Antilles Treasures

 AT is proud to introduce our exclusive line of I Phone 4 and 4S hard covers.  These beautiful hard covers are dye sublimated for rich colors and produced at a nationally known professional photo lab to make sure the image is of the highest possible quality.  

Carrying one of these to protect your phone is a great way to display your tropical spirit.

We currently have 4 designs;

Colorful Cat; A vibrant catamaran resting on Orient Beach

 In Bloom; Pink Frangipani flowers in full bloom

Island Vista; A breathtaking view of Baie Rouge and  more coastline of French St Martin

Liming Time; Captured on Anguilla’s Upper Shoal Bay

 Jump on board and pick one up this month at our introductory price of $27.50

You can find these here;  http://treasures.beachjunkie.com/products/trinkets/i-phone-4s-cover/

We are saying good bye to Winter  with a little bit of a tropical break? Take a look at the picture above then share with us what you think the picture should be titled.
Entry requirements
1. You will need to “Like” the Antilles Treasures LLC facebook page
2. Supply what we will judge to be the most creative caption. (four words or less)
Feel free to supply as many captions as you wish.
To navigate to our Facebook page from our website click the Green bottle with the Facebook logo, at the top of this page. The hyperlink will take you directly to the Antilles Treasures LLC Facebook page.
If your caption is chosen the winner, AT will mail you an 8×10 print of the image (printed on pearl luster paper) signed by AxARob on the front and named with your caption on the back.
The winner will be contacted via the Antilles Treasures LLC facebook page for a mailing address on Monday March 12th.

All entries are eligable to win.
Good luck all we look forward to seeing what your creative minds come up with.

With this being the season of “love”,  we thought we would share a wonderful place that one could go to leave all their cares behind and enjoy the company of the person they love in a place  that epitomizes romance.

Antilles Treasures LLC would like to introduce our readers to a wonderful Boutique Hotel that offers exquisite vistas, beautiful rooms, and a lovely staff; Club Fantastico. This six bedroom gem is in a gated community that sits high above world famous Orient Beach in French St Martin, often referred to as the St Tropez of the Caribbean.  From this vantage point  not only do you get breath taking views but you also are in a prime spot to pick up the trade wind breezes.

We did say risqué in our title; this boutique hotel caters to the naturist community, so you can go as bare as you dare.  No you don’t have to leave your clothes at the door upon check in…but you can feel free to roam the grounds, lay out by the pool to soak up some sun or just spend your day sans any or all garments you deem too cumbersome to wear.

Each of the suites include a king size bed and full  bathroom.  The common area has a large lounge and media center with access to wifi, North American Telephone service and Satellite TV.

We spent a day at Club Fantastico, touring the facility and enjoying some of the amenities   We visited in off season and happened to tour on a day between guests so we had the hotel and staff to ourselves.  We shared the day in conversation with on site staff, Chloe and Thierry.  Both were gracious and quite entertaining sharing stories of their travels that have taken them to exotic locations.

Our hosts for the day were a font of local knowledge and happily shared their experiences living on the island and can direct their visitors to any need they may have from particular dining choices to day sailing and even scuba contacts or a masseuse.

The Club offers both room-only rates and an all- inclusive rate which encompasses breakfast, dinner and an open bar. Thierry also wears the chef hat and makes wonderful meals. If you choose the a la cart avenue you will have access to the kitchen for your own food preparation.

Chloe is a very talented artist and you may be fortunate enough to catch her working on one of her paintings while you are there.

We were truly as impressed with our hosts and the conversations we had with them as we were with the Club Fantastico facility.

Club Fantastico is not a lifestyles facility, it is a wonderful upscale small resort where one that is comfortable in their own skin may want to go to be pampered with personal attention by the staff and relax how ever they may be comfortable with the person they love.  Club Fantastico would be a romantic place to nurture or re kindle a relationship

For more Club Fantastico information go to their website at http://www.clubfantastico.net/

Intrested in a free way to add a bit of Caribbean color to your home or office?
Antilles Treasures LLC is proud to introduce our 2012 monthly Photo Caption Contest.

To enter you will need to like the Antilles Treasures LLC facebook page and simply supply what we will judge to be the most creative caption.  You can supply as many captions as you wish.  To get to our Facebook page from our website click the Green bottle at the top of this page and it will take you directly to our Facebook page.

