Travel day (Thursday) was easier than expected. Left Miami 40 minutes late, arrived SXM 15 minutes early (2:15pm). I have no idea how that happens. There were no visible big lines in front of us. We flew American, parked close to the terminal and walked in. 30 minutes to get through immigration and about 30 more to get our bags. Met Lesley, and after a brief detour by his house to get the car and chairs, we were on our way.
My husband waited in the car while I grabbed a few groceries at the Porto Cupecoy Carrefour Express on our way to our studio unit in Terres Basses. We dumped our luggage and unpacked a little and headed to Dany’s for a rum punch and to see the sunset. Dinner was at Altro in Porto Cupecoy and was very good. I had the prix fixe menu and my husband ala carte. Both were good and reasonably priced. No service charge. (I forgot to take pictures.)
Friday we rented a couple of chairs at Baby Beach in Cupecoy. It was the only one with sand, so it was pretty crowded when we left around lunch time, but so beautiful as always. You could see Saba and Statia very clearly. Dany made us a lobster lunch and chilled our champagne for us, very good! I have made dinner reservations for most nights, because we want to eat at specific places. Tonight was Le Bistronome in Grand Case. Chantal was a delight, as usual. The food was excellent – I had the Coquille St. Jacques (scallops) and my husband a lamb “pot pie” in the Jamaican style which he enjoyed. Crab cakes to start and the chocolate mousse cake (yum!). No service charge or pictures here either.
Saturday we decided to bring chairs and walk to the quiet side of Pinel. We picked up a couple of pastries for breakfast (the chocolate almond croissant is to die for!) and a roast beef sandwich for lunch at Zee Best. A cooler packed with this and a bottle of Rose wine and water and we were set. It was a lovely day. For dinner, my husband has been wanting to try JAX for a while. I have been discouraging him because the reviews I was reading were very mixed. Finally, we decided to try it and I must say, the service and food were excellent. We both agree that it was the best meal we’ve ever had on the Dutch side in all our trips (I think this is our 6th one in 4 years). We split everything – fresh French oysters, wedge salad, Cowboy bone-in ribeye (which we could not finish), two glasses of Cote du Rhone red, and a Chocolate and Espresso Martini for dessert. We ordered Cosmos to start and they were fabulous, which is pretty unusual honestly. I requested it not sweet and it was perfection. We will probably come back here just for cocktails. We were not expecting a meal comparable to what we could get at home for a good steak, but it definitely was. No service charge here either.
Weather has been gorgeous. Because of where we are staying and the times we go places, we have not encountered a lot of bad traffic, yet. After checking with Dany to see if things were quiet in Sandy Ground at the moment, we have driven through there early, but typically come back across the causeway after dinner in Grand Case. So far has been a much needed, very relaxing trip.
