Hanging with the Rich and Famous in St Barts

“Dog is my co-pirate”

St Martin bumper sticker

Here’s a picture of downtown Gustavia, the capital of St Barts. At least it would be a picture of the city if it wasn’t almost completely blocked out by mega-yachts tied stern to on the town quay. St Barts caters to the big money crowd and the mega-mega-yacht set. It’s a small island of Swedish/French ancestry. Currently it is a French island, after Sweden gave it back to France in the 1880’s.
   We’re anchored in Colombier Bay on the north end of the island. That’s Georgia just about dead center of the photo. The island in the background is St. Martin. The bay here is windy and a little rolly. It’s a 1.7 mile very wet dinghy ride into Gustavia. It is a marine park and the snorkeling is OK. I’d show you some underwater pics of the two spotted eels we saw today, but my underwater camera has given up the ghost. The MTBF(mean time before failure) of boat electronics like computers and cameras is about two years on the boat. My Ikelite underwater housing takes a Nikon Coolpix camera. I’m on my second Coolpix. This one only lasted about 10 months. Pretty frustrating!
St Barts is home to a number of land tortoises. This little guy was crossing the trail before being swooped up by the hand of Chris.
And a bigger one getting ready to dash away.
Not sure what type of bird this is. Definitely some bird of prey perching high on cactus – maybe tortoise hunting?
The morning St Barts’ goat gathering at their mountainside hang out overlooking the bay waiting for their fresh  croissants.
Paul