If your caption is chosen the winner, AT will mail you a print of the image (printed on pearl luster paper) signed by AxARob on the front and named with your caption on the back.

The winner will be contacted via the Antilles Treasures LLC facebook page for a mailing address on Monday February 6th.
All entries are eligable to win.

Good luck all we look forward to seeing what your creative minds come up with.

Happy Bay from one end to the other

We have been going to St Maartin/St Martin for years and regularly hear, “Happy Bay, you really should go see Happy Bay, it’s a beautiful beach, one of the jewels of the island”.

Rob put a visit to Happy Bay on the to do list and it has stayed there for at least the last two years if not three but always we find ourselves tucked into a routine and just not making it over to see this jewel.

Our most recent journey was to be different. First the weather cooperated for our scheduled day sail this year and the last stop of the day was to bob around on the waves in front of …yes, you guessed it “Happy Bay”. Second, this trip was very different as we had built a routine of visiting with friends at a couple of different villas every other day and then creating activities on the in between days.

A bit of a caveat here, We were on island two weeks and truly only made it to the beach for three full days. Villa life is good, VERY good!!! Some is the villa, some the view but most is the company we kept while visiting both villas.

Our first sighting of Happy Bay, French St Martin was on a Friday day sail aboard the Celine.  We passed it on our way to our destination of the day but on the way back we had the winds at our back and steered in to tie off at a mooring ball for a chance to escape the heat of the afternoons sun then followed by a nice snack as we finished off our day sail.

Once moored, I took a bit of time to survey the beach it was only sparsely inhabited that day and was quite an inviting sight. The beach was wide and called for me to visit like the sirens in an old pirate movie. The sand is a bit more orange in color than I am used to seeing on this island but I am sure some of that is because of the mass of dark rocks on the west end of the beach. Me thinks we will be making a visit to this beauty of a beach via land in the very near future.

A couple of days later we set out to find this elusive sliver of paradise. First stop is the parking area at Friar’s Bay. Friend to anyone that would stop by was Jack. He played the roll of security guard, greeter and tour guide to all that visited.

We easily found the path that leads to that Happy spot so off and up the hill we went. Today’s trip was going to be a short one to just check out the beach as the day was already scheduled for a visit new beaches and shoot photos of those that we thought were attractive and had never been to before.

The hike to Happy Bay was mildly difficult but not too strenuous. The views it afforded were at times breathtaking the entire walk to the beach from the Friar’s Bay parking lot lasted about 15 min. There is a fairly large hill with a loose stone path that you have to scale but it can be done in sandals if you are sure footed. Entering into the thicket I started looking for a creature from an episode of Lost or even a hobbit or two.
We conquered the hill and next looked for an open gate…found it ….and continued to a derelict group of buildings and turned left down the hill. Watch for fresh cow pies in the field area as there are a few bovine wandering the area but aren’t an issue. The walk was easier than we would have thought and led to today’s find…The beautiful strip of sand so aptly named Happy Bay!

We walked to the edge of the sand to survey the beach a bit, deciding to aim off to the left of the little makeshift shack that Danny calls home and works from then nestled ourselves in among the sea grapes for a few photos of this gem.

We took our pictures and decided it was time to venture off for another discovery as the Cap’n had no intent of getting in the water that day so had no swim attire which for this beach was no worry but didn’t think to bring along even a towel to dry off with if he got wet. Otherwise we would have stayed all day…not a bad thing but I was on a junket to shoot pictures this day no more no less.

First impression of the beach…BEAUTIFUL! Come early stake your spot and enjoy the day…we will return for sure! Waters edge faces North by North East so no real swells to speak of making for easy access in and out of the water. There is a drop off a few feet out but I don’t get in if I cant swim. There are a couple of shady areas for those that do arrive early and there is a beach guy “Danny” there daily that rents chairs and cooks lunch for those that are interested.

Our hike out was an uneventful decent down the rocky path…frankly I like going up it better than down. Back at the car Jack was still standing guard so we thanked him and headed off to our next adventure for the day.

We did go back for a full day later in the trip and loved it. We found a natural photo studio on the western end of the beach with beautiful entries into the water surrounded by large dark stones that I’m sure over the years have made the pigment of the sand what it is as it is darker, somewhat of Hawaiian like, sands than in other beaches on the island.

