Julie and I stopped by Villa Habitation St. Louis to revisit and say “Bonjour” to the owner who was vacationing at his villa with his family (good thing I speak “un peu de français” because the owner does not speak English).
Did you know that August is THE month when the French take their month-long (plus) vacations? Paris pretty much shuts down for all of August, thus the exodus.
We toured the property and peeked at the living room and kitchen, the nicely decorated three king bedrooms and their en suite baths and the outdoor living spaces. Three generations were enjoying the pool and we were very tempted to join them.
I remarked that the previous times I had visited Habitation St. Louis I had seen a couple of visiting iguanas lounging by the pool…very smart of them, if you ask me.
There is a studio villa next door which we call Petit St Louis. It has its own pool, king bedroom, kitchenette and outdoor terrace; it can be rented separately or in conjunction with the main house if you need 4 bedrooms.
The owner was dying to show us the path to Corossol Beach and its quaint fishing village; so we followed him down past the outdoor shower and suddenly, there we were looking at Corossol’s beautiful blue water inlet.
I was enthralled because at that very moment I saw that the beach was being re-sanded. A gentleman was hard at work utilizing a big hose that was full of sand and spreading its contents along the areas that had eroded over several years. (Another gentleman was acting as a sidewalk superintendent while holding a Heineken and watching his buddy hard at work…not that there’s anything wrong with that.)
The villa owner pointed to a statue overlooking the village and the beach. He explained that it was a statue of St. Louis the patron saint of Corossol, thus the reason behind the names of the two villas.
If you happen to be in St Barth in late August, you can celebrate St. Barth Day commemorating the island’s patron saint, Bartholomew on the 24th and then move on to the Feast of St. Louis in Corossol on the 25th where you can enjoy all sorts of activities, tournaments, regattas, games, raffles, dance performances and music.
Corossol is a piece of what St Barth used to be like before it was discovered by tourists. The men went fishing and the ladies stayed in their “case” (small house) where they weaved straw hats, purses, bread baskets etc.
Should you wish to purchase some lovely island-made souvenirs to give to friends and family who were not lucky enough to have traveled to St. Barth with you, these shy ladies will come out of their modest homes and sell them to you. They may be wearing traditional garb and a starched white bonnet called a “quichenotte” (which means “kiss me not”).
While you are there, plan to stop by the Inter-Oceans Museum to see the amazing sea shell collection and talk to Ingenu Magras who has collected them from all over the world.
