Saint Barths, An Epic Day!

The next day we went on what I like to call Debbie's "Nancy Drew Mystery Tour" which always involves insane hill hiking to various environs, is well over an hour in length and is sure to max out
our endurance.

A little rest at the top of Fort Carl.

We even spotted this little guy. I picked him up and his little legs were wiggling so fast. He sure wanted to run, and left us rather expeditiously. ha!

The nicest Frenchman snapped this shot of us. He was so intent on making it perfect.

Since Deb had mapped out all of the beaches on St Barths that we had to experience, we drove to every single one before lunchtime.  (Yes, after our am hike!) We swam at a few and chose our favorite ones to revisit. 

Leave it to the French to make the "ashcan" for cigarettes charming.

Just idyllic scenery & beaches.

We had so much fun in that exquisite sea!

We had lunch that afternoon at Les Cheval Blanc (the white horse) Hotel which was the absolute epitome of French perfection at the sea. 

The white tablecloths, the hint of blush pink touches and bleached driftwood set the tone for a surreal lunchtime experience beachside. Constance was so sweet to have made all dining reservations for their trip!

The pool made you want to dive into it, and the outdoor tables were well appointed. 

The bar lounge was über chic 

And the beach was about to get packed for lunch. 

Their beachside restaurant was called Cabane de L'Isle.

How cute is this changing cabana?

Their chic lunch crowd. 

Brad got his beer served up fancy! They need this at Blackies.

Various types of homemade French bread at the ready. 

A little crudité. 

We were all loving the gentle sea breeze, the fantastic food, the mellow lounge tuneage and especially the convivial friendship which abounded! Not one of us wanted to leave.

What a great vibe this place has. 

Constance (Aka, Conrad & Connie) left lunch with a new nickname...

Once we begrudgingly departed, there was a quick pit stop on the boat to change. Then Angela and Deb hit the local cafe for some wifi. Wifi is always dubious which is hard to imagine in this day & age. 

 Constance and I hit the town to check out some sights. She was my muse..

Then we all made a plan to meet at Shell Beach at sunset. The entire beach is covered in little shells. It was a magical spot!

This soon became our FAVE swimming beach as we could walk to it from the boat and loved it!!

While, Brad, Deb & Angela got there first... Constance and I walked to what we thought was Shell Beach, but we ended up short by one mountaintop. We ended up hitching a ride (Not really. As if I'd be sticking my thumb out anywhere?..haha!!) with "Olivier" (he was sweet to offer as he could tell we were a bit lost) a local Frenchman who grew up on the island. He was quite stinky I have to add, but didn't seem like he would hack us to pieces and we felt safe for the mini sojourn. Once we arrived, Brad had margaritas at the ready.

Now, as you look at that superyacht in the background, look real close.

I spotted a "hood ornament" on the bow. Who would've thought this could work? Wowie!!

 It was the bust of a Maltese falcon, entirely made out of stainless steel I'd imagine. Since the yacht was flying a Maltese flag, we could only assume that's where the owner was from. We wish we would have seen the name of it! Then low & behold...as we are all sitting on the beach, their dingy comes ashore. However, it doesn't float ashore, it DRIVES ashore. Too cool.

We had never seen an amphibious tender quite like this. 

Shell Beach has a popular restaurant on it called "Dõ Brasil". It was packed at sunset.

And we hit the ocean...

After what became an "evening" swim over a few hours, we decided to have dinner at Dõ Brasil...

But first, or margarita bill arrived. We had 8 margaritas and one water (that was for me..I'm a total lightweight!) and it came to $288.00. Ha!! Shocker. Everything is pricier here on this island. 

 It was so hard to tear ourselves away from the sea... The water was idyllic and warm as a bathtub. We had oodles of giggles and finally got out of the ocean when it was dark. Still wet from the sea, but the restaurant manager didn't mind one bit.

The food was fabulous and we had such a fantastic time!!! And..the dinner bill was less than the sunset cocktails. Hard to believe it was the girls first full day as we crammed so much into it. We walked back after dinner and ended up with our own dance party on the back of the boat. We had THE best time! 

Brad is truly an air guitar master. 

Too much FUN! 

What a night.