Preamble
This was our 19th trip to St. Martin and 8th stay at Club Orient.
This vacation was pretty much a last minute decision this year. In the last 10 months our stress level was maxed out with the death of family members (my mother and uncle) and also our daughter’s impending separation and divorce. After being Powers of Attorney and Executor and most things settled, we decided we needed a vacation and to “run away” for a week. We looked at other places such as Jamaica and Mexico but chose St. Martin after finding a good deal with WestJet from Toronto (non stop). The last two years we flew out of Buffalo but this year did not want to deal with the hubs. Herladyship declared that we needed the downtime and we were so familiar with St. Martin that we could relax immediately. I was all for it! The previous two years we had flown out of Buffalo but obviously had to deal with hubs. We just wanted a quick getaway. I booked the flight and also booked Club Orient. We prefer a mini suite but none were available so we booked at Studio.


Flight and Arrival Tuesday April 6
Drove to Toronto in a downpour but still arrived in plenty of time. Flight left 1/2 hour late but we knew that leaving home. Flight was full and uneventful...the best kind! Arrived in SXM only 15 minutes late. Only 1 immigration line opened when we arrived but a second only opened shortly after. Our checked bag was on the carousel as we arrived. Met AAA Car Rental rep Myra outside airport and we were on our way...slowly. Traffic was so bad it took 20 minutes to get length of runway on Airport Road (just like Toronto, only there are 6 lanes backed up). Our car was not at the AAA office so Myra gave us a Suzuki Grand Vitara SUV (they referred to it as a jeep) which we were supposed to exchange two days later...and it was dark green...I would be able to find it in a parking lot! Rather than fight traffic in Simpson Bay, we went via the lowlands and Marigot to Club O. Arrived a 4:45. I checked in while Herladyship went into Orientique to get our emergency 6 pack of Carib. We were assigned Studio 32, which was only 2 units away from “La Villa” where we stayed last year with friends...OK, this is a tease! My tongue soaked up first beer and our 6 pack was warm so we decided to go to happy hour at Papagayo. We usually go to the lolos in Grand Case the first night for dinner but the cold Caribs were goingdown too good! We stayed too long and decided to eat at Papagayo - 2 cheeseburgers and a couple more Caribs came to nearly $50. Herladyship was ready for bed by 8:30. I am much tougher...I lasted until 9.

Wednesday, April 7
Up by 7 and made coffee and tea in studio supplemented by croissants from Orientique. We then went to the beach but were only able to get second row (which Herladyship prefers), it was very windy and we were getting sand blasted! We are experienced Orient beach people and know to expect a strong “breeze” but this was over the top! Andy and Cheryl’s for lunch and warmly greeted by both, especially Cheryl who actually knows us by name. Great new place and I gave Andy my seal of approval. I had a grouper burger and Herladyship had veal parm, more hugs from Cheryl and a few caribs. $45. Back to the beach but left early as it was still windy (little did we know it was to get worse). Went to Grande Marche in Phillipsburg but their refrigeration system was down and there was very little in stock (all coolers and freezers were obviously empty) so we bought what we could, which wasn’t much, as they appeared to be restocking the rest of the store. We stopped at Tap 5 in Orient Village on the way back and bought a dozen eggs and 6 diet coke and a mango $15...never again...Orientique is cheaper. Dinner at Talk of the Town Too lolo in Grand Case. I had ribs, chicken, rice and beans and fried plantain, Herladyship had chicken and salad, couple of beers the bill came to $20. The Waiter/Maitre’d at Talk of the Town Too is a real hoot...you will have to experience him to know what I mean. I love the new parking lot in Grand Case! Herladyship was coming down with a cold and went to bed. Our Club O neighbours Gary and Sue invited us over...not to refuse an invitation, I accepted and met their friends Bud and Brenda and Mike and Eileen. I think I went to bed about midnight...exceedingly late by Club O standards!

