St Maarten/St.
Martin / July 2000
July 2000 was our first trip to St. Martin and we had no idea what to
expect. We were looking for plenty of sunshine and topless beaches and
we were not disappointed in either. Little did we know this was going to
be the first of many trips to this wonderful island. We exchanged a week
with Interval International from our Desert Springs timeshare for a week at
Oyster
Bay Beach Resort which as soon as we arrived got the nickname of
"Beirut" because it was still under major construction and the road
leading up to the resort had bigger potholes than our RAV 4. But despite
that we were given a tremendous two bedroom unit overlooking Dawn Beach.
We invited our good friends Rob & Chris.
Unfortunately Chris became
pregnant before the trip and ended up being our designated driver for the week
but despite that she had a great time, as we all did.
Dawn Beach was our beach of choice for
just lazing in the sand, drinking Carib's or enjoying ourselves at
Busby's.
We soon found Orient Beach and bikini tops
were never worn again. Kon Tiki was our bar on the beach as they gave us great
service and we all got a kick out of Cheri being able to walk up to the bar
and order drinks topless.
We rented a RAV 4 from Budget, this would be the first and last time as we
found Michael at Unity Car Rental and he has been our guy for years.
Le
Planteur was our favorite restaurant up on the hill at Oyster Pond.
It does rain on St. Martin though.
One day is always put aside for shopping and we had to check out the duty free
shops in Philipsburg.
But not for long and then the sun comes out.
But before we left Cheri had to help with the construction work.
After one week Rob and Chris had to leave but we had three nights to spend at
Club
Orient. This was our first clothing optional resort and we
found it to be truly exhilarating. We shopped, ate, drank, slept and
sunbathed in the nude without a care in the world. Club O is a little
rustic but a beach front cabin made it comfortable. No TV, radio, clock or air
conditioning though. No pool either but you do have outdoor showers.
Don't take pictures on their beach though as security will confiscate your
camera
Towels and chairs on the beach are provided free if you are staying at Club O
and they have a water taxi that will run you over to Green Key, a small island
on Orient Bay. So for $15 round trip one afternoon we decided to go and
have a beach and an island all to ourselves. They also provide free
snorkeling gear and an umbrella (something you really need as it gets very hot
and there is no shade). Also take a cooler with plenty of water,
champagne, French bread and cheese and have a great picnic.
Well we had the island to ourselves for a while until two couples from a
cruise ship came over to snorkel but as soon as they saw Cheri getting out of
the water naked the wives pushed their husbands back on their jet ski's and
took off.
Don't forget to climb up over the rocks and walk the island.
It's a great view looking back to Orient Beach and you never know what you
might find lying around.
What a great 10 days and we could not wait till our next visit.
