Just getting around to posting about our most recent trip. It's abit lengthy. We have not been back to the island and LaVista since the hurricane.Thankfully they held our 2018 week until we were able to use it. We planned twice before to go, but medical issues set us back. Finally all worked out. JetBlue flight left Ft. Lauderdale late on Sat., Jan 4th, but time was made up in flight. Due to a low vision issue we requested wheelchair assistance upon arrival. JetBlue had a a ramp which made departing the plane easy for my husband to hold onto the handrails. We met Yemmi at the bottom of the ramp for wheelchair assistance. He whisked us through Customs/Immigration, helped get our luggage and brought us over the the Hertz p/u area. Off to Hertz, which was quick. In and out, then off to LaVista.

Check in was quick. The new furnishing certainly updated the look of the room, as well as the new patio doors. They did a nice job on the recovery process of the place, it looked great. We unpacked and off we went to Market Garden to get some snacks and goodies. We wanted an early dinner since we were hungry, opted for Pineapple Pete's. Never again! Food now doesn't compare to what it was 5-10 years ago. Caesar salad was quite bland. The stuffed shrimp were rubbery and the stuffing was more cracker than crab-meat. Hubby was not over impressed with his over-fried coconut shrimp. No one bothered to come over to ask, how are things? Certainly not worth the price paid. Paid the bill, left disappointed since use to enjoy this place, would not return.

Sunday--beach day at El Zarfino. I wrote ahead to reserve 2 chairs and an umbrella. Nice beach and was not crowded. Restaurant food was enjoyable...the coconut shrimp were excellent. as was the goat cheese salad with grilled chicken. Service was pleasant and very good as well. Facilities made it easy to navigate for a handicapped person. Dinner was at Izi, as usual excellent. The Caesar was great esp with added anchovies. Meat lasagna, pasta bolognese were spot on. Tiramisu to top off the evening. Izi never disappoints.

Monday off to Phillipsburg to do alittle shopping since this was the only day 2 ships were in. Parking available in the main paid lot, thankfully. Walked Front Street to a few stores, got my cosmetics needs and a few other items. Only one cream vendor bothered us and made political comments about the US. Just kept right on walking. One of the biggest issues I do have with walking Front Street is that now that my husband needs assistance walking due to severe low vision, it is difficult to walk hand in hand since the sidewalk is not wide enough in many areas. Also palm trees plopped in the middle of sidewalks is a pain...go right and you are in the street. Go left and you need to walk single file. I actually never noticed any of this before, but now that my husband has this major issue it is quite obvious. Hung out at the LaVista pool in the afternoon. Dinner was at Avantika...nice atmosphere inside. Service was excellent as was the food. We did a variety of small plates and they did not disappoint.

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Tuesday Picked up a few goodies at LaSucriere, yummy! Back to El Zafino for beach time. It got crowded since the cruise ship passengers were dropped off. Complete opposite of our quiet first day there, but it was ok.
Dinner was at the Palapa Grill, which was a first and a last for us. Waitress came over for our drink order, hubby had a glass of white wine and I ordered a chocolate martini. She came back and I was informed they couldn't make it...no ingredients. I now ordered a pina colada. A few minutes later I was informed they couldn't make that either. I found this quite shocking and just shook my head. I then questioned her about the coconut shrimp appetizer, can we get that as a main course dish with more shrimp? The answer, "But of course." We now order. Another couple gets seated next to us. After a few minutes their waiter puts a small blackboard on the table and proceeds to explain in detail all the evening specials. What specials, we never heard them. Our meal arrives.. a filet for me and coconut shrimp for my husband, Sadly it was not a dinner portion, but an appetizer portion with 3 shrimp. The waitress asks what's wrong, so I tell her that we asked for this as a larger meal portion. The reply, "we do not do that." At that point we were so disappointed in the evening experience we did not bother with dessert. The manager stopped us on the way out, and she got the full explanation of the evening. The server can make or break the meal, we would not return.

Wednesday off to Friar's Bay for the day. Traffic through Marigot was horrible. We got to Friar's, but did not very long. Only one or two people in an out of the water due to the high waves as well as the large amounts of rocks along the shoreline. Crossing those rocks made it difficult to get in. I do not ever recall that amount of rocks or waves like that day. Usually the water is always quite calm. Back through Marigot and the bumper to bumper traffic. A an hour or two lounging by the pool then get ready for dinner at Mario"s. It was fabulous! Service was spot on, a wonderful breeze blowing and great food. Pork tenderloin with a caramelized onion merlot sauce with a side of garlic mashed potatoes, grilled shrimp on a bed of crabmeat risotto, a warm macadamia pear tart with sea salt caramel ice cream....I can still taste it!

Thursday headed to Orient, very little to any traffic through Marigot. Plopped at Wai...what a lovely new place. Front row for 2 chairs and an umbrella was $30.00, 2nd row and back $20.00. Water was a nice temp,air was breezy but comfortable. A burger was ordered for lunch, which we shared and it was quite good. Beach service was great, new facilities were impressive. Traffic heading back through Marigot was awful. Dinner this evening was a Sale N Pepe. We dined at their other location twice, therefore looked forward to dining at their new place. Lovely location overlooking the harbor and yachts. We were seated in the back area and at that time there were 2 other tables of 4 and us. Wine ordered placed, but didn't arrive until we were through with our appetizers. The waitress never informed us of the evening specials. I did find they have too many people buzzing about and I never knew who our server actually was since so many people stopped by. Caesar salad was average and bland. Mozzarella and tomato salad should have ripe tomatoes, not half green ones. Waitress shrugged when told. The pasta bolognese was excellent, but the shrimp parm was not the best. The room continued to become more and more crowded...tables seated of 6-8-10-12. We were seated in a corner and couldn't even hear each other across the table. No one ever asked how things were since we did not see the waitress again. Due to the noise level we did not want dessert. Asked another server for the check and left. I would think twice about returning here. No longer small and intimate like it used to be.

Friday back to El Zafino because all was easy access for my husband who has the low vision issues. To say we stayed approx 15 minutes would be an understatement. The wind was blowing so badly we were covered in sand, it felt like we were at the beach at end of the runaway. People began leaving as we did, eating sand wasn't part of the agenda. Stopped at LaSucriere for some goodies again...so yummy. We always do pizza on our last night, but sadly Pizza Galley is gone. :-( We decided to try Isola, sorry to say, the pizza was a disappointment. Next time we will head off to Mama's at Cupecoy.

Saturday allowed a late checkout at LaVista which we were so thankful for. Based on all recommendations we allowed 2.5 hrs for the airport. Needless to say, I can understand that for the normal traveler, but due to wheelchair access we were whisked though. Another wonderful man helped us with the check in process, customs and immigration, and right down to the gate. He even told us if hubby needed bathroom assistance go to the JetBlue counter and ask. They called for assistance and Yemmi arrived again to help him out. The people in the SXM airport who handle the wheelchair assistance were all fabulous, kuddos and thank you.

We left pretty much on time and arrived in Ft Lauderdale 15 minutes early. Wheelchair assistance in FLL, but not as good as SXM. Trouble with global access for hubby, but not for me.
Home again, but we miss SXM. We have always visited a variety of beaches, but with hubby's vision issues that is becoming more and more out of the question. :-( Thankfully we will see you in May again.