From: paul.graveline%travel@wugate.wustl.edu (Paul Graveline) 
Newsgroups: rec.travel
Subject: CARIBBEAN TRAVEL ROUNDU13
Date: 1 Sep 92 13:18:00 GMT
Distribution: world
Organization: Travel Online, St. Louis, MO
Reply-To: paul.graveline%travel@wugate.wustl.edu (Paul Graveline) 

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less than thirty feet from the breakfast nook of guest cabins.  
 
Beaches  on  the  North  and  East  side  of the island have good to  
excellent  surf, driven by the trade winds, which blow steadily from  
the  North-  East.  The  winds are a boon for a popular island sport  
windsurfing.  These little sails on surfboards reach amazing speeds.  
We  watched  with  disbelief as wind surfers achieved perhaps 50 MPH  
at  Orient  Beach,  on  the  French  side  just North of Dawn Beach.  
Orient  Beach  is  famous  as the nude beach-- another tourist draw,  
where  the  tourists  are, themselves, a tourist attraction. Some of  
the  souvenir  vendors in the shopping area at the North-West end of  
Orient  Beach  flog  their  goods  in  the  nude as well. Bring your  
camera,  but just for the booths and areas adjacent to the beach. No  
cameras  allowed  on  Orient  Beach  itself. However, a well-endowed  
young  lady  was  posing  for  the  tourists just outside one of the  
restaurants near the beach.  
 
Continuing  counter-clockwise  along  the  island's rim, you come to  
the  famous Grand Case Beach. Tops are optional here, as is the case  
for  most  of  the beaches, but the main reason to visit Grand Case,  
aside  from  the fine, white, sand and clear water, is the profusion  
of  BBQ  shacks,  rib  joints,  and  other food stalls jammed into a  
picturesque  series  of  open-air  eateries.  There are several fine  
snorkeling spots just off Grand Case as well.  
 
On  the  opposite side of the island is Maho Beach, part of which is  
right  at the end of Princess Juliana Airport's single runway. There  
is  nowhere else in the world, that I know of, where you can watch a  
Boeing  747  land  from  less  than  200  feet away. The prospect of  
creating  astounding  pictures,  at some cost in noise tolerance, is  
tremendous.  Airplane  nuts  will  be  tempted  to  spend hours with  
camera  poised  at  Maho  Beach.  Better yet, stay at one of the two  
hotels  that  flank the beach and flight path. The aircraft were too  
close  for me to use my 70-210mm zoom. I had to restrict myself to a  
35-70mm  one.  Even  then,  I  had  difficulty getting all of an Air  
France  747  in  the  frame when it was lining up for takeoff at the  
end  of  the  runway. I was shooting from the fence line. On a small  
stretch  of  Maho  Beach  you can be sand blasted as a result of jet  
exhaust as engines are run up for takeoff.  
 
Other  beaches  abound.  Plum  Beach, Rouge Beach, and Friars Beach,  
the  latter  may require a four-wheel drive to access, are noted for  
excellent  snorkeling. Guana Beach, close to Philipsburg on the East  
side  of the island, features body surfing. You can get an excellent  
tan  at  any  beach,  or  even  at  one  of your hotel's fresh water  
swimming pools. 
 
Gambling  ranges  from moderate limits set in family-oriented hotels  
to  wide-  open  high-rolling  promoted in others. Slot machines are  
available  for  nickels,  quarters,  and  silver  dollars (all US of  
course).  Blackjack,  Roulette,  Craps,  and  some  limited forms of  
Poker  seem  to  be  the  most common games. You probably could find  
Baccarat  and other European games as well, but most games and rules  
follow  American  practices. After all, most tourists have come from  
the  Eastern  seaboard  of  the  US,  although  there  is  a growing  
presence of Europeans-- especially on the French side. 
 
Philipsburg's  Front  Street,  which  parallels the shore line - and  
the  beach,  of  course  - is touted as the primary shopping area on  
the  island.  This  is where the cruise ships dock, one or two every  
day  it  seems.  Prices are all duty-free. In fact, the whole island  
is  duty-free. There are no customs inspections because there are no  
customs  of  any  kind.  We  found  prices to be similar on both the  
French  side,  in  the  main  shopping  center  of  Marigot,  and in  
Philipsburg,  on  the  Dutch  side.  T-shirt  shops  and  the  moral  
equivalent  of  glass  beads abound. Quality varies greatly, as does  
price.  Liquor,  we  think, was priced better in Philipsburg than in  
Marigot  -and one or two dollars a bottle less than at the duty-free  
shop  at  the  airport. Perfume possibly had an edge in price on the  
French  side.  We  understand that prices on the French side used to  
be  significantly  higher  but this does not seem to be the case any  
longer. Prices are negotiable. Bargain for everything! 
 
St. Martin Report by Stuart Shmookler 
------------------------------------- 
 
We  stayed  for  one  week at La Belle Creole on the French side. It  
had  very  nice  rooms and service while at the same time quiet, low  
key  and  private.  Breakfast  was  included.  We  tried the seafood  
buffet which I found disappointing.  
 
Both  Susan  and I can not say enough good things about LBC. It is a  
replica  of  a Mediterranean fishing village with a large courtyard.  
The  restaurant and front desk are to one side with the pool between  
the  ocean  and  restaurant.  The  rooms  are to the other two sides  
between  the bay and ocean. It is NOT a high rise. Our room was in a  
two  story building with 5 rooms on the first level and 5 above. Our  
private  patio (with table and chairs) faced the bay. No building is  
higher  than  3  stories.  The rooms are large with tile floors, air  
cond., ceiling fans, sitting area, bathroom with separate toilet.  
 
Also  there  is  daily  maid  service  plus a turn down service. The  
staff  were  helpful,  friendly and courteous. The other guests were  
nice  and  we  made  friends.  There  is one restaurant where we ate  
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