Plane selfies and the secret of Cupecoy Beach, an adventurous day in Sint Maarten

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I am absolutely not a morning person. BUT… there’s just something about vacation that makes me want to get up early and enjoy as much of the day as I can. Especially in a place as scenic as Sint Maarten (we were staying on the Dutch side of the island). I’m glad I woke up early too – because today ended up being our most interesting and adventurous day out yet.

Spoiler alert: we ended up at another nude beach, covered head to toe in clay.

Devon and I decided we would hit the town today after spending the previous day at home. Where we would go exactly was up for debate. We had some rough ideas in mind but were going to do as the islanders do and just go with the flow.

And we’re off to Philipsburg… or at least we tried

After getting ready, we hopped in the rental car and were on our way. Philipsburg was going to be our first stop to walk around and do some shopping. Notice how I said was going to be… Devon was following signs to Philipsburg when my GPS finally loaded and told us it was in the opposite direction. Being directionally challenged I tend to put a lot of blind faith in my GPS. Maybe a bit too much faith…

We followed the GPS just to end up at the University of St. Maarten. There was no Philipsburg in sight. We may have gotten turned around, but the drive took us through the more local parts of the island. It was a humbling experience seeing so much of the infrastructure still damaged from Hurricane Irma years ago. That didn’t seem to keep the jovial spirit of the locals down though.

Maho beach it is!

I finally was able to get my navigation set to Maho Beach, which we knew for sure was in Philipsburg. Soon we were going back down the roads Devon (who is not directionally challenged) had originally taken us down. It didn’t take long to reach Maho Beach.

Because we were in Sint Maarten during the tourist low season, we were able to get a prime parking spot. We parked right in front of the fence keeping tourists from getting too close to the runway.

With the overcast weather clearing up, the view was phenomenal. Sunshine, crystal clear water, the ocean dazzling with different shades of blue under the sun. We couldn’t have picked a better place to start the day.

We trekked down to the beach and were able to snag some beach chairs and an umbrella from beach bar Tortuga. They came free with a minimum $20 purchase from their restaurant or bar. Since we had not eaten anything before we left, it worked out perfectly. We ordered rum punch, chicken nuggets, and the Dutch Gouda cheese bites called Goudse Kaasbolletjes. The menu literally said “like mozzarella sticks but better”, how could you not order that?

The snacks were immaculate

We walked the beach along the wet sand, careful not to get deep into the water. The tide was rough today, and your girl was not going to get pulled out to sea, okay? (Remember I cannot swim at ALL.) After a few treks up and down the beach, it was time to kick back and enjoy our snacks from the bar.

Those Gouda cheese bites… GAME-CHANGING. As I am writing this still in Sint Maarten, I am considering heading to the beach just to order some more. The bites were delicious! They were served with a crushed peanut sauce that was just *chef’s kiss*.

Devon was not having it with the peanut sauce but loved the cheese bites just as much. The rum punch… wooo child… it was punchin’ alright. I was literally doing a happy dance eating our snacks and sipping on our cocktails.

Coming in for the landing

As if on cue, as I took my last bite, we saw our first plane coming in for a landing at SXM. I grabbed my camera and watched in awe as the plane came only a few hundred feet away from us and touched down on the runway. We watched for the next hour as planes landed and took off from the airport, getting some awesome pictures and videos. Even a selfie or two!

Hiking the limestone cliffs of Cupecoy

Since we were already in our beach clothes we decided to hop to another beach and check out Cupecoy. It was a quick 7 minute drive up the road and recommended to us by a local at Orient Bay from Day 2.

The parking is not clearly marked so it took us a minute to find it, Google Maps will lead you to it though. It’s just an open clearing next to an abandoned building with no signs. It’s not paved and there was only one other car so we totally thought we were in the wrong place.

We walked down what looked like a path to the beach. It was so quiet and secluded that we were convinced we were at the wrong place. Finally, we saw some signs for Cupecoy beach and chair rentals at the end of the path. The beach was surrounded by limestone cliffs, coves, and caves. I made the mistake of trying to walk up to the beach with no shoes – that path is ROCKY! After throwing our SUAVS back on we were able to climb the cliffs to get a closer look at the coves and caves.

