The drowning at Le Galion was a teenager. I know it is rare, but children can have heart attacks too. I wonder if they do any autopsies when people drown on the island? Perhaps that would answer a few questions concerning reason for death. In the past there have not been many drownings at these calm beaches. Very sad for all families concerned.

Now that I've seen the upgrades at GCBC I'm not sure it would fill our need for paradise. We looked forward to staying there then Irma came. They wanted to re book us but they weren't sure when they would re open so we requested a refund of our deposit. We wanted to see what had been done so we lunched there last week.

The Sunset Cafe, cement now and sterile tables, plexiglass surround wasn't very quaint. The room upgrades no longer have a Caribbean feel, stainless steel appliances, modern furniture. The buildings facing Anguilla looked somehow different but I can't figure out the change. The buildings facing Grand Case Beach look the same outside.

They said the restaurant will re close in June to build a proper kitchen, they now work from a food truck.

Thanks for all of your help everyone. I understand the comments of me asking about the company after I have already booked. The price for what I wanted was so good that I thought maybe there would be some hidden fees or mandatory insurance they would force on me when I arrived. Just curious if anyone else had any bad experiences with them. And yes, I'm under no obligation to take the rental. Thank you Carol and thank you Surfer Mike for the good feedback.

You might want to start by emailing the various sponsors in this forum, as listed under the banner heading above. Most of us regulars have our favorites and I won’t start with that - I’m sure someone else will - but another good idea is to scroll through the posts here for the names of some good companies to do business with.

Edited to add - I didn’t want to start the popularity thing since I’ve so often railed against it, but since others already did, we also use LESLEY Bruce, the owner of Kenny’s Car Rental company and find him to be awesome to do business with. He’s a gentleman, a man of his word and he stands behind his rental with good service you can count on. And to me, that’s the most important aspect of the rental deal, even moreso than price.

Kenny's is always highly recommended. Might want to give them a try.

Darn we had US customs when we left from Ireland a few years ago and this was great. Is this still in the planning for SXM

So basically nothing has changed since we were there last December, what a waste.

Leslie, hope we didn't mess up with the car return.

Our last morning in paradise began at 5:30 am with a brief shower that drove us inside from the lanai with our coffee. Later we ventured back out with more coffee, egg & cheese omelets, toast, and a fruit cup of sliced banana & pear topped with yogurt. Last of the leftovers.

Showered, packed then headed to airport for a 12:26 pm flight home. We arrived a little after 10 am and the line for Jet Blue was through the doors and outside. OH OH maybe we should have arrived earlier? It moved fairly quickly. No line at Immigration 2nd in line through in a minute. On to first waiting area where a few food vendors and shops are, to await our flight call so we could move downstairs to gate waiting room.

Plane boarded on time. We had to walk through gate #1 around corner down a path between orange cones to the waiting plane. We had to walk up stairs to plane. We were seated next to a JB Pilot who was , I think they call it "dead ending" or anyway returning to base. When he said he wondered why they had let us board I was confused. He then told us there was a computer problem that they had lost everything and had to re boot which would take time. Our 12:26 pm flight left at 1:05pm. Good thing we were flying direct. I doubt any connection could have been made.

Arrived Boston. Global line was larger than regular line so we breezed through with the pions, ha! Decided we don't need GE. Drive home easy.

Rosemary--was the store that sold glass jewelry on Old Street, was it open, did you see?? I LOVED that place. Although one can get their stuff mail order from Curacao I guess, although I haven't done that. I have a necklace set that I bought there, that I always get great complements on, as it is so unusual.

"The only bad thing about staying at BSV is having to leave." Amen, sister!! Glad it was a good trip and that you shared it with us!

Day started as usual, coffee on Lanai enjoying surf sounds, the movement of boats and the dog walkers, and trying to decide where last meal would be. We decided to return to Grand Case and Nice restaurant. Don had salmon I had veggie plate which consisted of onion tart, stuffed veggies and ratatouille. Beer for him and a glass of wine for me. Conversation with owner Muriel from Nice. She said she had always dreamed of relocating to SXM but couldn't afford to buy a place. Irma, for her was blessing in that she found someone not wanting to make repairs but sell at a loss. Now she has her dream of a restaurant in Grand Case. Her son was home on school break helping his father serve tables.


Returned to BSV and swam until 5:30, opened champagne for farewell to island. Later made a salad of leftovers: boiled egg, tomato, salami, green beans, and two kinds of cheeses on a scant bed of lettuce. Evening conversation with neighbors in unit #12 from Illinois who arrived Friday. Donated our last dregs of dark rum and pink Ting to them then headed to bed. But not before discussing if next year a 3 week stay might be possible. The only bad thing about staying at BSV is having to leave.

Rosemary & Don

The main part in that story was the fact that cruise lines are not bringing in quality tourists and they are not spending money to boot....seen this happening all over the various Islands for about 10 years now and each season gets a little bit worse.....more's the pity.