When we first arrived to the islands, now over two weeks ago, it was difficult not to be overwhelmed by the destruction that still defines the island. On the morning of September 6, 2017, Hurricane Irma’s center crossed the island when the storm was at its peak. She swept away entire structures, ripped trees out of the ground, and sent vehicles and debris scattered across the area. Irma killed four people and injured 50 just on the French side of St. Martin. Other islands and the U.S. saw loss of life as well. On the French side, where we are staying, as many as 95% of the buildings sustained damage and up to 60% were considered totally uninhabitable.

Then, two weeks later, Hurricane Maria hit the area, compounding the damage. To say St. Martin, the BVI, and surrounding islands have been to hell and back is an understatement.

Nine months later, the impacts of the storms are still very evident. And, we must admit, it’s easy to get sucked in and focus only on the scattered debris and missing roofs.

Yet, every day we see the beauty which has drawn people to St. Martin for so long. The water is warm and turquoise blue. The beaches and supporting beach bars have come back to life.

Everywhere you look there are workers on the roofs and painters refreshing exteriors. New restaurants and shops seem to be opening everyday. Even the gym we go to each day, Gymfit, is building and improving. And the best part is the people who just keep going. Despite great loss, the locals we’ve met are hopeful, future-focused, and positive. Almost daily we are thanked for coming to St. Martin and contributing to its rebirth.

We booked this trip two weeks before Irma hit the island. For a moment we thought about canceling. We’re glad we didn’t. You can’t help be inspired by the spirit and resiliency of the people who call the islands home.

We’ve been on the island for over a week and it’s really beginning to feel like home.

Each day we’ve explored a different part of the island. One day we joined the hoards of cruise ship passengers on the beach in Philipsburg. Many days there may only be one or no ships in port as a result of Hurricane Irma. Twice a month St. Martin greets three ships in one day. This creates some energy around the island and we decided it was a good day to join in.

For $15-$20 you get two lounge chairs and an umbrella on most of St. Martin’s beaches.

Another day this week we joined our Swedish friends Nancy and Richard for a day on the beautiful beach Baie Rough. Like the other beaches, there is a great little restaurant on the beach, and we enjoyed a yummy lunch of grilled fish and chicken, accompanied with a chilled bottle of rosé.

One evening we went out for a nice dinner to say farewell to Nancy & Richard. They are headed back to Sweden and we all agreed we’ll cherish the memories of our time together sailing the BVI. The World Cup began this week and it’s evident across this international little island. Many cars and homes are adorned with country flags, which indicate the owner’s alliance. France 🇫🇷 Germany 🇩🇪 and Brazil 🇧🇷 seem to be the favorites. We even found fans watching a game in the supermarket. St. Martin can be expensive, especially when eating out. We’ve become fans of the local BBQ restaurants called lolos. These outside restaurants, found throughout the island, offer a plate of grilled fish, ribs, chicken, or lobster along with plentiful sides like potato salad, cole slaw, mac and cheese, and rice. Usually the cost is around $10-12. Beers are $2.

You know a lolo is good when a lot of locals eat there.

We finished up our week with a kayak out to Pinel Island. It takes less than 20 minutes to paddle from the main island out to Pinel, and once you get there, it’s like another world. Pinel is home to two beach restaurants and the warmest, calmest water around. We spent the day swimming, people watching, and just chillin’. We were even entertained by dogs that arrived by boat with other beach goers and enjoyed running free. The photo above shows a cute puppy playing on our kayak. Yes, another bottle of rosé was involved. It’s the thing to do.

Each afternoon the ice cream boat comes to Pinel and you can swim out for a frozen treat.

We didn’t partake but have plans to return to Pinel before we leave, so ice cream from the boat is still a possibility.

Yes, we have ten more days on St. Martin so we’ll have more updates to come.

After our cruise to the BVI, we sadly left our beautiful catamaran and our new friends. Happily, however, we get to spend the rest of our vacation on the island of St. Martin.

St. Martin is an island of two nations, Dutch and French. When we were here 25 years ago we stayed on the Dutch side, focusing on the biggest town of Philipsburg. This time we’ll be based on the French side in a studio apartment overlooking Orient Bay.

Lauren had three more days with us before she had to return to the USA, so we wanted to see as much of the island before she had to leave.

First we filled up on groceries at a big supermarket on the Dutch side. Once settled into our new place we headed to the famed Maho Beach to watch the planes land at St. Martin’s airport. Maho is a small beach at the end of the runway and you can see and feel the aircraft up close upon approach and takeoff.

There are two cool bars on either side of the swath of sand and we experienced both.

On our second full day on the island we headed back to Philipsburg for some shopping.

It was pretty warm, so after a few hours we needed a nap. Once we were refreshed we headed across the island to the village of Grand Case.

Grand Case faces west and offers up spectacular sunsets every night. It’s also the gastronomic capital of St. Martin and is known for the lolos–the local BBQ restaurants located along the water. For $10 you get a huge plate of ribs (or chicken, snapper, steak, or pork) along with an assortment of yummy sides. $2 beers make them even more attractive . Lauren has become a fan of rosé.

Just as we were heading to dinner we ran into Nancy and Richard, our sailing friends from Sweden. Together we enjoyed a great meal and conversation.

Lauren is on her way home now. Here’s a photo of her in the waiting area at the St. Martin airport. Yes, she’s outside. Hurricane Irma did a number on the old airport, so the facilities are improvised.

We’ll miss having the little girl with us here on the island. She was a fun and easy traveling companion.