Jean-Claude the French nudist and his dog Lucky

After some exploration, we were ready to spend some time relaxing at the beach itself. When we first arrived there was only 3 people on the beach, when we came back – it was completely empty. It was like we had a private beach to ourselves.

Then seemingly out of nowhere, an older gentlemen and his German Sheperd came from over the cliff and down to the beach. We waved and said hello as we were setting up our things.

We heard that this beach was unofficially the only nude beach on the Dutch side… but given the few people we saw were clothed, we stayed safely covered in our swimsuits. I was definitely not brave enough to be the first one to bare it all on the beach!

Not this mystery man however, he came down the cliffs to the beach and threw his shirt and shorts to the wind. And just like that he was off jogging with his pup. Devon and I looked at each other like I guess this is a nude beach after all! We followed suit (pun intended) and left our clothes with our bags and were off to enjoy a dip in the ocean.

The current was a little rough for me though so I sat back along the shoreline as Devon enjoyed a good swim. I looked up to see our fellow beachgoer approaching.

“Bonjour!” he called. “Bonjour!” I replied as he came closer. He sat down a few feet away from us and we had a fun conversation. We learned his name was Jean-Claude and his dog was named Lucky. He came to vacation in Saint Martin for six months… 25 years ago! Now he’s a bonified local who frequents Cupecoy every week – it’s his favorite beach.

The secret of Cupecoy

Suddenly he asked, “Linda, Devon… Would you like to know the secret of Cupecoy?”

“Of course!” we replied.

Jean-Claude got up, dusted himself off, and started to walk away. “I’ll be back to show you in a few minutes!” he called back in his thick French accent. Lucky looked at Jean-Claude and then back at us, not sure who to stick with. Then he trotted off to join his owner as he approached the cliffs surrounding the beach. We could see Jean-Claude was doing something to the wall, scratching it maybe? Then he walked to the water’s edge and carefully dipped his hands in before walking back to us.

In his hands was a thick mud mixture when was kneading with his thumbs. “This clay will leave your skin softer than a baby’s bottom, I do it once a week!” he exclaimed. “Would you like to try some?” he asked as we extended his cupped hands full of mud. As a frequent clay mask user already – I was excited to give it a try.

I reached my arm out to do a test patch. Devon did as well and we waited anxiously waited for the beautiful terra cotta-colored clay to dry. Once it did we dipped into the ocean to rinse it off in and inspect the results on our skin.

It. Felt. AMAZING.

My jaw literally dropped as I rubbed over my arm. It was incredibly undeniably absolutely positively incredulously indesrcibly soft and silky smooth. Soon Devon and I were running off to that same cliff with Jean Claude to collect more powdered gold. He showed how to mix it with just enough water to get the perfect clay mask consistency.

Before we knew it we were both covered head to toe in this DIY clay mask and baking in the sun. Jean-Claude took the photos to prove it!

We enjoyed the rest of our now mini spa day at the beach outing together at the beach as Jean-Claude wandered around the cliffs with Lucky. As we rinsed off our full-body mud masks we saw several patrons coming down to enjoy the beach. We decided it was time to pack up and head in for the evening.

The timing was perfect because as we left more and more people we coming to the beach. We got there in time to enjoy a full two hours almost completely to ourselves and our new friend Jean-Claude.

Chef Steven is back at it again

We got back to the villa from Cupecoy exhausted and drained from baking in the sun. But our skin had literally never felt softer. Mom and Lawrence were feeling our shoulders and arms in awe. That clay really did transform our skin.

After freshening up it was time to refuel with another wonderful dinner from Chef Steven. Tonight he made a fresh tomato and fea salad followed by filet mignon and a handmade three-cheese ravioli. Desert was Lawrence’s favorite – perfitoroles covered in a decadent dark chocolate sauce.

Card games and a nightcap in the hot tub

We ended the night by playing card games in the family room. I learned to play a new game called “Spit”. Trust me – I couldn’t believe the name either, but it’s actually really fun! It was also extremely competitive for Devon’s family (Becca was coming for blood!).

After everyone called it quits for the night Devon and I snuck out onto our terrace for a quick dip in the hot tub before bed. The day’s clouds had cleared from the night sky, making it perfect for admiring the bright moon and twinkling stars.

With only one day to go, I was really falling in love with Saint Martin and not looking forward to leaving.

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