Category Archives: About Bailey

About Bailey, St. Maarten, Vacations

Mullet Bay

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Mullet Bay, St. MaartenWednesday dawned clear and warm – barely 90 degrees, so we put on our sweaters and headed to Mullet Bay. It is a large sweeping bay, on the south side of the island. It’s also near the main airport, on the Dutch side, one beach over from the famous Maho Beach. The water was warm and calm, with a beautiful soft sandy beach, about a mile long, in a long gentle curve.

OctopusWe entered near the left side, and quickly found tons of fish, some we’d never seen before. It wasn’t long before we saw our first octopus. He was partially concealed under a rock, and stayed there, watching us warily as we dove to take pictures of him. We left him alone and quickly found another slightly larger octopus also partly concealed. We took a few pics of him. We found a third octopus hiding under a large rock. He’s probably the biggest one we’ve found on any Caribbean island. We struck out across the bay to the far right side and quickly ran into another octopus. That’s right! We saw octopus all over this bay! At least eight, maybe more, including one little tiny one about three inches long.

School of fishThere were lots of fish I tried to get pictures of, but following my recent lucky string, I got El Zippo. Sorry folks, but I just suck with a camera. One of Olympus cameras has bitten the dust. It keeps saying close the cover, when it is! LOL Anyway, we’re down to the old repaired Olympus, and it doesn’t work completely. All the buttons except the on/of and the picture clicker don’t work.

OctopusWe’re off to see Turtle Reef tomorrow (Thursday), so we’re hoping this sucker will last, AND that we come back with pics of turtles. I took 170 pictures at Mullet Bay and about 10 were reasonable.

Warning sign on Maho BeachWe snorkeled a long time here at Mullet Bay, and just had a blast. We came out for a beer and a rest and plowed back in for another short dive. It was just as fun, seeing another couple of octopus. We saw this really cool fish, divided perfectly in half, one side silver, the other side black, but of course none of the pics I took turned out.

Plane landingThe sun was setting as we came home, and we passed Maho Beach. It is famous for being the closest you can legally get to jets while they are in the air! We managed to see one plane land. We’ve been saying we’re going to have to come to this beach during the day, but we’re quickly running out of time.

Christmas lights on St. Maarten, 2009As we drove home in the dark, we saw lots of homes decked out in Christmas lights. Some are really quite swell and extravagant.

We had dinner at Beau Beau’s because they have a lobster medallions special, starting with a lobster bisque, and an ice cream dessert. You can skip this meal as it is passable, but hardly great.

Small octopus Octopus in the garden Good sized octopus Octopus
About Bailey, St. Maarten, Vacations

Mullet Bay

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Mullet Bay, St. MaartenWednesday dawned clear and warm – barely 90 degrees, so we put on our sweaters and headed to Mullet Bay. It is a large sweeping bay, on the south side of the island. It’s also near the main airport, on the Dutch side, one beach over from the famous Maho Beach. The water was warm and calm, with a beautiful soft sandy beach, about a mile long, in a long gentle curve.

OctopusWe entered near the left side, and quickly found tons of fish, some we’d never seen before. It wasn’t long before we saw our first octopus. He was partially concealed under a rock, and stayed there, watching us warily as we dove to take pictures of him. We left him alone and quickly found another slightly larger octopus also partly concealed. We took a few pics of him. We found a third octopus hiding under a large rock. He’s probably the biggest one we’ve found on any Caribbean island. We struck out across the bay to the far right side and quickly ran into another octopus. That’s right! We saw octopus all over this bay! At least eight, maybe more, including one little tiny one about three inches long.

School of fishThere were lots of fish I tried to get pictures of, but following my recent lucky string, I got El Zippo. Sorry folks, but I just suck with a camera. One of Olympus cameras has bitten the dust. It keeps saying close the cover, when it is! LOL Anyway, we’re down to the old repaired Olympus, and it doesn’t work completely. All the buttons except the on/of and the picture clicker don’t work.

OctopusWe’re off to see Turtle Reef tomorrow (Thursday), so we’re hoping this sucker will last, AND that we come back with pics of turtles. I took 170 pictures at Mullet Bay and about 10 were reasonable.

Warning sign on Maho BeachWe snorkeled a long time here at Mullet Bay, and just had a blast. We came out for a beer and a rest and plowed back in for another short dive. It was just as fun, seeing another couple of octopus. We saw this really cool fish, divided perfectly in half, one side silver, the other side black, but of course none of the pics I took turned out.

Plane landingThe sun was setting as we came home, and we passed Maho Beach. It is famous for being the closest you can legally get to jets while they are in the air! We managed to see one plane land. We’ve been saying we’re going to have to come to this beach during the day, but we’re quickly running out of time.

