On Saturday night, we decided to go to an old favorite place for dinner, the marina in Marigot. It used to be so much fun there sitting al fresco looking out at the boats and watching the many people walk by. The hard part was deciding which restaurant would get our patronage. We had walked by in the afternoon during our shopping spree (see Day 4 -- Escape from the Dreaded Seaweed). Already, we were suspicious when we saw that our favorite, La Belle Epoque, was gone. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

When we got there, we also saw that Cafe de Paris was not open. On a Saturday night? Not a good sign. So our choice was reduced to three restaurants. We went with the middle one, La Main a la Pâte. We chose well. We knew going in that this was not going to be the haute dining that we had done the previous 5 nights. But we liked the friendly French atmosphere. Throughout the evening, as more people trickled on in, it became apparent that this was a local favorite. All sorts of smoking, drinking, and conversing solely in French. The waitress confirmed that we were the only Yanks in the place. Our kind of place. Reminds us so much of the cafes in St. Tropez or Antibe that also look out on a marina. I get to struggle with my French with a young waitress from the Basque section of western France by way of Switzerland, while she works on her English.

We were two contented diners <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" /> but something was bugging us. Where was everyone? Two restaurants closed. This does not count La Vie en Rose -- another Marigot favorite that had just recently boarded it doors. The restaurant to our right was almost empty, and the one to our left was only a bit better off. There was zero people watching, because there was no one walking past. With just we two Americans in La Main, we wondered where all the tourists were. We know we are in low season, but we have been here before in May, and we don't remember such dearth of people.

The next night in Simpson Bay and Maho, we experience the same feeling of being in a ghost town. So, I asked you fellow Travel-Talkers: Have you observed a decline in activity on SXM? Is this possibly something that is widely-known here on the site, and I have missed it in my absence? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

Where have all the tourists gone, long time passing?
Where have all the tourists gone, long time ago?
<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/boohoo.gif" alt="" />

I must say, I picked a lot of negative vibes on this site in the weeks running up to our trip. Multiple statements of "it's not like it used to be" or "we may not be going back." <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Argue.gif" alt="" />

It got me thinking before we left for SXM that maybe this will be our last visit. Maybe it will be time to unfriend this old friend. Well, I have to say that we had the best time in St. Martin we have ever had. You name it -- our hotel, our car, the beaches, the restaurants, the shops, the sailboat trip, the people -- all went well, and all was just so relaxing and fun. I think, if you read my earlier posts, you sensed we were enjoying ourselves. Frankly, we remarked about how little seemed to have changed on our beloved French side of the island. That is, until we got to Marigot Saturday night, and then the Dutch side Saturday.

So, how do you see the state of SXM tourism?