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Babymoon Uncommon Caribbean Style in St. Martin/St. Maarten

St. Maarten Babymoon

Uncommon Caribbean officially launched March 1st, but Stephen and I were actually posting stories and planning the experience since early February. Little did we know, something someone else was also being conceived around the same time! Yes, it turns out that the Uncommon Caribbean family should be getting a little larger very soon. We’re expecting the new correspondent at the beginning of November, so naturally we had to use my wife’s pregnancy as an excuse to travel!

When it came to planning our little babymoon, we took a few things into account that were a little different for us:

The point is to relax and be comfortable. Some strenuous times full of diaper changes and sleep deprivation may be on the horizon, so peace and quiet is a top priority.
You want to spend as little time traveling to your destination as possible. Airports, airplanes, cars, transfers, etc are stressful. This stuff should be minimized.
You don’t want to find yourself too secluded. Relaxing is easier when you know there are quality medical facilities nearby just in case any complications should occur.
If there’s to be adventure, you have to be a bit more creative about it. After all, the “easy” choices for adventure in the Caribbean like diving, hiking, cycling, surfing, etc. are a bit tough for a woman pushing her third trimester.

Other than those four, we just tried to have a normal, nice vacation. Some people might try to make it seem like your babymoon has to be carefully crafted, or give you a list as long as my arm of things to worry about when traveling, like travel insurance, medical insurance claims in foreign countries, what trimester you’re in, or which airplanes have restrictive policies on pregnant passengers, but the point is: This is just an excuse to have a great vacation, so why stress yourself out and try to act differently about it?

Anyway, for us the choice of destination was easy: St. Martin/St. Maarten.

“The Friendly Island” is blessed with 37 beautiful beaches – one for each of the island’s 37 square miles. It’s under four hours away from my home base in New York. JetBlue flies there from the pleasant Terminal 5 hub at JFK. And as a bonus, there are several built up areas with plenty of facilities.

Big Belly at Long Bay St. Maarten

Like I said, we approached the pregnancy aspect of the babymoon as more of an excuse to travel than a hindrance. It wasn’t going to stop us from staying at a hotel a little off the beaten path. (We loved L’Esplanade! Read more about it.) It wasn’t going to stop us from walking all over Grand Case to find the best lolo bar. It wasn’t going to stop us from baring it all on Orient beach. (You can imagine that Kathleen was the only pregnant, nude woman on the beach, though it might be hard to tell from the photo on that post.) It wasn’t going to stop us from exploring secluded caves perfect for an afternoon make-out session. In fact, I think we may have set foot on all 37 of those gorgeous beaches!

The one place we had to make a slight adjustment, as I mentioned in point #4 above, was in seeking a little adventure. Being a born and bred West Indian, I love tramping through the bush and was quite interested in climbing to the top of Pic Paradis, the highest point on St. Martin at 1,400 feet. There were plenty of long, interesting looking trails up there, but I was a bit concerned about my lady making it and didn’t want to ditch her, so… we adapted.

Pic Paradis street sign St. Martin

On the main road, near Friar’s Bay, you can find the above sign on the left side of the road if you’re driving south. Take a quick left, and follow that road all. the. way. It may seem like you’re going the wrong direction as the road isn’t in the best shape and, at points, overgrown with grass, but just keep going and be careful. As you climb, you’ll pass Loterie Farm on your right. (There you can do a little ziplining if you do feel like leaving the preggers missus behind.)

view point signs

Finally, you’ll reach a dead end with some improvised signage pointing the way down a thin path to the “view point”. From here the walk is literally one minute, as posted on the signs, and you’ll be at the top! That’s it. Consider it a mini-hike and just enjoy the view:

view from Pic Paradis St. Martin

From there you can take in much of this idyllic island in the sun.

For me, it was the perfect place to start planning our return trip to St. Martin/St. Maarten for the two three of us.

Sep. 2nd, 2010 | Tags: baby, babymoon, hiking | View Comments

Caribbean

Patrick

Taste of the Caribbean: Local Lobster—No Claws, No Problem!

Caribbean Lobster

It would be too easy to be drawn into the debate about what’s the tastiest lobster. Naturally, most anyone from the northern half of the United States would quickly reply (in all caps): MAINE LOBSTER! They would probably add that it’s the only “true” lobster, whatever that means. And just as naturally, most anyone from the Caribbean would loudly retort: CARIBBEAN LOBSTER IS ‘DE BEST!

