The "Memories Are Hard To Replace" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Reading a thread on TravelTalkOnline (TTOL) about the demolition of a row of little seaside restaurants and shops on Orient Beach which is located on the French side of St. Martin.  

The parcel of land known as AW34 which has beach
bars and little shops which has been torn down.

Years ago an investor leased a stretch of beach from the government and in turn leased it to another person who built the small places along the beach.  These in turn were rented to the current restaurant and shop owners and ..... the lease evidently has expired and the government wants to tear them down.  

A rendering of what the new buildings will look like.

It was back on May 12th and 13th that I posted a series of stories telling about why they had been listed by the French government as candidates for demolition.  These quirky little places have been along the azure blue water of Orient Bay for years and have garnered many customers who love the food they create or the clothes and souvenirs they sell.  

Not much remains of the old beach bars. Photo by R De Haan 

But, it seems that the parcel of land known as AW34 is no longer going to have these little places that emit charm, uniqueness and funkiness.  They evidently were built too close to the water way back when and will now be demolished to make way for modular buildings that will be kept back from the water and will be rented to the same owners, if they so choose.  

The bulldozers and cranes are busy at work Photo by R De Haan.

The demolition was to start the beginning of June, but as usual, when island time is involved, they were delayed a few weeks.  Well, according to the thread on TTOL titled "Well, the demolition on Orient has started", it looks as if the places are finally being torn down.  And, it didn't take long for the buildings to come down.

I read that the company doing the demo is being very careful to get all the remains of each building, including nails and small pieces of wood, that could get buried in the sand and at some time later cause injury to a visitor to the beach.  Some of the saddest photos were of our favorite beach bar known as Andy and Cheryl's Baywatch.  

Fences have been added to keep beachgoers away.
Photo by R De Haan.

Place had been there since we first started visiting the island 15 years ago.  The bright blue and yellow colors of the place will be missed.  Carol and I delivered expired license plates and club plates to Andy so he could hang them from his rafters with the other plates from all over the world.  Andy died a couple of years ago, but Cheryl managed to keep the place running strong as ever.  

License plates hang from the rafters of Andy and Cheryl's
Baywatch.  Our CAW-LWW one is in the center.

Some of the photos posted on TTOL show Cheryl going through all the plates that have been removed from the rafters and stacked on the blue picnic tables of the beach bar.  Hope she finds our autographed Lancaster County Corvette Club plate and can hang it in her new place, provided she decides to open once again.  

Cheryl sorts through the the plates that were removed
from the rafters before demolition. Photo by Don 

The architectural renderings of the proposed places that will replace the old beach bars shows multiple modular units that look nothing like what has just been demolished.  I guess I will be able to eventually accept the new units, but they will never be as quirky and unique as the old seaside restaurants and shops they will replace. 

Neat photo taken from the water of the demolition. Photo by R De Haan

The owners had spent years working hard to make their establishment what it was today and it has to be heartbreaking to see the bulldozers knocking down all those years of hard work.     Memories are hard to replace!  

One final look at Andy and Cheryl's Baywatch, including
the menu board in front, before they demolish it. Photo by Don

I'm so glad I had the chance to visit and photograph what at one time was pure Caribbean culture along Orient Bay, and only hope the new places will be as successful as the old ones were for their owners.  Now, we'll have to see how long it will take to replace the demolished places on the south end of Orient Beach.  The owners of the demolished places are without work at present as are all their employees.  Can they survive?  Carol and I will make our second trip to the island this year in October and hope we can visit with Cheryl in her new beach bar at that time.  I pray that our "hope" is realized!  And also hope to see our plates hanging from the rafters once again.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.