Christmas lights on St. Maarten, 2009As we drove home in the dark, we saw lots of homes decked out in Christmas lights. Some are really quite swell and extravagant.

We had dinner at Beau Beau’s because they have a lobster medallions special, starting with a lobster bisque, and an ice cream dessert. You can skip this meal as it is passable, but hardly great.

Octopus Good sized octopus Small octopus Octopus in the garden
About Bailey, St. Maarten, Vacations

Slow Tuesday

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Public artToday started slowly. We all slept in and didn’t get ambulatory til nearly noon. I went in for a quick snorkel and the water was clear and calm until you got to the reef! Seems like the reef is too close to the surface and it causes too much agitation in the water, making visibility just not good enough to take pictures. There are certainly lots of fish to see, just the photos don’t Legalize limesturn out well enough to post on the blog.

We drove into Philipsburg again and spent the day wandering about checking out the stores and the people. There was a HUGE cruise ship in the harbor and the town was full of people. We sat on the boardwalk and had lunch at place called The Big Wood. It was typical fare for lunch, nothing special, but beers were a buck.

I managed to find a couple shirts to buy – which makes the total somewhere near a dozen haha! Never seen such good looking shirts as in this town!

The viewWe’ve fallen into the habit of hitting the hot tub before 5 pm, since there is a 2 for 1 drink special from 4 til 6. We have a couple of drinks, then head home for a nap before dinner! Tough life, but someone has to live it!

Lunch time at the Big Wood GrillFor dinner we headed across the pond to Captain Oliver’s restaurant. We had intended to go to Captain Oliver’s a few days ago but we stopped at Le Planteur, a French creole restaurant that Maggie enjoyed. I thought it was terrible – I mean come on – they served my fish dish in tinfoil! lol – Anyway – it’s too bad we did not get to Captain Oliver’s that day, because it was probably the best food and service we’ve had on the island. We’ve made a reservation for Friday, our last day, for a repeat performance.

Out on the townThey picked us up from the hotel, and took us to the restaurant. it sits right on the dock, in the middle of the marina. Tables are set over glass, so you can watch the fish below you, including nurse sharks, large and small tarpon, turtles and many other smaller fish.

The appetizers – fish soup, Caesar salad, snails and shrimp were all amazing. The main courses were awesome. I had the mahi mahi in a Pernod sauce. It came with asparagus, carrots, spinach and potatoes. The presentation was sensational. The tastes were delightful. I couldn’t have dreamed a better dish! For dessert I had Pear Charlotte and while it was not what I expected, it was delicious nonetheless.

Parking is a skill, right?They brought a bottle of Banana-vanilla brandy to the table, and told us it was on the house and to drink as much as we liked. It too was a unique taste sensation.

They had a live musician playing music and singing, and he was very good as well. He was a very good guitarist, playing everything, but he played some Santana tunes remarkably well. It was a really romantic setting, and he fostered that feeling with his choice of songs.

A perfectly delightful end to the day.

About Bailey, St. Maarten, Vacations

Slow Tuesday

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Public artToday started slowly. We all slept in and didn’t get ambulatory til nearly noon. I went in for a quick snorkel and the water was clear and calm until you got to the reef! Seems like the reef is too close to the surface and it causes too much agitation in the water, making visibility just not good enough to take pictures. There are certainly lots of fish to see, just the photos don’t Legalize limesturn out well enough to post on the blog.

We drove into Philipsburg again and spent the day wandering about checking out the stores and the people. There was a HUGE cruise ship in the harbor and the town was full of people. We sat on the boardwalk and had lunch at place called The Big Wood. It was typical fare for lunch, nothing special, but beers were a buck.

I managed to find a couple shirts to buy – which makes the total somewhere near a dozen haha! Never seen such good looking shirts as in this town!

The viewWe’ve fallen into the habit of hitting the hot tub before 5 pm, since there is a 2 for 1 drink special from 4 til 6. We have a couple of drinks, then head home for a nap before dinner! Tough life, but someone has to live it!

Lunch time at the Big Wood GrillFor dinner we headed across the pond to Captain Oliver’s restaurant. We had intended to go to Captain Oliver’s a few days ago but we stopped at Le Planteur, a French creole restaurant that Maggie enjoyed. I thought it was terrible – I mean come on – they served my fish dish in tinfoil! lol – Anyway – it’s too bad we did not get to Captain Oliver’s that day, because it was probably the best food and service we’ve had on the island. We’ve made a reservation for Friday, our last day, for a repeat performance.

Out on the townThey picked us up from the hotel, and took us to the restaurant. it sits right on the dock, in the middle of the marina. Tables are set over glass, so you can watch the fish below you, including nurse sharks, large and small tarpon, turtles and many other smaller fish.

