Friday, November 8, 2019 - Gustavia, Saint Barthelemy

Friday, November 8, 2019 - Gustavia, Saint Barthelemy


Saint Barthelemy, official the Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Barthelemy is an overseas collectivity of France in the Caribbean.   Often abbreviated to St-Barth in French, and St. Barths or St. Barts in English, the island lies about 35 km southeast of the Dutch-owned Sint Maarten and northeast of the Dutch islands of Saba, Saint Eustatius, and the independent country of Sant Kitts and Nevis.

St. Barts was for many years a French commune forming part of Guadeloupe, which is an overseas region and department of France.  In 2003 the island voted in favor of secession from Guadeloupe in order to form a separate overseas collectivity of France.  The collectivity is one of four territories among the Leeward Islands in the northeastern Caribbean that comprise the French West Indies, along with Saint Martin, Guadeloupe and Martinique.  Saint Barts, a volcanic island fully encircled by shallow reefs, has an area of 25 square km and a population of about 10,000.  Its capital is Gustavia, which also contains the main harbor.  It is the only Caribbean island that was a Swedish colony for any significant length of time; before the end of the Napoleonic Wars.  Guadeloupe came under Swedish rule for nearly a century.  Symbolism fro, the Swedish national arms, the Three Crowns, still appears in the island's coast of arms. The language, cuisine and culture, however, are distinctly French.  

The island is a popular tourist destination during the winter holiday season, geared toward the high-end luxury tourist market.  Red roofed buildings speckle the lush tropical landscape in Gustavia, whose historic sites can be reached in one day of trekking around town.  Seventeenth Century forts one the harbor, from Fort Karl in the north to Fort Gustaf with its lighthouse and cannons in the south.  Near Fort Gustaf is the popular Shell Beach, where beachcombers rove for sparkling shells.  The town's many duty free. boutiques call to shoppers while cozy cafes offer views over the harbor.

After a coffee and a pastry in our suite, we decided to tender ashore to window shop all of the high-end stores here.   Adolfo and I were here on our last cruise, so I knew that actual shopping probably wasn't something I would do.   Gervaise needed her wallet out of the safe but when she'd retrieved it, the safe would not lock.  Called housekeeping and she couldn't fix it.   She called security, and 20 minutes later, he was in the room trying his hand at repair.   Couldn't be done.   What he finally did was to bring us another safe, unscrew the one we had, and put the new one into place.   From start to finish, it only took about 40 minutes, so we were soon on our way into town.

Things have not changed.   Lots of high-end shops abound - Prada, Bulgari, Dolce & Gabbana, etc.  The buildings are sweet and old, and the harbor is beautiful.   Not nearly the amount of yachts as there were in March of 2015 when the bay was truly loaded with beauties!


Back for lunch and a report from Steve about the water problems at my house - oh yes, they continue.   Steve has been out on the slope with pick and shovel uncovering some old pipe that has broken and created not only a massive water bill, but a problem that must be fixed right away.   He has turned off the water at the street, and believe he said that he has a plumber coming out tomorrow.   Thank God.   Steve told me today that there'd been a notice from the Water Department in the mail when he picked that up yesterday.   Between the power outage and now the water, the poor kid will need a vacation soon!

 Just back from a wonderful and casual dinner out on deck at Earth and Ocean.   Not too many people dining al fresco tonight, because Colonnade has the International Chef's Market - foods from all over the world - usually pretty good.   But, alas, we forgot about it!!

 Just about to go to the show tonight to see the Seabourn Singers and Dancers perform in a tribute to Stevie Wonder.   Should be quite good!

 Until tomorrow . . . 



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