So our final Sunday here is done and we’re down to our last two full island days. We haven’t gone anywhere or done anything out of the ordinary but it’s been a great trip. We’ve spent a lot of uninterrupted time with each other and we’ve been fortunate to spend time with friends, old and new as well and this trip I’ve even been able to put faces to names which is so very important to me. But if only I could remember them all……..

Our time here at Beachside Villas has been extraordinary as it always is and we are so very content just being here. MN (that would be Mother Nature in pat speak….) has been a little less kind this year in that the rains have happened most evenings, usually just in time to be heading to the car on the way to dinner, but they’ve all been short in longevity usually five to ten minutes or less and the parking is such that the car is right off the curb of our unit so not a big deal. I’m sure there have been some daytime downpours but I don’t recall them.

The staff here is wonderful and just can’t do enough for you. The only drawback I’ve seen is again with MN in that the surf has been a lot rougher than many of us would appreciate but so beautiful to watch and listen to. And the guests? What a great group we’ve fallen into, from CT. to Canada to Florida and the Midwest and New England to the PNW, all have been lovely. And of course, I couldn’t leave out our fellow north easterners - shared moments at the plane platform and on the beautiful pool deck have all been special and you’ve helped to make it that way.

Saba has been coming and going over the full two weeks we’ve been here so far and this morning has been no exception. Today she’s still thinking about her return but you can make out her image if you know where to look and what you’re looking for. This is a day trip unlike so many of the other islands but IMO it is one so worth taking at least one time to see it.

So last night we decided a redo on the Secret Fish House and apparently we weren’t the only ones as we ran into Linda and Ann and company again. I’ve read quite a few commentaries about this place and let me air mine. It was very good - the food was good (more Thermidor and escargot) and the waitstaff personable and totally on top of things plus a perfectly served meal.

And lastly, my thoughts on the traffic - if you can go where you want to go before or after the rush hours you’ll probably be okay but a trip almost any time of day into P’berg or to Simpson Bay in the evening dinner hours has been horrendous each time we’ve tried to go those routes and times.

My major complaint with the huge prominence of SXM among the Caribbean islands for at least the past twenty-five years has always been and continues to be the major SXM lack of planning for its infrastructure. The unfettered island development on the Dutch side still allows for building everywhere and anywhere they can but with little thought to traffic and or parking. A NIGHTMARISH situation more so for those who live here and yet, year after year, it continues. They really need a better mass transport system but I’m thinking that’s one of those things the Pols can’t achieve fuller pockets on. And maybe while they’re in the height of their political season they could fill some of the pot-holes too..

But truth is, that’s my only real complaint with this destination we’ve loved over the almost fifty years we’ve been visiting. It still offers the best climate, the tastiest and most varied dining OP’s, the most accessible and beautiful beaches and lastly, for the most part, the loveliest and most kind people I’ve ever met. It’s so wonder that 2024 will allow us to celebrate fifty years of at least once annual trips and most- years more.