St Barth - A Tropical Paradise

Deanna first visited St. Barth in 1985.  Back then it was a sleepy Caribbean paradise, known only to a few adventurous travelers. The island was not for the feint-at-heart.  The roads were about the width of one small jeep.  There were no barriers between the car and the edge of the cliff.  Directly below was a 50 foot drop to the sea.   But the beauty of the island was so captivating, it was clear that it wouldn’t be ‘undiscovered’ for long.

Now, it is one the most desired vacation spots in the world.  It is situated southeast of Florida about a two and a half hour flight from Miami.  The final 10 minute flight to the island is on a 16 passenger plane landing on St. Barth between two humped back mountains.  The end of the football field sized runway stops just short of the beach.  Your first view of St. Barth is quite often a woman on the beach, watching the landing while sunbathing topless.

On any given day you can hear 3 or 4 different languages as you walk along one of the few actual blocks in the quaint center of town.  The shops along the walk offer world class shopping from boutiques like Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, Hermes, Christian Dior, Roberto Cavalli, and  Armani.  Just across the street luxury yachts dock at the harbor, lined up like stair-steps,  crowding out any site of  the water underneath.  The New Year’s Eve celebration is like no other place in the world.  Huge boats blow their horns, flicker their lights, and fireworks raise off their bows to fill the sky with sparkle and shimmer.  Champagne is flowing on the docks and music wafts through the air while the revelers dance with abandon.

An ordinary day in St. Barth is spent wiling away a long glistening sunny afternoon at Saline, one of St.Barth’s peacefully calm white sandy beaches.   Afterwards, it’s time to shower and head into Gustavia, the island’s main town.  Perhaps you’ll spend some time browsing the tony shops where you might pass P. Diddy or Paul McCartney, or Michael Douglass and Catherine Zeta Jones or even Tyra Banks.

As the sun begins to lower you find a place to sit down for an aperitif and  watch the sun settle softly and slowly into sea.  You’ll view the young, beautiful and fashionable as they promenade along the harbor.

The energy of the people on the island, the melding of the French and American and Creole cultures, the blue of the Caribbean sea, the red of the flowering hibiscus,  the yellow of the wheat reflecting the sunlight, the rainbow in the sky after a rain,  and  the dazzling brightness of the sunset seen through a low grey cloud:  These are the influences of the island that permeate Deanna’s jewelry  creations. Adorn yourself with a little of St. Barth.