It’s been almost two weeks since my plane left Portland, OR, and this is the first time I’ve even thought about sitting down to write a report. This one will be different from my previous detailed reports, which I know will please those of you who don’t like day-by-day narratives.

Getting There

I left on October 27, too early to avoid having to get a COVID test. I had scheduled tests at both Walgreen’s (PCR) and a rapid antigen the next day at a clinic, just in case. The Walgreen’s test results were in my email by the time I returned home from the testing, so I was able to cancel the antigen test. I was grateful for that since the clinic was charging for travel-related tests. The EHAS approval took a few hours but came through before I went to bed that night.

Some of you may recall that when I was on island in June, one of my cats I was boarding had to be put down. Not being able to be with him was extremely painful. A week prior to my departure, I took my remaining feline in for his annual exam and was devastated to learn that he had progressed to Stage 4 renal disease, and the vet said he could go into failure literally at any moment. He was still eating, pooping, and getting around well so this was shocking news. In addition to the stress of arranging for travel, I was also trying to decide if I should cancel my trip, board him and not be there again when his time came, or put him down before I left. He did start to decline so made my decision for me, and I said goodbye to him the day before I left town. This really put a damper on the excitement of departure.

My routing was Portland – Los Angeles – Miami – SXM. Due to the reciprocal arrangements between American and Alaska, I was able to wait for my flight to LAX in Alaska’s Board Room, a nice perk. My itinerary included a three-hour layover in LAX, which I spent in the Admirals Club. I had never been in this Admirals Club before and thought it was stunning. The flight to MIA was a redeye on a 777 (seats lay flat in your own “cubicle”) and I had hoped to be able to sleep on this flight. Alas, it was not to be. My seat was next to the galley, and a flight attendant talked ALL night long. This was my view heading into Miami.



Again, I utilized the Admirals Club while waiting for my flight to SXM. This club is a stark contrast to the LAX Club, seeming dingy and almost dirty by contrast. The flight to SXM was full, and going through the various checkpoints at PJIA was not onerous. Due to all the discussions about liability insurance, I opted to go with Hertz this time, which includes liability in their quote; their quote was less than the others I checked. They meet you at the airport in a van rather than your car and take you to their office. The check-in process took a bit longer than I’ve been accustomed to with my prior provider but wasn’t unreasonable.

The Horny Toad

Finally, my home for five weeks. It was 90 degrees the day of my arrival so the air conditioning at Horny Toad was welcome. Even more so, the view.



Except for going out for dinner, I spent the first several days laying low at the Toad and trying to recover from losing two kitties within four months of each other. I was really touched when checking in to my room to discover a sympathy card from everyone at the Toad and that they had made a contribution to The Animal Rescue League. Pretty special!

A nice diversion was the 16th annual youth sailing race hosted by Sint Maarten Yacht Club that took place in Simpson Bay. There were 19 youth racers from six countries including Sint Maarten, St. Martin, Antigua, St. Kitts, Nevis, and Curacao. The overall winner was from Antigua.





A cute sign on my deck.



The Toad’s gardener.



The innkeepers’ cat, Betsy. They lost Ginger since the last time I was here.



A cute little decoration on the tables on the balcony. There is a string of lights inside the jar attached to the cork which you can switch on and off. I believe they are made by someone at The Mailbox.



Beaches

After about four days of doing virtually nothing, I was ready to venture out. Of course, my first beach was Anse Marcel. What a huge difference in reception this time vs. last time! I had made a reservation using the email address they gave me in June. I was greeted by name, time of lunch reservation was confirmed, hugs and cheek kisses from some of the staff. It was like old home week. This visit, I brought neighbors from the Toad who had never been to AM before, and I was glad they liked it.




A few days later, I returned with AnnandSteve from this board.



Another beach day was at Mary’s Boon with friends.



Sails

So far, only one although more are scheduled. This was on No1SXM, and it was a splendid day of sailing and playing in the water at La Samanna.




Nature

Mother Nature has been showing a lot of faces since I’ve been here. Really hot when I first arrived, then cooling down a bit. A good bit of rain, some of which lasted several hours. I caught this rainbow from my balcony. You have to look closely, but it’s a triple rainbow.



This one was while I was driving. I pulled over to catch it but realized after getting back on the road it was a complete semi-circle. I couldn’t pull over again, but the SXM Facebook groups were flooded with much better pictures of this rainbow than I was able to get.



I am getting close to the picture limit for a thread so will put food and special events in a separate post.