The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: November twenty-third, watching the sun set in Gustavia.

The Caribbean island of St. Barthelemy, in the French West Indies, has a well-deserved reputation as an exclusive hide-away. Eight square miles of mostly impenetrable hills with a scallop of 20 secluded beaches around its perimeter, St. Barts is favored by visitors for whom privacy and anonymity are primary attractions. Gustavia, its capital, has no large hotels or tourist magnets. Elsewhere, tiny resorts, and villages of red-roofed houses cluster around several small bays. Everything about St. Barts is tres chic and also tres cher.

Other than basking on sandy beaches, there's little else to do. St. Barts narrow, twisting, shoulderless roads are poorly- marked, making walking or biking difficult and dangerous. The steep profile of its shore is not ideal for scuba or snorkeling. In fact, the most exciting moment for first-time visitors is when their small plane swoops in low over the hill top and down onto the tiny runway, which is St. Bart's only air link with the rest of the world.

That said, St. Bart's does possess a sort of cultured primitivism that's unique in the Caribbean. The prevailing culture and cuisine are French, an influence most evident in the 50 or so tiny restaurants tucked in hidden corners of the island.

Indeed, the primary evening activity is gravitating to one of those establishments sometime around sunset, savoring a bottle of French wine, sharing a fine French provincial dinner and talking the night away. The primary topics of those conversations are generally where to beach the following morning and dine the next night.

FMI For information on St. Barthelemy, www.st-barths.com or contact the French West Indies Tourist Board 900-990-0040 (50 cents per minute).

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