Another awesome vacation!!! I must say first of all, if anyone is hesitating on returning to SXM post Irma,,,do not wait. I was pleasantly surprised and so happy to see the island hopping. Of course it is evident that there was destruction on the island, but I just still cannot believe how fast everyone and everything is recovering. Loved listening and talking to many who survived Irma,,,,some stories were heart wrenching, but having said that, the smiles and the way we were welcomed everywhere was astounding.

We flew Air Transat, direct flight out of Toronto. No delays, perfect flight, and smooth sailing through the airport. Michael from Dutch side unity car rental was there to pick us up as promised. Because we were a group of 8, each with a checked bag,,,Maia from IRE Vacations (lady we rented the Sol Y mar thru) was also there to help transport us to the villa apartment. Very nice lady!! The Sol Y mar is an apartment villa directly above the Greenhouse Restaurant in Simpson Bay, right next to the Atrium . It was absolutely amazing. What a location!! So close to everything. It is a three bedroom, with two different outside lounge areas, a pool of our own, and a view. Maia was more than accomodating . Very well appointed kitchen, cleaning lady twice a week who did an awesome job. I would stay there again in a heartbeat! We like to stay at Royal Palm thru my vacation membershiip, exchanging through RCI, but as you know, RP is not ready yet. Maybe next year??

I will address the issue of noise first. From reading various threads, facebook sites, etc. we thought that we may be bothered by noise from lolos beside RP . We noticed nothing unusual. There was music at the Buccaneer,,but it was nice to sit above and listen. We had our own music and we never once were bothered by any noticeable loud music.

After we got the keys to villa, we did the usual grocery and liquor run. We had rented an 8 passenger van so away we went. Once set up, after a day of travel we enjoyed the sunshine by or own private pool, then walked downstairs and enjoyed a Buccaneer Beach Bar hamburger. It was a big day for sure.

Next day we found it hard to leave villa,,,but we made it out and about. Took the newbies to watch the planes and then off to Mullet Beach,,,one of our favourites. A couple of us that got carried away on first day, had to have the Aloe treatment for sunburns,,,lol. Anna Marie on the beach was wonderful.

We booked a Billy Bones boat tour to Anguilla. I tell ya, the staff A.J. and Christopher were awesome and so much fun. There were only 12 of us on the boat, and we had such fun. We made several stops. Sandy island, one stop at the resort where Brad Pitt and Angelino got married, and the other was at a very good restaurant where lunch was provided. We also went to this place where there are some pretty neat caves and a rock to climb and jump off. The younger ones with us did that,,,not this girl. Saw a lot of turtles in that same place. We eventually made our way back along the coast where Donald Trumps place is...but the biggest surprise, even to A.J. and Christopher was, we saw a whale!! Apparently not common at this time of year. What a fun time we had.

Monday night, we headed to the Church at the Red Piano. WE have always enjoyed the band there on mondays, because in the past it was mostly classic rock. However, a few members of band have moved on or whatever, so it was not the classic rock we had previously enjoyed. The band was excellent, but not exactly our kind of music. I noticed many people smoking outside or on the pool table side, not that many where the band was playing and it gets really crowded, so we were thankful for that. The place was packed, as usual and it's real fun to people watch there!!!

Another day we went to Orient Beach. Wasn't sure what we would find, but again, was pleasantly surprised to see some places open again. I must say,,Kontiki did an awesome job of rebuilding. For 8 chairs and umbrellas it cost 100.00 bucks and we were good patrons. Spent a long time there. Food was excellent as well. The one couple did parasailing and had a blast. On our way home from Orient decided to go towards Dawn beach,,,but when we got to Phillipsburg,,there was construction, so got turned around pretty good,,,had to do a little back tracking, traffic was very bad, due to construction. All in all a good day.

We went to Vesna Tavern for dinner one night. The owner was very good at explaining the specials. I cannot even spell some of the entrees,,,but everyone, again, was very happy with their meal.

Another very awesome meal, one of the best I had, was at Isola's, near the casino on Billy Folley Rd. I had chick parmeson and it was by far the best I have ever eaten. Our friend raved about the lasagna as well. Nice spot,,,a bit noisy, but a table right beside us were "really" enjoying their wine!! Ha, Ha. It was all good. Love to see people having fun.

Several stops at Dinghy Dock, Yacht club, Snoopys, No where special, etc for a couple of drinks and to check the places out. I really wanted to eat at The Palms, but we did not have reservations and the wait was going to be too long, so.....next year.

I was very pleasantly surprised,,,,being a canadian, to see how many places now serve "Bloody Caesar" with clamato!! The yacht club, which is known for their Bloody Mary, does a great job with a caesar.

We all rented sea doos and took a ride right from Buccaneer Beach out around past La Samana resort, again over by Trumps house and back. We ventured way out to where the Eclipse was sitting,,,(for me, it was kinda rough the further out you got) but we survived. That also was fun.

To sum up,,,we had a wonderful week. The three newbies were "wowed" by SXM....they will be back. Most of them had only ever done an all inclusive on other islands, so this was quite a different experience for them. They couldn't believe the calibre of food,,,,the feeling of being safe (we travelled in group all the time), the villa we stayed in and the location of it,,,,just everything.

Forgot to mention, we did spend a day on the boardwalk in Phillipsburg,,,ate at the Blue Bitch Bar,,,good food and drinks and a great place to people watch.
Visited Jay at Ultimate Jewellers,,,got me a nice ring and we found a beautiful Blue Diamond pendant for mother in law for her birthday. Finding a parking place was quite an adventure as well, but ended up in the government lot beside market.

All in all,,,we had another very good vacation on our favourite island. I will try to post any pics that I can. I found when I tried to post pics on a new thread, that "use full editor" didnt show up to click on....but...when I replied to a post,,,and wanted to attach a pic, it did. I use Mozilla Firefox as browser, wonder if that has anything to do with it.?? Oh well, I will keep trying.

Oh! For anyone that likes Schwarma,,,,,you have to go to Little Jerusalem,,,to die for!!!!!

If I forgot to mention any of our highlights,,,,I will add later. Today is first day back, so kinda hard getting used to this white stuff and no view from our villa.
So glad we decided to go back to SXM and not wait. Will be there next year again, without a doubt.