In Summary; Happy Bay is somewhat of a secluded beach that one must either hike to or arrive via water. It seemed while we were there that the western end of the beach has a bit of proclivity to be clothing optional but no one even looked up or thought twice about it. If you are relatively healthy (sans knee or back issues) Happy Bay may be that little get away you have been looking for. The hike is tedious but not too strenuous ailments aside of course. Bring some water, your camera and a free spirit and spend part or all of a day on a quiet little beach…enjoy!!

No, not as the Beetles sang about rather as a passenger aboard a 40’ catamaran in the waters around ST Martin that was christened with the name ”Celine”.  She was custom built by her Captain Neil Roebert in his home country of South Africa and then sailed to St Maarten and now resides daily in the Simpson bay Lagoon.  The Celine’s current home is docked at Skip Jack’s restaurant and all sailing adventures depart from there.

We had an early morning call with a quick briefing about the days activities followed by a light breakfast found a place to sit on the decking next to the mast and soon were underway.  I was able to anchor my camera equipment bag to the main so it wouldn’t head overboard while I was shooting.

We were prepared for a great adventure as neither of us had been on much more than a ferry ride to Anguilla or ST Barts.  We motored thru the lagoon and waited for the drawbridge to raise  and let us pass.  Neil had cast off early enough that we were first in line and soon were headed out into the channel between French St Martin and Anguilla. We passed the French capital of Marigot (photo), Friar’s Bay, Happy Bay, Grand Case and finally Anse Marcel then about 30 minutes of open ocean sailing before we tied off to a buoy at a little out island just north east of St Martin named Tintamarre.

Once on the buoy we were given the option to swim ashore or ride the dingy in. The daintier of the two of us had a broken toe so she was escorted in via the dinghy.  I chose the formality of stepping to the front of the boat and performing a “classic” swan dive to the water’s surface below…oops I misjudged how far down it was and the impact was a pretty solid thud!  Thank goodness no one was watching, as surely the judges wouldn’t have given very high marks.  I shook it off, made sure the trunks were still in place and took aim at my lovely wife who was already on the beach and started swimming her way.

We had a couple of hours to explore the island so after walking the beach that was available to us we decided to cut across the island and see the view of St Barts from the far side.  We also learned from Neil that the island was used as an R&R base for German U boats in WWII.  There was at one time a small village on island with a runway.  All  since overgrown and indistinguishable.  The island was very quiet that day with only another cat that didn’t stay long, a sailboat for two and one other but again no one stayed as long as we did.

Lunch was prepared on board the Celine by the Captain and quite well I must add, so we headed back to the boat to enjoy the banquet that Neil had prepared for us.  We ate like a bunch of starving sailors just back from a long trip.  There was little left but the decorative lettuce, so that was fed to the fish that were schooling behind the boat.  Think they have ever done this before?

We were visited by a couple of turtles while we feasted .  This is where the one and only occurrence happened.  I snapped the lens cap off my camera to shoot pix of the turtles and sat it next to me just as the boat rocked…off and into the deep the cap went.  No worries, lens caps are much easier to replace than lenses or cameras but with that said, Captain Neil appeared with fins and a mask.  Asked me to point out where the cap had drifted off to and went over the side.  Shortly after Aquaman surfaced with a big smile and my lens cap in hand.    We were soon headed back to ST Martin so across the channel we headed once more.  .

First stop was Creole rock which is located at the edge of Grand Case harbor. There was snorkeling to be done by those who wished to do so.  We chose to chat with Neil as Patrick was busy watching the snorkelers.  We then cruised around the point to Happy Bay for a refreshing swim.  This beach is beautiful and we were to return a couple of times during the remainder of our trip.  Upon leaving Happy Bay we were served a wonderful fruit plate and then headed back to Marigot to once again await the draw bridge.  While waiting we were blessed with viewing an incredible sunset  then Patrick presented us all with some Baileys Banana Coladas so we toasted the setting sun with them.

We arrived back at Skip Jack’s restaurant and said our good byes then headed back to our room.

Our opinion of the our first exposure to day sailing;  Fantastic! I can not say enough positive about it.  The boat was wonderful, Captain and crew were top notch and the food as tasty as we had eaten all week.  Worth every penny of the fare Neil charges for the day and we will make a day with the Celine and crew a part of our routine!

