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Saint Barthélemy is a small island/country/département of France that is just to the south-south-east of Saint-Martin and is a small and quaint island. Historically it was one of the few in the Caribbean which did not participate in any aspect of the slave industry and that is reflected in today's culture and inhabitants. It has become a refuge for well-heeled tourists and caters to the big megayacht crowd with a wonderful harbor surrounded by the main and only city of Gustavia. I have never seen a check in/out procedure as informal and easy as that of Saint Barts. I went through it 3 times almost without breaking step.
During one trip there I managed to trip while going forward to drop the anchor and break my little toe. I dinghied in to the docks and went to check in and once (in)formalities were finished I asked in French if the harbormaster could recommend a doctor with an X-Ray machine and explained that I thought I'd broken my toe. He said that the local hospital was my best bet and pointed it out to me, sitting on top of a small hill about a kilometer across the harbor. He stopped me when I limped off in that direction and said that he'd drive me there. He escorted me to the reception desk and explained my plight to the attendant, adding "Pas de problème, il parle Français" and, upon hearing that, the lady brightened visibly. I was then passed to a nurse in the emergency reception area, who looked relieved when the receptionist passed on the good news about my supposed language skills. When the doctor arrived a couple of minutes later my proficiency in French was the first thing that the doctor was told and everyone seemed quite happy. I then, in my broken French, stated "Je pense que j'ai cassé mon oreille." and they promptly chuckled or smiled, which I didn't really consider an appropriate reaction to my plight at all. The doctor then (in excellent English) explained that I hadn't broken my "oreille" [ear] "orteil" [toe]. Anyway, they confirmed by diagnosis, took X-Rays, reset it and then told me all I could do was bind it up to it's neighbor for a month and by then it would heal. I had to come back two days later to pay the €50 bill as the accounting department was closed but they didn't seem worried that I'd sail off into the sunset.
For a map with clickable pictures from this site displayed geographically please click here
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| From Columbier to Gustavia | Gustavia Harbor view west | Gustavia (the hospital is at the crane) | View in Baie Columbier | Starfish (taken from deck) |
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| Typical St. Barts yacht (Lone Ranger) | Turtle in Baie Columbier | Twisted mooring (I had to cut away) | Yet another anchored rust bucket | Main Promenade in Gustavia |
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| Sign at the top of the hill | St. Barts emergency room | The toys just get bigger | ...and bigger |
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