Sunday 17 February,St.Martin day 20: Last day before Oana returns.
Lots to do today before Oana returns tomorrow. During the morning I replace the dripping HP fitting on the watermaker membranes. At the same time I refurbish the leaky fittings and put for spare.
Then I head out in the car to take a look around the island with the aim to go kite surfing in the Orient Bay on the windward side of the island. It’s Sunday so the streets of Marigot are empty except for tourists looking around the very touristy street market by the dinghy dock.
First town, or rather village is Grand Case, which looks very run down. But when I finally manage to find where to get through to the beach I find it pretty crowded and surprisingly nice. You would never know it from the state of the town.
Next stop is Orient Bay. A large bay enclosed by reefs. So although in the windward side, there is very little swell coming in. It’s clearly a great place for kiting, but unfortunately the wind is only 5-6 knots. So looks like my gear will have to stay in the car 🙁
Feeling a bit peckish I browse the many restaurants but decide to leave dining-out till Oana is back with me. Instead a mini market provides me with a baguette, a plate of French cheese are 2 tomatoes, which I eat in the cool of the car air conditioning, watching all the happy people on the beach, enjoying their Sunday. Can’t wait for Oana to be back with me.
At the far end of the beach I stumble upon Club Orient and soon realize it’s a nudist beach! Not really in the mood to remove my clothes I get back in the car and head towards Philipsburg back on the Dutch side. This is just like all the other main towns on each of the Lesser Antilles. A bit run down excepting the area set up for the cruise liners. Then all the usual fancy shops for them. All claiming to be “duty free”. I decide to leave exploring for when Oana is here.
Back on Cloudy Bay I have a massive tidy up and clean the boat end to end. By late evening its spotless, and I feel rather pleased with myself. A floating palace fit for the return of a Queen 🙂