The appetizers – fish soup, Caesar salad, snails and shrimp were all amazing. The main courses were awesome. I had the mahi mahi in a Pernod sauce. It came with asparagus, carrots, spinach and potatoes. The presentation was sensational. The tastes were delightful. I couldn’t have dreamed a better dish! For dessert I had Pear Charlotte and while it was not what I expected, it was delicious nonetheless.

Parking is a skill, right?They brought a bottle of Banana-vanilla brandy to the table, and told us it was on the house and to drink as much as we liked. It too was a unique taste sensation.

They had a live musician playing music and singing, and he was very good as well. He was a very good guitarist, playing everything, but he played some Santana tunes remarkably well. It was a really romantic setting, and he fostered that feeling with his choice of songs.

A perfectly delightful end to the day.

About Bailey, St. Maarten, Vacations

Slow Tuesday

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Public artToday started slowly. We all slept in and didn’t get ambulatory til nearly noon. I went in for a quick snorkel and the water was clear and calm until you got to the reef! Seems like the reef is too close to the surface and it causes too much agitation in the water, making visibility just not good enough to take pictures. There are certainly lots of fish to see, just the photos don’t Legalize limesturn out well enough to post on the blog.

We drove into Philipsburg again and spent the day wandering about checking out the stores and the people. There was a HUGE cruise ship in the harbor and the town was full of people. We sat on the boardwalk and had lunch at place called The Big Wood. It was typical fare for lunch, nothing special, but beers were a buck.

I managed to find a couple shirts to buy – which makes the total somewhere near a dozen haha! Never seen such good looking shirts as in this town!

The viewWe’ve fallen into the habit of hitting the hot tub before 5 pm, since there is a 2 for 1 drink special from 4 til 6. We have a couple of drinks, then head home for a nap before dinner! Tough life, but someone has to live it!

Lunch time at the Big Wood GrillFor dinner we headed across the pond to Captain Oliver’s restaurant. We had intended to go to Captain Oliver’s a few days ago but we stopped at Le Planteur, a French creole restaurant that Maggie enjoyed. I thought it was terrible – I mean come on – they served my fish dish in tinfoil! lol – Anyway – it’s too bad we did not get to Captain Oliver’s that day, because it was probably the best food and service we’ve had on the island. We’ve made a reservation for Friday, our last day, for a repeat performance.

Out on the townThey picked us up from the hotel, and took us to the restaurant. it sits right on the dock, in the middle of the marina. Tables are set over glass, so you can watch the fish below you, including nurse sharks, large and small tarpon, turtles and many other smaller fish.

The appetizers – fish soup, Caesar salad, snails and shrimp were all amazing. The main courses were awesome. I had the mahi mahi in a Pernod sauce. It came with asparagus, carrots, spinach and potatoes. The presentation was sensational. The tastes were delightful. I couldn’t have dreamed a better dish! For dessert I had Pear Charlotte and while it was not what I expected, it was delicious nonetheless.

Parking is a skill, right?They brought a bottle of Banana-vanilla brandy to the table, and told us it was on the house and to drink as much as we liked. It too was a unique taste sensation.

They had a live musician playing music and singing, and he was very good as well. He was a very good guitarist, playing everything, but he played some Santana tunes remarkably well. It was a really romantic setting, and he fostered that feeling with his choice of songs.

A perfectly delightful end to the day.

About Bailey, St. Maarten, Vacations

Saturday on St. Martin

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Beach petsWell the first day of our last week dawned bright and clear (again). I got in the ocean here at Dawn Beach, but the waves are just too strong to make the snorkeling enjoyable. We’ve heard this is one of the best beaches, but only when the current is mild. So far, it has not been mild at all. The swimming is a lot of fun, but again, the current can be challenging.

Two We talked to some locals and they suggested Friar’s Bay as a great snorkeling place. We had already been there and had a nice enough time. They told us that we had snorkeled the wrong side of the bay, and that we should have gone up the right hand side. So, we figured, what the heck, let’s go give it a whirl. And they were right!

The bay was very calm today, with hardly a ripple on the ocean. Entry to the ocean was on some nice soft sand, and we quickly headed over to the rocks. We saw tons of stuff we had not seen anywhere else on the island. AND we saw some things we’ve not seen on any island! For me, the highlight was seeing stick crabs, crabs that have long very skinny legs. We had never seen any before, except in nature shows. That was so cool.

Another gorgeous Queen AngelWe also spotted four types of moray eel. There were Queen Angelfish, another boxfish, and Pam’s favorite fish, a Nassau Grouper! There were plenty of other fish we have not seen before and which we haven’t even been able to name yet!

The problem again, is my photography. I’m doing a terrible job of capturing these beauties. You’d think after all this time I’d be getting good at it, but it’s so hit and miss. It’s very discouraging actually.

