Tuesday, November 12, and Wednesday, November 14

My fourth post-Irma trip! Tuesday started very early with a pre-4:00 a.m. call to Uber. Everything went smoothly until time for take-off. The pilot came on two or three times to tell us about a delay caused by paperwork related to maintenance: not maintenance itself, just paperwork. I don’t recall exactly how long the delay was, but it was between thirty and sixty minutes. I often have no more than sixty minutes’ layover at DFW and was glad the layover was longer this time.

My first-class fare was reasonable for Portland: $519 one way, which is likely part of the reason I had a five-hour layover in DFW. I opted to go to the American lounge. I remember paying $100 for this privilege in the past, but it was only $75 this time. The extra amenities are worth it to me: free food, nice lounging areas, clean and spacious rest rooms. Very nice way to pass some time.



After boarding in DFW, we were again delayed for, you guessed it, paperwork related to maintenance. The flight was fine once we finally got going; it was on a 777, and I love the first-class amenities on the 777s.

Overnight was at Miami International Hotel in the airport. The room was clean and comfortable and not as tiny as some of them I have stayed in. Departure for SXM was around noon, with arrival before 4:00 p.m. No ramp; had to use stairs to deplane. No bus to shuttle to the airport as it was a very short walk. I think we must have been the only plane. The wait for luggage was not unreasonable. Leisure was waiting for me outside the terminal; a short ride to their office and a couple of minutes of paperwork, and that was it.

When I arrived at The Horny Toad Guest House, the gate didn’t seem to be working quite right. It started to open, then closed, then opened again. I learned later that both the inkeeper and JD/RuralCarrier were attempting to open it at the same time! I parked the car and innkeeper Debbie came up to greet me. I hadn’t seen him for a while, but I assumed the gentleman who was helping with my bags was her husband Doug. Turns out it was JD, who carried both of my bags upstairs for me. We had never met in person before, and I was thrilled to finally make his acquaintance. What a nice man! We ended out being next-door neighbors on the second floor at the Toad.

I unpacked and had hoped to make it to Tech Hub to get wifi added to my phone prior to their closing, but traffic was just too heavy. So I stopped at The Palms for a quick drink and to say hello to newlyweds Greg and Joelle prior to an event at Palapa Grill across the street.

The event was organized by the administrator of one of the Facebook groups and was a sit-down dinner after a cocktail hour. I heard that Palapa didn’t know it was going to be dinner until two hours prior to the event, but I don’t know that for a fact. There were thirty-plus of us: one long table and then two or three smaller tables. Service was friendly, but food coming out of the kitchen was spotty at best. Some folks were leaving before others had received their dinner. I had salmon which was just okay. Being from the Pacific Northwest, I am spoiled by outstanding salmon so it would take a lot to impress me. Those who had steaks said they were good. After dinner I headed back to the Toad and crashed.

I wasn’t yet into island mode and don’t have any pictures from this event. However, the interior of Palapa Grill is quite pretty.

Thursday, November 14

Ann Elliott and I had hoped to get a group together for a sail on No1SXM for Saturday, but there wasn’t enough interest. So today we joined Pat’s daughter and her friend and two others for a sail to Tintamarre. What a wonderful day! For those who don’t know, No1SXM is owned by Pieter and Mirian, who had the now-sunk Passaat. They don’t motor; everything is sailing in the wind. It was a perfect day for sailing and was heavenly relaxing on the netting to the sound of the waves. Pat’s daughter was thrilled to see a turtle. I just floated by the boat and wasn’t as lucky. We enjoyed sandwiches on the boat and had a leisurely sail back. Just a perfect time.

After the sail I headed to Tech Hub to get wifi on my phone and also to add more dollars to my top-up Chippie card. Then back to the Toad to get cleaned up.

There’s a “foodporn” group on Facebook that holds two dinners a month: one at an inexpensive location, and the other at a higher-end restaurant. Tonight was a dinner at Jamtillean . . . which I completely forgot about. It was on my calendar, and I have no excuse. I was mortified when I found out, especially when I learned that half of those who signed up didn’t make it. I ended out having drunken ribs at The Palms and had plenty for leftovers.

The view from my balcony is addicting, and I will probably be boring you with too many photos. This is at night.



Friday, November 15

And here are some morning views.





I am writing this report on Thursday, November 21, and don’t have much recollection of this day. I know I spent some time on the deck talking with JD/Ruralcarrier and his wife. I also went to the Marigot market and picked up a couple of items.



Dinner was at Bar Code with a couple of friends, where I had a special of tuna tartare, which was good.



Saturday, November 16

Time for a down day. Ann Elliott and I headed to Anse Marcel. Shortly after our arrival, there was a shower which took us off the beach. It soon passed, and we were back on the beach. The weather never warmed up enough that I felt I had to get into the water to cool off, so didn’t. There was a little seaweed on the sand, which I hadn’t seen there before. I also enjoyed a new beach towel I purchased from Amazon which has pockets that are very convenient.



The beach was as wonderful as ever and so was the food.



Lunch was a shrimp and calamari “pasta” salad; the pasta was a grain of some sort. It was quite tasty although I found the calamari a little chewy.



I can’t go to Anse Marcel without having a dessert; mine was a very yummy chocolate mousse.



I topped the afternoon off with an espresso martini and headed back to the Toad. This was noted on the way out; I assume it’s a feeding station.



There was another meet-and-greet of the Facebook group at The Pub, run by Tanya and Michael, which is next door to Jimbo’s in the former Byblos location. There were quite a few people there, and many were smokers, which is something I am not comfortable being around. I didn’t stay long and headed to Sublime for dinner, where I enjoyed a very good dish of fried noodles with shrimp and chicken.



Sunday, November 17

Another great morning on the deck.



A “ladies’ lunch” with Barbara, Ursula, Elaine, Ann, and moi was on the schedule at Indigo Bay Restaurant in Cay Bay.




It was a lovely time, except for the heat. They really need some fans. We shared some spring rolls, which someone said Sharon/The Queen recommends, and they were delicious. My entrée was a tartare, also quite tasty. The setting is very attractive, and the service was good. But oh, the heat from that afternoon sun! It just seems to gather and hang over you under the canvas ceiling.



There is a cocktail hour every day at The Horny Toad, and I hadn’t yet been to one. There were several guests in attendance, and I learned about the annual Thanksgiving dinner at the Toad. I decided to stay in for dinner and picked up some chicken from Pollos Hermanos on the corner; it was very tasty.




Rather than doing these reports by week, I’m cutting them off when I am nearing the limit of 20 photos.