually quite a congested mix of cars, scooters, and locals shouting out unintelligibly. After a few miles, we turned onto Union Road, headed to the Dutch/French border, and the natural beauty of the island asserted itself.

Saint Martin is an incredibly lush, hilly island that is replete with a diversity of beautiful sceneries. Driving north along the western coast through Marigot up to Grand Case provided a great overview of what we could expect over the next few days.

Trying not to get lost in Saint Martin
Surprisingly (given my track record with getting lost) I managed to successfully navigate all the way to Grand Case and was filled with a sense of excitement as we turned off the road into the driveway for Hotel L’Esplanade.