Rather than stoke the fires of that debate (I think you can guess my allegiance), I’ll just say there are two things that factor into the tastiness of a dish that go beyond the usual debate.

The first is freshness and the second is a more nebulous “spice” that at times could be called authenticity, or nostalgia, or even an experiential quality. Basically, everything tastes better when it’s both fresh and an experience.

No, Caribbean lobster (also known as spiny lobster) is not a close relative of Maine lobster. No, Caribbean lobster doesn’t have oversize claws full of tasty flesh. No, Caribbean lobster isn’t what many Americans grew up with from visits to the likes of Red Lobster.

What Caribbean lobster is, however, is one of the most so-fresh-it-was-alive-when-I-got-there, thoroughly authentic, experience making dinners you can have in the West Indies. And that’s what makes it the most delicious lobster on the planet… At least at the moment you’re eating it.

Of course, if you’re not in the Caribbean, you can still spice your meal with nostalgic memories of time spent in the sunny islands by picking up some spiny Caribbean lobster of your own and fixing up some at home. (Usually, it would be from fisheries off Florida.) This Caribbean lobster with rum-jerk butter recipe comes from the Mount Gay Rum (oldest rum brand in the world) folks on Barbados.

Ingredients:

two to three 1-2 lb lobsters (or tails) halved and cleaned
1 tbsp melted butter
½ cup chopped onion
1 tbsp jerk seasoning
½ cup chopped sweet pepper
¼ cup Mount Gay Eclipse Rum
2-3 tbsp butter
¼ cup fresh lime juice
¼ cup chives and parsley chopped
½ cup tomato concasse for garnish

Directions:

Parboil the lobster until bright red, then put into a 300 F oven with a little melted butter until the sauce below is done. Sauté onion, jerk seasoning and sweet pepper in remaining melted butter and cook until onion turns translucent. Removing from heat pour in the rum and add butter stirring until it has melted evenly and turns creamy. Add lime juice and herbs, stirring together.

Take each lobster tail and cut in half keeping shell in place. Pull all lobster meat from the rest of the lobster. Keep the body shell for plating your dishes.

Place a bed of greens on each plate. Next place a hollowed lobster shell on each plate on top of the greens. Add lobster meat in a mound next to shell opening and place lobster tails on plate. Pour sauce over lobster and serve the rest in dipping bowls. Garnish with chopped tomato concasse.

It may not be as fresh as the lobster pictured above that moments later went into my belly during a recent visit to St. Martin‘s Restaurant Row in Grand Case, but if you close your eyes while savoring that sweet meat, you might be able to hear the sounds of Caribbean waves lapping against the beach.

Enjoy!

Aug. 30th, 2010 | Tags: dining, food, seafood | View Comments

Montserrat

Patrick

Montserrat Volcano Half Marathon, Here We Come!

Montserrat by rachel_thecat via Flickr

Yes, you read correctly. I’ll be representing Team Uncommon Caribbean in the 2nd annual Montserrat Volcano Half Marathon!

This is one West Indian event simply too uncommon to pass up. Not only does it take place on the beautiful, yet woefully under-visited island of Montserrat, but the “rugged & strenuous” course also promises to be a very hilly one with spectacular sea-views all along the way. Oh, and of course there’s the active Soufriere Hills Volcano to contend with…

Plymouth by Mike Schinkel via Flickr

This is the same volcano that, after a long period of dormancy, erupted in 1995 burying the old capitol of Plymouth under a fast-moving pyroclastic cloud of superheated rock and debris, and has remained active ever since. In 1997, another eruption and subsequent pyroclastic flow destroyed the airport, and by extension, the fragile tourism industry that was still in the process of rebuilding after a direct hit by Hurricane Hugo back in 1989.

However, that was then. Today, Soufriere Hills is one of the most monitored volcanoes on the planet. Sure, this year has already seen a decent sized explosion that managed to send a cloud of ash over to Antigua and Guadeloupe, but I’m just looking at it as a little extra incentive to run faster!

Between now and race day (Saturday, November 27th) you can expect a series of updates on my training (which may or may not involve more than drinking rum and eating roti). I’ll also introduce you to my running mate, Dave Keener, who is more apt to include beer in his training regimen, and highlight all that we hope to explore when we get to Montserrat just in case anyone wants to come down to cheer us on.

Let’s get ready to rumble!