In short if you get the opportunity to do something like this..jump at it as it was a lot of fun.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words…these can speak for themselves.

We are talking about the quentisential French Caribbean aperitif not high tea with the queen. 

Ti punch is strong and frankly took a bit to get used to but now when on island it is the first drink I order.  Ti punch short for petite punch is made with Rhum Agricole that is a product of Martiniques rhum production facilities.  Agricole is a little bitter so we then add some cane syrup to the mix and squeeze in a half of a lime.  Stir drop in a cube of ice or more and enjoy.

Ingredients

2 ounces Rhum Agricole

1/2 small lime (think key lime size)

1/2 ounce cane syrup

Short but true story.

The locals on St Martin either drink their ti punch with no ice or one cube as ice traditionally wasnt very plentiful.  When an American orders more times than not they will ask for extra ice.  We knew that we were starting to fit in when after being seated at a restaurant I im my best broken French with a midwestern twang I ordered ti punch.  The waiter brought the drink and a cup full of ice.  I told him “merci mais la glace n’est pas nécessaire”  Thank you but ice is not necessary.  He smiled and started chating with us like we were long lost friends… We like some of our on line friends believe heavily that when traveling internationally you should learn to drink like the locals. 

Salute!

One might wonder just what the title has to do with rum. I think the old adage
that a picture is worth a thousand words can apply here;  

Our English Harbour Flight

My son and I are on a quest to taste and own some of the worlds “First Class”
rums. Once they are ours we build a rum flight from other rums in the same
family and then placing our tray tables and seatbacks in an upright position,
prepare for our staged flight to first class.  

Our original “First Class” flight was more of a sailing as the rum family was
Pyrat. We consumed Pyrat Pistol, XO Reserve and their high ticket Cask. But we
are now off track.  

Here is the gist of things;
We just returned from a trip to ST Maarten and while there I happened to come
across a very special bottle, one that in fact completed the next flight which
is part of one of our favorite rum families. I located a bottle of English
Harbour 1981 the flag ship of the EH fleet. There was no bickering about the
bottle price. I simply asked how much, found the price acceptable and it made
the journey back to the states with us.  

When we returned to the states our son picked us up at the airport, after the
traditional greetings of hugs and fist bumps, the very first question out of his
mouth was did you bring home any rum. I of course told him no..my intent is for
this to be a gift for him.
While unpacking we handed him a well wrapped package, as he unwrapped it you
could see the excitement of an eight year old boy at Christmas come across his
face. He indeed is now the proud owner of one of his top four “First Class”
rums a bottle of English Harbour 1981.  I think we made his day…  

Ehglish Harbour 5 year

The next day we were on a mission to build and enjoy our English Harbour Flight.
While he was removing the wax and cork from the 1981, good ole dad was lignin up a set of three glasses each. We started with a short pour of English Harbour (EH) that is aged 5 years. A very good representative all on its own of the EH family. so we have lift
off and can now recline seats, drop those tray tables and push the call button for the stewardess, sorry, flight attendant to bring us our first round.  While sitting in the coach section we ordered a sample round of EH5.  It is a very smooth blend that is great neat or with a bit of ice.  For purposes of this flight it was consumed neat.   We let the
flavors sit on our palates, breathed in the alcohol flavor and swallowed this
wonderful nectar. Next we let it mellow a bit on our taste buds and enjoyed the
lingering flavor that it left while excitedly discussing what we thought and how
much we were looking forward to the next stage in this flight… 

 We finished with big smiles knowing that our next stop will be business class to sample the EHR10.   

English Harbour Reserve (a 10 year blend)

Drink number two is from what remains of a bottle of English Harbour Reserve aged 10 years. This is a very high quality rum in its own arena that could be the top of many rum flights but it jus so happens that we found its bigger more mature brother while on vacation so for this flight gets to sit in the business class section.  As you can see by the picture, we very much enjoy EH10 and sejoyed this sampling quite a lot.  
Before anyone asks..Yes, there is a noticeable difference between the 5 year and
10 year versions, one that is worth the cost difference. 

While tasting this
one, we noticed quite a bit less alcohol vapor up front but smoother flavoring than
the previous drink, this one did finish with a bit more of a hint of freshly toasted coconut that lingered for quite some time. Second stage is complete now so we pushed our way forward from business class into the first class section, hoping that there are no TSA agents that will make us return to our seats.  Settled in we are now ready for the in flight feature…  

English Harbour 1981

The third set of glasses were aligned and dad passed the honor of the pouring
responsibilities to the man that now owns this bottle of ambrosia…he steps up to the bar and begins to carefully pour two very even samples.   

