Carol - When we first started going to SXM we found it was almost too much trouble to rent a car... The roads were terrible and not a street sign in sight. I, too, miss the days when if you wanted to make a call you went to the marina in Marigot and used one of the four pay phones that were available. Calls we ungodly expensive so it discouraged too much communication. All-in-all I agree that I miss a lot of the charm of the "old" St. Maarten. OK, the airport was usually hot as hell but you certainly knew you weren't in the northeast US in February!!!