Aug. 26th, 2010 | Tags: marathon, running, sports | View Comments

St. Martin

Patrick

On-Site St. Martin: Sky’s the Limit Lolo Bar and Restaurant

Sky's the Limit lolo - St Martin

We know, we know: St. Martin has some of the best French cuisine and fanciest restaurants in the West Indies (some even call it the Culinary Capital of the Caribbean), but we love to go lo-fi and local when we travel. So naturally, we absolutely had to stop at a lolo, or two… or three!

“Lolo” is the St. Martin name for an open air food stand like you might find along roadsides throughout the Caribbean. Some are more established than others, but in general you can expect to sit on picnic tables amidst the smell of grilling meats and seafood produced by freestanding barbecues. There’s also a major perk for those on a budget: most honor a $1 to 1 euro exchange rate! When you factor in that many sell beer for 1 euro, the lolos’ prices are hard to beat.

My wife Kathleen and I stopped at a few lolos on our last trip, but our favorite was the one we hit first: Sky’s the Limit – located on the edge of Restaurant Row in Grand Case.

On our first day, right around 5pm, we sauntered across the bridge on the north end of Restaurant Row heading south. Just a few paces further is a blue awning and sign for Sky’s the Limit. The smell of the grill enveloped us as we strolled by, compelling us under the awning to find seats at one of their blue and white picnic tables. A moment later, we were handed two plastic covered menus by a waitress with a huge smile. I noticed her name tag. It read: Sweetness.

Sweetness at Sky's the Limit lolo - St Martin

“I’ll have the shrimp plate and a Presidente, please!” I quickly volunteered having barely gotten past the first page of the menu.

“Hmm, I was going to get that… Guess I’ll get the marlin.” Kathleen added. “Well, which one is better?”

“The Shrimp,” Sweetness announced with finality before thinking it over. “Well, you see… I don’t like marlin a’tall. Too dry for me, you know?”

“Ok, then shrimp for me too, then!”

Smiles all around.

With my Presidente in hand, we sat waiting on our late lunches. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed one of the ladies behind the counter rolling dough into balls and dropping them into a big Tupperware container.

“Mmmm… Johnny cakes!”

Making Johnny Cake at Sky's the Limit lolo - St Martin

Kathleen glanced over to the woman. “Mmmm, are you making johnny cakes right now?”

“No honey, but I can fry up a couple special for you, if you like.”

Another big smile. How could we say no.

With just Kathleen and myself in the lolo, we passed time shooting the breeze with Sweetness and the other ladies. Chatting about johnny cakes, and bake, and tourists, and fish, and so on. Before I knew it, Sweetness was plunking a fresh ice-cold Presidente in front of me. I’d idly polished off my previous one without even noticing. More smiles. It was infectious!

Shrimp Plate at Sky's the Limit lolo - St Martin

It was just a few moments before we got our meals… And these were really meals. On our plate were nearly a dozen shrimp covered in sauce, mac and cheese, rice and beans, a little salad, broccoli, spaghetti, potato salad, and coleslaw! Then the johnny cakes arrived. A little Matouk’s West Indian Flambeau Hot Sauce on the side and we were in business. And business was good!

Without question, when you’re in St. Martin, you need to hit as many of the world renowned restaurants on Grand Case’s Restaurant Row as you can. But whatever you do, don’t miss out on the lolos. Their quality can be hit or miss, but I can pretty much guarantee a hit with Sky’s the Limit.

Mmmmm…. Memories…

Aug. 24th, 2010 | Tags: bbq, food | View Comments

St. Martin

Patrick

On-Site St. Martin: Hotel L’Esplanade in Grand Case

Hotel L'Esplanade room

As anyone who reads this blog knows, I love to take photos… But a funny thing happened while staying at Hotel L’Esplanade in Grande Case on my last trip to St. Martin: I took no photos of the property. It wasn’t because this small hotel is not picturesque. It was actually because I was too busy marveling at the beauty of the property and its surroundings to remember to stop and shoot anything at all! Staying here was that pleasant.

When you visit the website for Hotel L’Esplanade and take a look at the photos of the rooms, you probably won’t think they could possibly look that nice in real life, but they do! The dark wood playing off the light walls really captures that fabulous Caribbean feel. And the ceilings really are that amazingly clean and polished. The rooms really are that bright and welcoming. The view over Grand Case from the balcony really is that gorgeous – as you may have noticed from this month’s Moment of Zen video.

