Thursday, January 10, 2008

Dateline: St. Martin, French West Indies

Our favorite village so far, mostly because of the delightful craft market, relative absence of designer boutiques, and abundance of comfortable cafes. I went into a little CD store and -- as in San Juan -- told the propietor that I didn't want any tourist stuff. He suggested that in that case I should start with his CD, which I did. He goes by "Rey," and performs an easy-going brand of reggae.

A couple of days ago, at St John, we took lunch and drinks at a cafe overlooking the marina. The seabird life was the best we've seen on the trip: pelicans, albatrosses, and some magnificent frigate birds. These last are lovely: Big guys nobly soaring above the marina as lords surveying their fiefdom.

While in St. John, we bought matching silver bracelets of a style particular to the island. The clasp is J-shaped: We wear ours with the open facing ourselves to show that we are not available.

Killian Read: "The Golden Honeymoon" (Ring Lardner)
"The Killers" (Ernest Hemingway)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

When I was just in Baja, on the Sea of Cortez, I learned to watch the frigate birds to alert where there were other things to be seen: schools of fish, dolphins, sharks, etc. They clean up the detritus from the feeding fish. So many days on the water, so many layers to learn!
Wishing you guys wonderful adventures!
Melinda

K. said...

I wondered why they hovered above the pelicans instead of driving them off.
Just the like the nobility: Take the fruits of someone else's hard work!