I haven't posted any type of trip report in many years. After 40 something trips there really isn't that much new to say. However I will break with that tradition and share a couple of new experiences on the island which were delightful in the hope that they may make other traveler's trip more enjoyable as well.

Edie and I decided to visit the new bird park (Parotte Ville) located in Bishop Hill Road in Belvedere. Basically when you are heading from Phillipsburg toward Oleans, you turn right at the new roundabout where the McDonalds is located and it is a short distance down on the right. I would describe it as the Butterfly Farm with birds. It has approximately 80-100 exotic birds such as Sun Conure, ring neck parakeets, brown throated Conure, black headed Caiques and more. Your $10 admission fee also comes with a cone of bird feed and boy do the birds love that food! They were all over Edie and I and it was a stitch! I will mention one Zen like moment that happened with several different birds... A bird would land on my hat and then crawl to the tip of the rim. Hanging upside down, it would then stare into my eyes from a distance of about 3 inches. I was unable to win a single one of these staring contests. Of course it was difficult to concentrate with Edie laughing so hard she almost wet herself. The bird park also has a small museum of early SXM items and an area of medicinal plants. One of the curators, Valentine, gave us a very interesting tour of these and it was very enjoyable. Edie enjoyed this park so much that we went back a second time on our stay and they charged only $5 on the second time. Edie and I highly recommend a visit here and if you are travelling with kids, this is a must see.

The second new experience involves Alexanders restaurant which is at the Simpson Bay resort upstairs in the same building that has the French bakery. Edie and I have made this a regular stop because we like the local creole food of SXM in a Dutch side location. What made the breakfast there different this year were the Johnny Cakes. After 27 years of visiting SXM, I freely admit that I have become a Johnny Cake aholic. The Johnny Cakes here are IMHO the best in the island. Imagine my delight when the staff invited me to try their latest creation: the pumpkin flavored Johnny Cake! With nutmeg and a pumpkin flavor, I thought I had died and gone to heaven! I have had Johnny Cake withdrawal ever since our return home. Give Alexander's a try and ask about this latest creation

Reading your post was a pleasure but I have to admit, we've been going forever and I always think I've seen it all - done it all and yet, each trip we manage to find something new. Yours is the second or third reference made here regarding the bird haven and I'm thinking it may be something to check into during our next trip, and in the meantime, thank you for sharing yours..........

SXM does always seem to have a new experience in store, if one is willing to venture out, even for us long time visitors! We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Parrotte Ville in June. Here is our report about it. I'm not sure if I would go back unless they have some new additions, but we definitely enjoyed it.

We never miss Alexanders on our trips. Love tne local food!

Thank you for sharing! You've given me two great ideas!

Dang, I've only been home 4 days and my list of things to do and places to eat next time is growing.

the birds sounds hilarious.

Will the birds land on your finger/hand? On our list for March!

Take a look at my report that I linked. It's more of a problem getting the birds NOT to land on you if you have food!

We loved the bird park as well! The gentleman who gave us the tour was very knowledgeable about all the plants, which was very interesting, and the items in the museum were belongings of his family, of which he was very proud. There was an island woman there the same time as we were there with 4 children & it was fun to watch the kids interact with the birds.

Great story. I wish I could go. Did you get any better at staring on your second visit?