We by this time are quite enthused to partake in the full effect of this beautifully crafted
marvel. First we take in the aroma…the up front alcohol flavor that is in the
younger bottles is all but gone. Next we gingerly sip a bit and let it tickle
the taste buds, careful not to over stimulate our palates. Then we breathe in so we can mix a touch of air with the rum…bringing an explosion of flavors that only a perfectly blended bottle of well aged rum can produce. We could taste a hint of smoke and leather from the oak barrels that had given character to this fine potion. This fine blend is one that had been aged long enough that
if it were a person it could vote. 1981 had little to no alcohol burn, this is
the smoothest rum I have ever tasted…by a long shot! There is a hint of toasted
coconut at the end that leaves a pleasant reminder that there is still more rum
left in the bottle and left both of us wanting more.  Yes, the 1981 is a quantum leap above the EH Reserve 10 year, as it had better have been with the heafty price tag that accompanied this precious jewel.  

We enjoyed ourselves so much that we even did a head to head comparison of the Pyrat Cask and the EH 1981. Lets just
say that 1981 was a banner year and left the cask in its dust.  

Two down and now still hunting MT Gay’s Tri-Centennial and a particular very old
Pusser’s brand bottle.  

When submitting your taste buds to rum flights…always reward them with the “First Class” upgrade…salute!!!

This recipe was given to me by a dear friend and has been recommended by several other friends that had already tried it. The recipe is easy, I am by no means much of a cook or baker and I was able pull this one off for a bunch of friends and it got glowing reviews.  

Sorry there arent any pictures this time…the cake gets devoured before I even think to shoot a picture…

Ingredients;

4 eggs
3/4 cup Vegetable Oil
3/4 cup Apricot nectar (canned)
1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick butter
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup dark rum (We used MT Gay Eclipse) Being a rum drinker, I certainly would recommend a dark rum over white but am sure it is tasty either way

Directions;

Cake;
In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs lightly and combine with oil, apricot nectar
and cake mix.
Beat at medium speed for 4 to 5 minutes until smooth. Pour into large greased
and floured bunt or deep cake pan. Bake at 350 F for 50 min.

Glaze;
Melt butter and confectioner’s sugar in a pan over low heat and stir in rum. As soon as cake is done, place pan on cooling rack
Poke holes in the top of the cake with toothpick or skewer
Pour rum mixture over the top of the cake, allowing it to soak in well.
Cool for 1 hour before removing from pan.

Enjoy!!!

Grab your passports and a hand full of doubloons, we have a concoction that will take you to ST Somewhere.  A Caribbean escape from the reality of an oncoming Fall and Winter.  We also believe a glass or two of this on a regular basis will keep one from contracting a case of scurvy.  Prepare to have your timbers shivered and the barnacles blown right off your hull by this elixir.

We know that  yesterday was “talk like a pirate day”and this drink certainly would have helped to loosen your tongue to make pirate speak easier however we wanted to share the recipe for our Tropical Tuesday post.

This is our favorite of rum punches, grogs or any rum flavored mixes and we have brewed this punch successfully for several parties. Always with the warning, if you partake, do not plan to drive as it has quite a kick.

How to make a pirate’s grog;

Fill a pitcher with ice, use a shot glass to measure and add in each of the following,
1 shot of white rum (any white rum is fine)
1 shot of amber rum (we use Pyrat pistol or MT Gay)
1 part dark rum (again we use Pyrat this time XO reserve or Gosslings Blackseal)
1 part Grand Marnier
4 parts Orange juice
4 parts Pineapple juice
1 part Ruby Red Grapefruit juice

This potent concoction will make enough to serve 4.

For those that would prefer a bit less alcohol increase OJ, Pineapple and Grapefruit portions to taste.

When we have made this grog for parties 1 shot is replaced with 1 part and is equal to a 375 ML bottle of pyrat pistol or 1.5 cups.

Even made strong the fruit juices mask the alcohol flavor and drinking more than a little of this grog can lead to waking the next day aboard a ship a victim of a local press-gangs recruitment.

Please don’t drink and drive!