Thursday
I was up around 7 and walked beach and moved our chairs to front row. Breakfast in room and hit beach around 9:30. Even more windy than yesterday and we were now front row and still getting sand blasted, there were a fair amount of cruisers and some soldiers in fatigues and carrying weapons. We had lunch at the Perch...2 burgers, 3 beers $31. Not many people there. Beach time and I snorkeled in afternoon even though the water was rough and back to room for a dodo (French Canadian slang for a nap!). Met with Alain Arnell of AAA at Club O to switch cars but he said if we liked the Suzuki we could keep it, which I did...I like the dark green and it had enough guts to get up the hills! Back to Grand Case tonight to eat at Brasseries des Iles. One of our favourite places and the safest restaurant on the island, it is where the gendarmes eat and there is usually a truckload of them there. We ordered a Caesar salad and tagliatelle carbonarra and split them. The plates are huge and they will gladly split an order. Their carbonarra is the best I have ever had. They charge in Euros and our order with a glass of wine, a beer and a large bottle of water came to $41. They also serve after dinner “shots” (MaDoudou type). Back to Club O for some much need rest as we have a big day tomorrow. Herladyship not feeling well and had early night. Again socialized with Gary and Sue, Bud and Brenda, Mike and Eileen.

Friday.
Before we left home I had booked with Peggy and Paul’s snorkeling cruise. That morning we received a message from Peggy that the cruise had been cancelled due to bad weather and the trip would be miserable (I knew those high winds would plague us). We were of course disappointed but understood. Oh Well...plan B. Breakfast in room. Beach was still very windy (small craft advisory). Went to Andy and Cheryl for lunch. I had scallops and Herladyship had a meatball sub and a couple of beers, under $50. Beach in the afternoon but left early because of the wind as many people did (it seems to be getting worse). Went to Orient Village and were surprised at how nice it was since we had been there last (5-6 Years). Ate at Le Piment. Shared a Caesar salad and a pizza (with egg) and again 3 beers, $44. Went to Casino at Port de Plaisance...very small loss. Came back and again socialized with neighbours until 12 (Herladyship is starting to recover!).

Saturday
Breakfast in room after replenishing some supplies. Said farewell to neighbours Gary and Sue. Weather was overcast so we decided to do mandatory grandchildren shopping at Rimas. Trafffic bad, took 40 minutes to go from Dutch Quarter to Rimas. Started raining heavily. Decided against going to bank in Simpson Bay ( we might miss our flight on Tuesday ;-) and decided to go to US Supermarche in Hope Estates and picked up a few things. Back to Club O and had lunch in room (hot dogs). Went to beach and only stayed an hour as weather was overcast and threatening (and very windy). Beach had only about 5-10% occupancy. We decided to go to the Madoudou Factory which is now in a gated community. It was after 3 and they were closed anyway so we drove to Marigot to look for 1 litre bottle of rum. Marigot is largely closed and smells of sewer. It was one of our favourite places but now seems almost deserted (4:45 pm) and many buildings boarded up. Returned to Club O with 40 oz. we found in Marigot (at $11), oh well, will have to increase intake. Went to Papagayo for Happy Hour and dinner. Shared Shrimp Scampi appetizer, Prime Rib Dinner and Creme Brule ($60 something dollars). Met new friends Bruce and Dianne from New York and shared the evening with them. The invited us to their Studio at the end of the evening for a cognac (or two?). On the way back to our studio we stopped to chat with Bud, Brenda, Mike and Eileen who were out having a night cap (or two) and playing a trivia game. A few more drinks and off to bed...OK it’s 1 am...this could be a Club O record for late night activity!

Sunday
Wow, who drove the spike into my forehead!!! and it’s 9 am! I took stock of the night before...Rum and Coke, A Mudslide, Red Wine, Cognac, Beer (multiple). Now I know who put the nail in my forehead...ME! Went to Andy and Cheryl’s for brunch and was able to spend some time talking with Cheryl. A crappy day on the beach, with relentless wind, overcast and rain squalls so we just relaxed in our studio for a while. Decided to go to Scotia Bank in Simpson Bay. We took the Lowlands just for the drive as the weather is bad. As we reached Simpson Bay there was a total downpour. We took Phillipsburg route on the way back and water was running down the road as drainage is poor to non-existent. As we approached Club O the rain stopped so we made a side trip to Le Galion where we had not been for years. Lots of people and parties, it appears there was a child’s birthday party going on with balloons, music, pony rides, etc. One end there was windsurfing and the other end people were swimming and the water was a calm as a mill pond despite high winds. Back to Club O and beach which was almost deserted and no umbrellas up. Met new beach neighbours Neil and Michelle from Vancouver and talked to them for a while about the Olympics. We have ran into a lot of Canadians this year...one lucky goal and we own the world! We ate dinner at Papagayo, I had Dover Sole and Herladyship had Chicken Florentine, both were fine and again $60 something dollars.