Cool looking moray eelWe had lunch at Friar’s Bay Beach Cafe. If you should come to this beach, be sure to bypass this ripoff joint. We had two clubhouse sandwiches, one meat and cheese sandwich, and “chicken fingers” (with only two “fingers”), two beer and two coke. Price: $117.00. The food was not even very good. Ordinary would be stretching it. Eight bucks for a beer, when the most we’ve paid has been $2.50 anywhere else, even on pricey Pinel Island. Outrageous.

We piled back into the ocean for another leisurely snorkel up the right coast. It was great fun, and we got to see just tons of fish. The water clarity was very good, and we saw more morays, other fun stuff.

Maurice diving to take yet another bad pictureWe got back to the hotel for a soak in the hot tub, then off to dinner at a French restaurant called “Le Plainteur” just across the marina from our hotel on the French side. It is perched on top of a hill with a beautiful view of our hotel and the surrounding hillside. That was as good as it got.

Here it is snowing in St. Maarten!We should have learned from the French ripoff at lunch, but I guess we’re stubborn. The owner’s children playing far too loudly in the dining room was off-putting from the minute we walked in.

I ordered French Onion Soup. It was too cold to be called soup really. The Mahi Mahi Creole was served in tinfoil, and didn’t resemble anything Creole I’ve ever had. It was accompanied by a scoop of some overcooked mass of something indiscernible. The plating technique left something to be desired, to say the least. Dessert was Flambeed Bananas that were cooked beyond recognition. For me, this was one the worst meals I’ve ever had to pay so much money for! Honestly, for “French Food” this wouldn’t even pass as cafeteria food. Again give this place a bypass. You’ll be glad you did.

About Bailey, St. Maarten, Vacations

Saturday on St. Martin

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Beach petsWell the first day of our last week dawned bright and clear (again). I got in the ocean here at Dawn Beach, but the waves are just too strong to make the snorkeling enjoyable. We’ve heard this is one of the best beaches, but only when the current is mild. So far, it has not been mild at all. The swimming is a lot of fun, but again, the current can be challenging.

Two We talked to some locals and they suggested Friar’s Bay as a great snorkeling place. We had already been there and had a nice enough time. They told us that we had snorkeled the wrong side of the bay, and that we should have gone up the right hand side. So, we figured, what the heck, let’s go give it a whirl. And they were right!

The bay was very calm today, with hardly a ripple on the ocean. Entry to the ocean was on some nice soft sand, and we quickly headed over to the rocks. We saw tons of stuff we had not seen anywhere else on the island. AND we saw some things we’ve not seen on any island! For me, the highlight was seeing stick crabs, crabs that have long very skinny legs. We had never seen any before, except in nature shows. That was so cool.

Another gorgeous Queen AngelWe also spotted four types of moray eel. There were Queen Angelfish, another boxfish, and Pam’s favorite fish, a Nassau Grouper! There were plenty of other fish we have not seen before and which we haven’t even been able to name yet!

The problem again, is my photography. I’m doing a terrible job of capturing these beauties. You’d think after all this time I’d be getting good at it, but it’s so hit and miss. It’s very discouraging actually.

Cool looking moray eelWe had lunch at Friar’s Bay Beach Cafe. If you should come to this beach, be sure to bypass this ripoff joint. We had two clubhouse sandwiches, one meat and cheese sandwich, and “chicken fingers” (with only two “fingers”), two beer and two coke. Price: $117.00. The food was not even very good. Ordinary would be stretching it. Eight bucks for a beer, when the most we’ve paid has been $2.50 anywhere else, even on pricey Pinel Island. Outrageous.

We piled back into the ocean for another leisurely snorkel up the right coast. It was great fun, and we got to see just tons of fish. The water clarity was very good, and we saw more morays, other fun stuff.

Maurice diving to take yet another bad pictureWe got back to the hotel for a soak in the hot tub, then off to dinner at a French restaurant called “Le Plainteur” just across the marina from our hotel on the French side. It is perched on top of a hill with a beautiful view of our hotel and the surrounding hillside. That was as good as it got.

Here it is snowing in St. Maarten!We should have learned from the French ripoff at lunch, but I guess we’re stubborn. The owner’s children playing far too loudly in the dining room was off-putting from the minute we walked in.

I ordered French Onion Soup. It was too cold to be called soup really. The Mahi Mahi Creole was served in tinfoil, and didn’t resemble anything Creole I’ve ever had. It was accompanied by a scoop of some overcooked mass of something indiscernible. The plating technique left something to be desired, to say the least. Dessert was Flambeed Bananas that were cooked beyond recognition. For me, this was one the worst meals I’ve ever had to pay so much money for! Honestly, for “French Food” this wouldn’t even pass as cafeteria food. Again give this place a bypass. You’ll be glad you did.