Views of Bell Point

It had been a while since I took a long walk, so yesterday I headed out to Bell Point to look around. I started by taking the road behind the orange houses across form the Grand Case airport, which leads up the hill and into the valley between Bell Point and Anse Marcel. An early detour off the road led me down a long gully of boulders which rejoined the road at the bottom of the valley. Back on the dirt road, I encountered the worst smell of the trip so far, coming from what I initially thought was a dead dog. Upon reviewing my photos, the ringed tail and dark eye-mask indicate it was probably a raccoon or similar creature. According to a biological inventory of Saint Martin:

The raccoon (Procyon spec.) is shrouded in mistery (Husson, 1960). This animal was supposedly observed once in 1957. Recently too it was reportedly observed, especially on the French side (Wilson, pers. comm., 1996). It is unknown where this animal comes from, but Husson (1960) counts it among the wild mammals imported by humans. It can also be found in several other Antillean islands.

The road led to a path, which led to the small beach at the end of the valley. Near the beach, I found an abandoned well and saw a mongoose run for cover in some brush. The beach had a Nature Reserve sign and I was surprised to find a marked trail leading all the way around the edge to the Grand Case side of Bell Point. The views in this undeveloped area are quite lovely. Along the rocky coast is a blowhole which periodically spouts water which is pushed up from a cave underneath.

As the trail made a brief pass through a more wooded area, I spotted several Anolis pogus and was reminded of their uncanny ability to jump away at the exact moment I press the shutter on my camera. Back on the grassy area near the end of Bell Point the trail ended, essentially in the middle of nowhere.

Heading back towards Grand Case, I found the remains of a goat, including the ID tag that was once attached to its ear. Unfortunately, I also found the shell of a sea turtle nearby, presumably butchered in the woods.

One Response to “Views of Bell Point”

  1. Bell Hill and Bell Point | Les Fruits De Mer Says:

    […] other day, from Petite Plage and via the bouldery shore. Heading up the ravine past where I saw the turtle shell, I found a large recess under a boulder, but it seemed empty save for a few scattered goat bones. I […]