Journal de Bruno

Sunday Morning in St. Barths 1 OCTOBER, 2017

a Journal by Bruno de Courreges

Yesterday afternoon, while Domingue was filled with craftsmen ready to work on a Saturday for setting up new windows...

... I went out to have a look at how grass and bushes are back, and what beaches look like in the southern part of the island. Weather was moody but it wasn’t raining.

Our neighbor’s house hasn’t suffered.

BelAmour stands unspoiled...

but we have some work inside (windows and AC to repair.)

I made a first stop at Grand Cul de Sac: everything seems to be ready for fishermen to start fishing again. If the weather was better, this view could be a postcard.

Then I took the road to Grand Fond.Â

Here you hardly believe there has been a class 5 hurricane.

Compared with Pointe Milou, Grand Fond is quite green.

Salines is filled with water, which is quite nice.

It looks like a little lake.

The scenery has kept its charm.

But the path to the beach hasn’t been taken care of yet.

Access to the beach is closed until end of October

(read further beach updates at the end of this journal.)

From the hill, you can see that the big trees have suffered, but you will also notice that hedges and bushes are already growing again.Â

A few weeks more will be necessary for the natural partitions to give everyone their privacy.Â

Gouverneur hasn’t lost its appeal.

But the parking lot says much about what happened here.

Gouverneur beach is yet to be cleaned.Â

On my way down to Gustavia I’m surprised with the apparent order surrounding the airport.

Even though they lost their trees many houses look good and ready for the season.

Gustavia looks neat and clean.

If there wasn’t from time to time a completely destroyed house you couldn’t guess the city went through such a nightmare.

The City Hall stands OK but has lost all its trees.

It is difficult to believe that the lower part of the city has been invaded by more than 1 metre of sea water.Â

Now let’s have a look at the west side of the island.

En route to Colombier hill.

Nature is obviously back here.Â

From this vantage point it is difficult to see if the beach has suffered.

We will see tomorrow morning.

Next morning, the weather is back to normal and the light is beautiful. I want to walk to Colombier beach.

The colors are promising a nice day.

The road across Pointe Milou looks nearly normal.Â

The road down to Flamands is surrounded by green bushes.

Here we begin walking to Colombier...

The path to Colombier beach quickly appears enchanting.

I’m not the only one taking a walk on this Sunday morning.

Of course many cactuses have been cut and taken away by the wind.

But alas the beach is unspoiled.Â

Because there are no houses around, this beach presents no danger. I decide to take a long swim.

The magic is complete.

This place is still paradise.

I stayed for two hours and had a wonderful time.

Time to head back.

On my way I see the houses above the sea seem to be ok.

With that beautiful light, I feel like the island is on vacation this Sunday morning.Â

What about the other beaches?

After my trip around the island, I had lunch with an official from the Collectivité. He told me that cleaning up the beaches will begin this week.

It should take three to four weeks since they want to make sure the sand is unspoiled, with no objects in it either outside or inside the water. They will employ divers who use a machine to dig up whatever is hidden under the sand. The plan should allow this work to be finished by October 30.

Editor’s Note – More beaches are now open including

Shell Beach, St Jean Beach, Lorient...