The "St. Martin Alphabet: Part IV" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Preparing to finish my final post listing the letters of the alphabet with a few words for each letter relating to my favorite vacation spot, St. Martin in the Caribbean Sea.  So, without any other fanfare, let me begin.

• T: Ting is a fantastic grapefruit soft drink.  Carol and I found it years ago on one of our first trips to the Caribbean with our traveling friends Jerry and Just Sue.  Comes in a green bottle and has a sweet citricy flavor.  
  
  A few years after we discovered the drink, we found they had Ting in a pink color.  Both tasted the same with the only difference being the color.  For years I wished I could find the Pepsi product in Pennsylvania and then one day I went into my local Giant Supermarket and there on the shelf was Ting in the green bottle.  Now my only problem I find is that I should not be drinking the beverage since it interferes with one of my medicines.  A Time Share is one way to be able to partially own a place to stay while on the island.  I know quite a few people who own time shares, many on the island of St. Martin.  Recently I was offered a chance to buy a time share from a friend.  Still haven't decided if I want to or not.  I just don't see the big draw in having to pay a monthly maintenance fee and possibly a fee for upgrades as well as pay for the initial cost of the time share. 
• U: Umbrellas of all colors line just about every beach on the island.  

  

  Beach bars line Orient Beach with
  a multitude of different colored umbrellas.

  Many beaches have umbrellas as well as beach chairs for rent.  Many beach bars on the different islands will have a specific color for their umbrellas so as to attract people to their beach bar.  Costs vary from bar to bar as well as beach to beach.  Some include a drink with the cost of the chairs and umbrella while others will give you a free rental if you eat lunch at their beach bar.  Urchin, Sea Urchin or Sea Hedgehog all refer to the small, spiny class called Echinoidea.  

  

  The spiny sea urchin.

  There are about 950 species so it makes it a whole lot harder to tell you the exact one that I stepped on while snorkeling off Pinel Island a few years ago.  They come in all colors including black.  Urchins move slowly on the sea bottom and feed mostly on algae.  The name "urchin" is an old word for hedgehog which describes the appearance of an urchin.  So what did it feel like to step on one?  The pain was intense with pain filling my leg to my hip.  The fellow running the dive shop where we were snorkeling saw me getting out of the water and knew exactly what I had done. "It'll go away in a few hours," he said.  And, he was right. 
• V: A Vedette is a small Naval launch used for scouting or it could refer to a French mounted sentry who is a lookout for an enemy.  I use it here since one day Carol and I were visiting the French capital of the island, Marigot, and saw what looked like a naval vessel tied at anchor in the harbor.  

  

  Villa Plage d'Elan pool view.

  We questioned a worker at the market who told us soldiers are walking around in the market who came to shore from the vedette.  Never saw them myself, but did see the boat. Villa is another name for a home on the French side of St. Martin.  It sounds so neat to say we stayed in a Villa while on vacation rather than say we stayed in a house.  So much more romantic!  We have stayed in vacation homes such as Villa Jeluca, Villa Bonita, Villa Sea Haven, Villa Mayorca  and this year we will be visiting Villa Plage d'Elan.
• W:

  

  Whitecaps can be seen
  in the distance.

  Waves is the obvious word for this letter.  Some beaches have waves that will knock you down such as Baie Rouge and at times Orient Beach, while other beaches have extremely gentle waves such as the beach at Pinel Island.  Whitecaps can be seen at some beaches also, but the whitecaps usually occur in the distance since there are many reefs around the island that cause whitecaps as they break the wave activity and therefore creating whitecaps. 
• X: Xanadu refers to St. Martin in it's entirety.  The idyllic beauty of the island suggests it only exists in a myth.  The picture perfect scenes around the island, whether they be of the people, flowers, houses or even the small cities and towns make you wonder why you don't sell your home and move to the island.  Not gonna happen, since the island would no longer be our special retreat, but our home.  And home just can't be .... well, it can't be vacation.   Or, can it?
• Y: Yellow Beach is located on the island of Pinel.  

  

  Yellow Beach is covered with the
  yellow umbrellas on the island of Pinel.

  It naturally has yellow umbrellas which you can rent.  There is a restaurant closeby where you can purchase beverages as well as lunch.  Since there is no electricity on the uninhabited island, the restaurant has their own generators which they use for preparing the meals they serve.  There at one time were three places to eat, but one closed a few years ago leaving two restaurants to serve the day trippers to the island.  The Yacht Club is located on the Dutch side of the island at the Simpson Bay drawbridge.

  

  The Yacht Club restaurant can be seen
  to the left of the drawbridge.

  The bridge begins to open at 8:30 AM for boats leaving the bay area and opens every hour after that for incoming/outgoing traffic.  The restaurant at the Yacht Club sits directly along the channel under the bridge.  Fantastic chance to see the large yachts as well as smaller boats entering and exiting through the channel.  Carol and I make a visit every year to have breakfast as we watch the yachts pass by as we enjoy or croissants.
• Z: Zee Best Restaurant has two locations on the island, both on the Dutch side.  

  

  The French Toast.

  One location is near the airport while the other location in the Simpson Bay area in the Plaza del Lago.  We have visited the second location numerous times for breakfast.  The table is set with a basket of croissants which are remarkable.  I at one time thought they were complimentary, but when the bill came I realized otherwise.  They sell savory crepes as well as our favorite Zee Best Original French Toast.  Remarkable meal and very filling.      

So, I have reached the end of the alphabet.  Hope you enjoyed a few of the items I have added to my alphabetical story of our second home, St. Martin.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.