Hotel L'Esplanade sign in Grand Case

Of course, our stay was during the off-season, so for the first couple days we practically had the whole place to ourselves. The relative seclusion was great, except they don’t keep the poolside bar open during the off-season, forcing us to walk the pleasant path down to Restaurant Row for our evening beverages and lobster dinners. Brutal, I know, but just the thought of spending time at the bar, watching the sun set and imbibing into the evening has us already thinking that we’ll need to pay L’Esplanade a return visit soon.

Take my word for it: this is a special hotel, in a special location just outside of the place to be in Grand Case, on a very special island. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here and are already plotting new stories to cover on St. Martin as an excuse for a return visit.

If you have any ideas, let us know!

Or if you’re lucky enough to be heading to St. Martin yourself, check out L’Esplanade. Here’s where you can book a stay.

Aug. 19th, 2010 | Tags: hotel, review | View Comments

Caribbean

Patrick

All You Can Jet with JetBlue to Some of Our Favorite Destinations

flyin' By David Salafia via Flickr

That’s right, JetBlue is once again offering their All You Can Jet plan, where for one low price ($699) you can fly as much as you like between September 7th and October 6th. Certainly an uncommon offer, but when you cross reference JetBlue‘s route-map with the locations that I, myself, have visited since we launched Uncommon Caribbean just a few short months ago, something becomes obvious.

I ♥ JetBlue.

So far this year some combination of my wife and I have jetted via JetBlue from New York to Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Maarten/St. Martin and The Dominican Republic to find uncommon stories to share with you. The fact that we’ve flown exclusively with JetBlue is no accident. In a lot of ways, we chose our destinations based on where JetBlue flies – that’s love!

And now, someone with a little time on their hands can easily and affordably follow in our footsteps. Learn to surf in Barbados. Take a volcanic mud bath in St. Lucia. Go au naturel on the beaches of St. Martin. And while it may not be whale watching season in the Dominican Republic, there’s still caving, waterfalls, the great food and, of course, the gorgeous beaches.

So, who’s up for a month of Caribbean exploration? Click here for details…

Aug. 17th, 2010 | Tags: sale | View Comments

Bermuda

Patrick

Friday Happy Hour: Dark n’ Stormy® – The Tempest in a Glass

Dark n' Stormy®?

It’s amazing so much dispute could surround such a delectable libation like the Dark ‘n Stormy from Bermuda.

A large part of the issue surrounds the ingredients to this tempestuous cocktail. Normally, as I’m sure our resident mixologist Jesse Card would tell you, bartenders are free to use any brand of ingredient to craft a beverage unless it’s specifically in the name.

As a simple for instance, take the official drink of St. Croix: the Rum and Coke. Now, on Puerto Rico, that would most likely be made with Bacardi. On St. Croix, nothing but Cruzan would do. On any other island, surely the local rum would be used and, of course, since Coke is in the name, that ubiquitous cola would play its role as well.

Dark n’ Stormys are different… At least according to the Gosling family of Bermuda who, you can probably surmise, own the Gosling Rum brand.

Recently, Gosling’s filed two trademark certificates that dictate the specific ingredients and measurements in a Dark ‘n Stormy. Again, you can probably guess that Gosling’s Black Seal Rum is a mandate to accompany the Dark ‘n Stormy’s other ingredient: ginger beer. And here, again, if you were to ask any resident of Bermuda, they’d adamantly inform you that only one ginger beer will do in a Dark ‘n Stormy: Bermuda’s own Barritt’s Ginger Beer. Finally, there’s the matter of a lime and splash of lime juice customary in Dark ‘n Stormys across the Caribbean. In Bermuda, that would be verboten!

Yes, there is a very good chance that drink you’ve enjoyed for years is not, at least officially, a Dark ‘n Stormy®!

Now, we’re not ones to argue with history and the Goslings have an awful lot of history on Bermuda. The first Gosling to grace her shores was James Gosling who arrived in St. George’s by accident on his way from England to America. As has happened to many travelers to an island paradise, he decided to stay. Around 1858, he and his brother began selling Goslings rum from their store on Front Street in Hamilton, which you can still visit. At the time, they sold the rum straight from wooden barrels to patrons who would supply their own containers. A while later, they began recycling old discarded champagne bottles, filling them with rum and sealing the tops with black wax. The story goes that rum lovers soon began asking for the rum with “the black seal” and the name stuck.

Ingredients: