(continuation from part one...)

DAY 6: Sunday, 1/23
Up in time for breakfast once again and back to the pool. I planned on taking a quick dip before walking over to La Plantation for WIFI to see if Bill and Elaine responded to my PM, as there's no WIFI at Esmeralda and my phone wasn't working well. Then my phone rings. It was Elaine, who informed me she'd been trying to get a hold of me all morning. Oops. Not sure what time her morning begins, but obviously much earlier than ours. Good news, Bill and her would be joining us for the lunch! P and I drove to the Village to pick up wine and baguettes at Tap 5 and the new grocery store, located in the former La Chapelle. It was our first time going since its grand opening. Decent selection. Baguette and wine in hand, we headed over to Luci's villa. Arrived before Bill and Elaine intentionally so that they could use our white corolla as a landmark. I even called Elaine to give her the house number, assuming it'd be of some help... only to discover later that the house numbers are not in sequence there! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" /> Somehow Bill and Elaine managed to find their way, despite the issue of random house numbers and both Luci and I failing to answer our phones. We spent most of the afternoon sitting poolside, snacking and had a wonderful lunch of build your own pizzas, compliments of mother-daughter team effort. Luci's husband was on top of the refreshers, generously replenishing as needed. Can't imagine a better way to spend a lazy, Sunday afternoon. It was close to 6pm by the time we left. Drove to Cadisco for 1:1 gas before heading back to Esmeralda to relax some more. Surprisingly, later that night we found an appetite and decided to try Yvette's in Orleans. This is a place among many that has been on our list of places to go, so we were really looking forward to it. We ordered accras for appetizer. Entrees consisted of conch stew, based on Bill's recommendation, and chicken curry. Both entrees came with salad, plaintains, and rice and peas. Portions are generous here. Despite being quite full with a wonderful meal, we couldn't resist the homemade coconut tart. Delicious! We talked for some time with Yvette's son (I feel awful, but I can't remember his name... Bobbie?) who gave us the history of the restaurant. He explained how his mother had grown up in the house, started the restaurant with four tables, expanded to its current state, and if she was still alive there probably would've been an addition. Sounds like she was an incredible individual. He explained that this May it'd be their 30th anniversary. We'll be on island celebrating my birthday and will definitely stop in to wish Yvette's a happy anniversary. Yvette's son also invited us to come by for the release of their first cookbook, supposed to be February 5th but is postponed to a later date. Can't wait to get a copy! I collect cookbooks and he's promised to sign a copy for me. Yvette's has made it to our list of favorites. It is open for lunch 12-2:30pm, for dinner 6-10pm and closed on Wednesdays. Back to Bikini Beach Bar for our nightcap, where Junior greeted us generously with shots. Two couples sitting next to us were quite the characters and we had a good chat, especially with Mike who kept referring to SXM as "my island" since he's frequented it for 40 years. Maybe that'll be us one day. He kept calling us kids, which amused P and I. Randomly, we bumped into our designer from La Pierre. More shots, to celebrate his birthday that recently passed, with fingers crossed he'd make it to our appointment the following morning. He invited us to join him and his girlfriend to Budha Bar, immediately adjacent to Bikini Beach Bar, but I'm the type who stays put once I claim a stool. Budha Bar assumes nightclub on the beach on Sundays; it seems to be the place to go for the locals. There was a pretty big crowd.

DAY 7: Monday, 1/24
Despite the late night, we were up in time for errands scheduled to start at 9am. Hydrating with water does miracles to minimize a hangover, despite what Junior says. Baby Oreo came to the back patio to say hello, but sadly I had no food to share. Errands wrapped up in time for an early lunch at the Dinghy Dock, where we had ribs and tuna melt, both served with fries and salad. This remains as a place we really enjoy for a casual place for food and drink. Back to Coco on Orient for some good beach time. This time was a success in getting my massage. Prices were listed as $10 for 10mins, $45 for 1/2hr, $75 for 1hr. I debated between 1/2hr or 1hr and ultimately went with the 1/2 hour massage. During my massage, there was a couple directly outside the tent who were chattering nonstop while waiting to speak with the lady giving the massage. I secretly wished them away, with no luck, so I tried to focus on the ocean waves instead. The lady giving the massage asked me if I work with computers (my job in a nutshell), since my shoulders were apparently very tense. Makes me think that I should pamper myself with massages more often. Do massages qualify as a business expense? It should. Back to the pool and shower before heading to La Bella Opaque in Marigot Marina to meet friends for dinner.


Marigot Marina

We arrived early and grabbed a drink at Thai Bali. WIFI available here also. At La Bella Opaque we shared a pizza to start, with toppings of feta, tomato, and olives. The homemade spicy oil drizzled on top really enhances the flavor. For entrees we had mahi mahi creole, sweetbreads (daily special), bouillabaise, and I can't remember the fourth order. Everyone was too full for dessert except me. I ordered two scoops of ice cream, chocolate and coconut, even though I was eyeing the profiteroles. Dinner was enjoyable. I even got a rose compliments of one of our friends. After dinner, P and I went back to Thai Bali. Lots of locals. We left well before closing; they are open till 1am and there was still a crowd when we left. Walking back to the car, we passed by some suspicious activity, possible drug deal. This was the only time during the trip that I felt uncomfortable, especially with no one else around except us and them. Felt tons better once we got into the car, which fortunately was just around the corner, and felt even better once safely back to our room. Watched some stand up comedy on TV and called it a night. I believe the comedian's name was Richard Craicco, although no luck finding him with google- loved his act.

DAY 8: Tuesday, 1/25
We woke up at a decent time and decided to go to Paradise View for crepes, only to discover the restaurant is closed on Tuesdays. I've decided to start a detailed listing of hours of operations for places we visit to avoid future disappointment. Since we were up and on the road, we decided to head to town and pay Raj another visit... for the bracelet. Minor adjustments were needed and with the links that were removed, Raj made a beautiful pendant for me at no cost as well as giving me a silver chain. This workup required about an hour. During this time we went to Gulmohars located across the street, where we bought hot sauce, coconut coffee (for a friend who loves coconut as much as we do), and the budget friendly booze.


No luck finding Kalika. Our hotsauce purchases instead.

We were looking for Kalika hot sauce, which we can't seem to find anymore. What ever happened to the Spice Man? His hot sauce is no longer found on tables at restaurants; Matouk's seems to be the hot sauce of choice everywhere now, which we really like but still in search of Kalika. We sampled some single malt scotches while there also, which seemed wrong that early in the day, but the guy working the counter convinced us that "It's 5o'clock somewhere". Gulmohars allowed us to leave our shopping bag for later pickup while we walked around town. With time to pass, we went in search of WIFI, which brought us to Ocean Lounge at the Holland House.



We ordered drinks at the bar and I went to the front desk for the ticket with the internet access code. Relaxed there for awhile before heading back to DK Gems for my bracelet and necklace. We arrived prematurely, so we spent some time conversing with Raj about island happenings until it was ready. Between that and the distraction of my new purchase, it didn't dawn on us that we forgot to pick up our bag at Gulmohars until we were already sitting down for lunch at Bacchus in Hope Estate. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/hammer.gif" alt="" /> I called the store and asked them if we could come before they closed at 6pm; not a problem. Bacchus is another one of our favorites. We were welcomed with the Bacchus drink= rose`, peach nectar, and infused with basil (I think). Very refreshing. Escargot and salad to start. We also ordered kobe style beef carpaccio and beef tartar, both served with homemade fries and small salad. Absolutely fantastic and we can't wait to return. We headed back to the resort to relax by the pool for awhile, before heading back to town for our forgotten goods. We intended to pick up our bag and head directly over to Maho for some nightlife, but we figured life would be easier without shlepping around bottles of liquor, so we made a quick stop to drop off the bag in our room.


View of Maho from our table at Bajatzu.

For dinner, we ended up at Bajatzu Bar and Grill. It was such a beautiful night out that we opted to sit outside, even though the bistro size table made for very tight, borderline uncomfortable dining. Since we had a pretty big lunch, we decided to skip both appetizer and dessert and just order mains. For our entrees we had the 8oz filet with garlic mash and chicken kebab. We planned on going to Sopranos Piano Bar for live music afterwards. We had an hour to kill before it opened at 9pm, so we headed over to Casino Royale.



Needless to say we didn't make it to Sopranos that night due to blackjack distraction. We left the casino $140 lighter. No big deal. Basically cancelled our winnings from Hollywood Casino. It wasn't until we were on the road did we realize how late it was, nearly 2am! At Border Point, the Gendarmes had another random checkpoint set up.


Border point shot in the daytime.

Definitely observed a greater presence of police force during our stay, a very positive thing. After a brief glance inside the car, we were waved on. We arrived back to Esmeralda, packed up in preparation for checkout, and didn't get to sleep until 3ish. AA660 was scheduled for 1:35pm departure, so there was still opportunity for sufficient sleep. I dozed off wishing we had one more day, more specifically an errand-free day.

DAY 9: Wednesday, 1/26
Departure day was filled with bittersweet feelings; another wonderful trip coming to an end but anxious to return to our dog, Scout. Not so anxious to return to work responsibilities and definitely less than thrilled to return to the brutal winter in New York. We decided to wrap up our trip with crepes at Paradise View, after our unsuccessful attempt the day before.


From our table at Paradise View restaurant.

We both ordered salty crepes: one was filled with ham, mushroom, egg, cheese ("The Complete"?) and the other filled with artichoke and goat cheese. Both came with a small salad. The crepes were generous portions and neither of us were able to finish. After breakfast, we stopped in at the new grocery store in the Village for a baguette and comte cheese for a simple lunch for the plane ride back to New York. Ironically, on the walk to the store I finally found Tai Club, which I had inquired about earlier during our trip but unable to get an answer about its location. I saw an ad in Caviar magazine for a piano bar in the Village, which included a photo. Decor was shades of white and very chic. Immediately I thought of Tai Chi due to the spelling, but couldn't imagine where it could be. Well, it is on the second floor in Tai Chi. Had no idea there was a second floor. Is this new? Anyone been? I've added this to our list of places to go, for the music not food. Checkout at Esmeralda was quick, dropped off the rental car by noon, checked in at the airport, and by 12:10pm we were at the gate. At duty free, picked up the usual bottle of champagne for P's mom, who kindly dogsits Scout for us. We couldn't find the itinerary, so I asked P to inquire about arrival time so that I could make arrangements with a local cab company for pickup at JFK. Glad I asked P to inquire because minutes later there was an announcement that AA660 was cancelled due to snow in the city. Be careful what you wish for. While being stranded in SXM is far from awful, it is frustrating when you are set to return home and resume responsibilities. A line quickly formed with lots of panicked passengers. Fortunately, P had the advantage of being first in line and was able to rebook AA660 for the following day. I dialed Kenny's as we walked back to baggage claim for our checked luggage, in hopes that the car we'd just dropped off was still there in the lot and available.. no such luck. Kenny's was booked solid with no available cars. After claiming our bags, we stopped at the Visitor Info booth to inquire about where we could find accommodations for one night. Too bad I've always bypassed those 1 night stay threads; it could've been handy for our situation. The lady at the booth helped us with obtaining reservation at Sonesta, an $8 taxi ride away. If it weren't for all the luggage, we would've walked. When we arrived at Sonesta, the girl at the desk informed us it'd be "a few minutes" and asked us to have a seat while she obtained a rate for us. Not a problem. We sat patiently and waited.. for an hour when our patience wore out and we asked for a manager. The girl was no longer behind the desk at this point. Then she appeared and asked us if we needed help! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cloud.gif" alt="" /> "You forgot about us." Then there was a look of recognition and she proceeds to tell us she hadn't and had been waiting for a rate. For an hour?? A simple apology would've satisfied me. I bit my tongue, hard. Within minutes, the manager provided us with our rate of $155/night, room number 218, and keys. Thank you, Mr. Manager. It was a small trek to our room, located towards the rear of the grounds, but closer to the water. First impression, needs some updating (too pink for our taste), but more importantly it was clean and sufficient for our one night stay. After our morning fiasco and previous late night, P decided to take a nap. I had the homemade cheese sandwich for lunch out on the balcony overlooking the water and airport strip. Watching the planes land/takeoff was free entertainment while I waited for P to re-energize.


View from our balcony.




Eventually P got up and had his share of sandwich before we headed off by foot in search of Tango's Beach Bar. From Elaine's previous post, I only recalled that it was by Beach Side Villas so with that little piece of information we began the trek, walking by Driftwood, Sunset Bar & Grill,... stopped to ask locals for directions. No one knew where Tango's was, so we kept walking until we eventually approached BSV and made the right turn before it, although there were no signs indicating a beach bar. Found a small path and there it was.. Tango's!

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View from barstool.

Ting was very refreshing after our stroll, a pretty decent walk. I didn't realize they served food, until rereading Elaine's post on Tango's. Since we didn't realize they offered a menu, we decided to head over to Karakter for dinner and WIFI. Ideally, we wanted to walk along the beach to get there, but there was no beach. The bartender suggested we walk along the wall of BSV, but the waves were crashing hard and we really didn't feel like getting soaked. So we walked to the entrance of BSV, in hopes to find a guard or staff to ask permission to pass through rather than walk all the way around airport road. Midway down the stretch of property we saw some people outside, so we proceeded ahead to ask, but turns out they were just guests. At this point we were already unintentionally trespassing, so we figured we may as well walk the rest of the way to access the beach. Feel free to delete lawyer Carol, if you feel this content is inappropriate. We ended up hanging out at Karakter for most of the night. Why not make the best of being stranded. Enjoyed lots of drinks and a fantastic dinner. We ordered the "Sea Karakter"- grouper with caper wine sauce and "Ocean Karakter"- tuna melt. Both came with a small salad and choice of side (fried potato/rice/plantains). We were surprised how quiet it was. We were the only customers as 8pm approached, when the kitchen closes. Nevertheless, our waiter was extremely friendly and reassured us we were ok to stay for drinks and they'd kick us out when they were ready to close up shop. About this time I overheard him say to his co-worker how he loves Manu Chao... as do I and I happened to have my itouch with me, so with Manu Chao playing and having Karakter pretty much to ourselves we quickly forgot our disappointment regarding flight cancellation. Our waiter brought over a bottle of some homemade concoction and asked if we wanted shots. We asked what it was, but he had no idea since it was his first day, so all three of us concurred it couldn't be too bad and toasted. It tasted like mango rum- delicious! He told us they just started up with live music every Thursday night and that it was even better than the live jazz/tapas on Fridays, which we've been to and really enjoyed. Note, Karakter is closed on Tuesdays. As much as we didn't want to leave, we didn't want to overextend our welcome. They called a taxi for us and soon after we were whisked away to Maho. The short ride to Maho was good conversation with the driver. She mentioned that there will be a new drawbridge in Simpson Bay to alleviate the traffic. First time we've heard mention of this. I already posted a separate thread to inquire, so it wouldn't get lost in this long trip report. If anyone's still reading, kudos to you. Arrived back in Maho and decided to win our money back from the night before, and we did. Left Casino Royale $135 heavier and happy. Between Hollywood and Casino Royale, $135 was our total winnings this trip. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Banana.gif" alt="" /> Pleased with ourselves, we walked over to Sopranos Piano Bar as we had intended to the previous night. By this time, it was late and we decided to share a midnight snack of pizza. This was the first trip having pizza in SXM and I felt like I was making up for all the other pizza-less trips. P loves his pizza. We are spoiled with L&B Spumoni Gardens by work. The live music was great. Jen Porter was playing and had quite a playlist, with a lot of my favorite musicians including Feist, Death Cab for Cuties, Tori Amos... She even played a song I absolutely love called "Somebody" by Depeche Mode. I gave her a short list of requests, with some green to compensate for being so demanding. Bought a couple of her CDs and tshirt in support of her talent. We hope to see her again. Back to Sonesta, where I sat on the balcony reminiscing about our trip.

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BLISS was going strong and the music really carried over the water to Sonesta, not so obvious inside with the doors closed, but sitting on the balcony it was clear there was a party somewhere. We certainly made the best of being stranded in SXM.

DAY 10: Thursday, 1/27
About 11am, we rolled out of bed and headed across the street to Cheri's Cafe. Open 10am till.., closed on Tuesdays. WIFI available here as well, which we needed to get onto AA's website, since we were on infinite hold when calling. Couldn't seem to find any information regarding the status of our flight, but fortunately I got the answer I needed here on TTOL. Our last meal of the trip was tuna sandwich and 1/2lb burger with swiss, both served with fries and coleslaw, and lots and lots of diet coke. We are firm believers that diet coke does wonders after a late night of too much fun. Checkout at Sonesta was about as eventful as checking in; slowly but surely the process ended and we were in a cab to the airport. The doorman told us that we were lucky there were cabs available. He said there were six cruise ships in port and in the morning there were no cabs to be found. Glad we didn't have to wheel all that luggage over ourselves and were happy to pay the $7 cabfare. Surprisingly, flight was more or less on time to JFK, despite big delays at nearby EWR. Full flight, no surprise with all the other stranded passengers from yesterday's cancelled flight. Watched "Get Low"; highly recommend this movie if you haven't seen it. Soon enough we were back home to the miserable cold, requiring hours of womanpower to dig out the cars.

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On a positive note back, we were returning from a truly memorable trip and welcomed home by Scout.

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Our happy go lucky dog who doesn't mind some construction.