Monday
Breakfast in our room and then headed to the MaDoudou factory. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/breakingnews.gif" alt="" />It is now in a gated community and you must enter a code. The phone rang over the intercom but they did not pick up right away. I followed another car in, taking the chance that the gates would close on us! Made our purchase and the lady gave us the code to get out. Before I had a chance to enter the code another car came behind me and opened the gate, Must have been a remote control. Anyway, I had purchased my two bottles of Banana Vanilla in plastic bottles. We returned to the beach at Club O but in a very short period of the time the rains came...heavy rain along with the usual relentless strong wind. We had lunch (all our leftovers) in the studio and later went back to the beach when the rain stopped. However, it was short-lived. I tried snorkeling at the small reef just out from the Perch but it was too rough. The rain came again, actually downpour, so went back to our studio and had a couple of drinks and planned to go to Bleu Martini in Grand Case for Pizza and then on to the Casino. We weren’t going to bother going to the Manager’s Wine and Cheese Party, but at the last minute we decided to go and socialize. Met up with Bruce and Diane, had a couple of glasses of wine....that killed our plans for going out. We stayed at Papagayo and had dinner with Bruce and Diane, Mair Patterson and her friend named Clare. Stayed for the Karaoke which was fun and headed back to our studio around 10. Two rib eye steaks and a bottle of wine came to about $64.

Tuesday
Awakened about 3 am by the rain pounding on the roof of the studio. Never did get back to sleep as the rain was relentless and torrential. We actually checked out of Club O about an hour before we had too. It was not going to be a good day in the neighbourhood. The weather report in the Club O office said it was going to be windy, and rainy with thunderstorms for the next week...we hope it is wrong for the sake of the people who are there now. We said farewell to Bruce and Dianne and set off to take the rental car back to Triple A. However, we were too early. We had skipped breakfast so we stopped at Bonita’s Cantina. Great food, I had Caribbean French Toast (banana and cinnamon) and Herladyship had a breakfast Burrito and bottomless coffee ($20). We sat at the bar and were about 6 yards from our car (our luggage was in there) which we could see at all times. Had a long conversation with the bar man there who explained the construction by the bridge was for a detention centre to keep illegals until they could be processed or deported. Right now they are being held in the prison with hardened criminals. He said that “controls” for illegals are now very frequent. Met Myra at Triple A office, Alain drove us to airport. Check in a breeze and flight back to Toronto on Westjet bang on time.

Observations.
Club O staff very friendly and accommodating, even more so than past years. Security is very visible at all times
.
Marigot looked deserted and smells. Many shops closed...even our favourite store Marek’s. New buildings but many empty. Alain Arnell told us that it is partially due to the new complex at Hope Estates...no traffic congestion and available parking.

We ate at Papagayo 4 of 7 nights and really enjoyed ourselves. There is entertainment almost every night and the place is reasonably full...not crowded. In the past we have found that it was almost deserted most nights.Prices are in Euros but we only found 1 meal expensive and that was the cheeseburgers. Service was good.

Didn’t get to Front Street in Phillipsburg this year but were told by others there are many empty stores.

Didn’t go jewellery shopping but our 40th is next year and Herladyship hinted I am in big trouble! (I think I have been set up)

We pay no attention to the “who’s doin’ 1 for 1”. It made no difference whether the price was in Euros or Dollars. The prices were consistent for what we ordered whether in Dollars or Euros. The “One for One” for the most part is just a marketing strategy.

Did I mention the wind on Orient..not the worst we have ever seen but the most consistently strong.

For the last 9 or 10 years we have arranged to meet friends (Jim and Carmen, Bill and Linda) in St.Martin but because we “ran away” this year we left no time for arrangements. Arriving at Club O not knowing anyone was a little strange at first, but Club Orient people are the best and it did not take long for us to strike up conversations and friendships.

Jim and Carmen, Bill and Linda and the rest of the gang...we really missed you guys! We had a great time but it was not quite the same. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />

John and Toddy (aka Herladyship) <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Umbrella.gif" alt="" />