Better late than never, they say. I’m inspired, and maybe a bit intimidated, by the well-written and thorough reports that have appeared recently. At the pace I’ve been working, it was looking like this one would never be finished so I think I will just hit the basics and the high points.

This was our sixth stay on St Martin. I chose my screen name (before our first visit to SXM) because that’s what I want to do someday: see the whole world. Much to my surprise, we have settled into repeat visits to some of the places we like best (SXM, Las Vegas, NYC) and still dream getting to the rest, someday.

Previous visits have been in late fall or late spring. In some of those time periods the wind was an issue, so we decided to try June. The wind was not as strong as we’ve seen in the past, but it did seem more humid.

[color:"red"]St Martin is a buffet[/color]: there’s something there for everybody. There are as many ways to enjoy this island as there are people who visit. On our first couple of trips we tried to sample everything but you just run out of energy and time (and sometimes cash!). Some people seem to have figured out the one thing they like, be it fine dining or nightclubs or walking around naked. We’ve settled on the things we enjoy and always find some new things to try. The choices we make might not be the same as yours but this buffet is so big that we’ll never sample everything, and if we ever did get close they’d bring out some new stuff that looks interesting. Some of the places that get rave reviews by so many here on TTOL are among the things we’ve sampled and said “meh”.

So, here’s some of what we did:

FLIGHTS
We live about an hour from Charlotte so we are pretty much stuck with USAirways. They aren’t perfect but we’ve had few problems and the flight is less than 4 hours and non-stop.

For several years we’ve had the USAirways VISA card. We charge everything we possibly can all year long so miles accumulate. Although there might be cards that give a better rate of return or don’t have a foreign transaction fee, I like the difficult to quantify perks like lack of luggage fee, chances to upgrade, coupons for reduced fare for a companion, etc. There’s an annual fee of $90. If you sometimes fly another airline the math may not work out for you, but it works for us.

We used FF points for this trip. It cost us 80,000 miles each, round trip. No trouble getting seats for Thursday down, Sunday return. In cash the tickets were going for about $750 so the rule of thumb that 100 miles = $1 held true in this case. I always check-in online 24 hours before departure. This time for the flight down I was presented with a chance to buy upgrades to first class, $200 each. A bit pricey but we wanted to give it a try. Honestly, the space up there is almost too much. We couldn’t reach the stuff in the seat pocket in front of us without getting up out of our seats. The seat bottom was too long for me (I’m 5’8”) to be really comfortable (despite seats with more electric adjustments than any chair I’ve ever seen) and Sue’s feet wouldn’t even touch the floor. We got a decent meal but it was still airline food. Would I do it again? Probably, for a flight of that length or more, for that price.

RENTAL CAR
Baggage claim and immigration were so speedy we were on the street waiting for Lesley Bruce earlier than expected. We didn’t see him initially. One of the guys from a competing rental agency found a business card for Kenney Car Rental in his pocket and called Lesley for us. Let’s see, would that happen at LaGuardia?? Probably not, but that’s why they call this the Friendly Island. Lesley was just pulling up. I was expecting a white Corolla but this one was green! We got a clean, slightly used car, drove it for 10 days without a hitch and returned it. Lesley is well known for his customer service but I’ve never had a reason to call him, so that’s good.

LODGING
We stay on the French side of the St Martin “buffet”. We like the feeling of “foreign”, being immersed in a different culture, and the quieter, slower pace. We can always sample from the other side if we want a change. We like Orient, the beach and the Village. I know “Orient” and “quieter, slower pace” don’t seem to go together! We like the sand there, the view is great, there’s enough activity for us and there’s room to relax or walk if we want to. There are great restaurants on the beach and in the Village. Several times during the week we talked about going to another beach for a change (we’ve been to several in years past) but we couldn’t think of a good reason to move. Maybe if it had been too windy at Orient we would have moved, but it wasn’t too bad this time around.

This was our third stay at L’Hoste. Working with Jim Ruos is always a pleasure. We discussed our options and, with proximity to the beach and Orient Village most important, L’Hoste fit the bill. I counted: 100 steps from our second floor doorway to the sand. We were completely happy with our choice. A nice big, clean room with a comfortable bed and daily housekeeping. The staff there is great, from front desk to housekeeping. The breakfast that is included is pretty basic: breads, juice, coffee. The staff in the dining area was super, too. We met several new friends at breakfast or in the Wi-Fi area nearby. We will return.

With the room we get chairs at La Playa. After a couple of days the bartender and beach boy knew us and what we liked to drink. I wish he had come to our chair more often, to take drink orders, but getting off my butt every couple of hours is probably good for me anyway. Oddly, they don’t have Carib, but Presidente is pretty good, too. The free chairs are fine, with plastic “fabric” but after a couple of days we started paying the $20 for the nicer wooden platforms with real cushions. There’s plenty of space between groups of chairs and that’s important to us. In other years we’ve settled at another spot (Kon-Tiki, Bikini) but really, as long as we stay away from the crowded spots at the Pedro’s end, we’re OK.

DINING
You won’t read about any restaurant that sucked. There weren’t any of those anyway, but as a rule I don’t like to trash somebody because of one or two bad experiences (and nobody will get a third chance!). What doesn’t work for us might be the best meal someone else has ever had. Don’t like it? Move on down the buffet and look for something else.

Although eggs, bacon, etc. are available at L’Hoste, we never ordered any. Nor did we make it to any of the many places on my list for breakfast. A light breakfast is fine with us, as there are so many great lunch and dinner spots.

I have become a habitual coffee drinker (and didn’t start until I was 52!). The woman at the laundry in Orient Village recommended the espresso at the little café a couple of doors down from Tap 5, and it was delicious. Just $2 from a nice young woman who spoke about as much English as I do French i.e. not much. I sensed the place is a gathering spot for French locals/visitors; there weren’t many signs in English. Cool! Everybody’s friendly, especially if you try a bit of the language. That’s what I love about the French side!

Lunches were usually on the beach. We especially like Aloha. It’s not too far from our home base and we love the menu. Great food, beautifully presented, staff who recognized us and greeted us every time. Nat behind the bar and Max (at least I think that’s his name) work hard to make it a pleasant place, for American tourists and French-speaking visitors alike. Our favorite is the encrusted goat cheese salad with bacon and honey.

During our visit to DK Gems (more on that later) Deepti recommended a French-Vietnamese restaurant near the marina in Marigot, called Mai’s. Its very small, just 6 or 8 tables, and open daily for lunch plus dinner on Friday and Saturday. Once again, Deepti did not lead us astray. We got there shortly before they opened but the proprietor opened the doors for us anyway. He was so nice; he repeatedly apologized for his poor English, but we had no trouble understanding him. His wife arrived a few minutes later and their daughter served us, too. We had a delicious lunch (something called nam, like spring rolls, spicy beef with rice, among other things) with very gracious service. This is a real find for us.

One of the reasons we like L’Hoste is its proximity to Orient Village. If we don’t have other plans for dinner, we can just walk over and wander around checking out the menu boards. In 10 nights I think we ate at Le Piment 4 times. It’s nominally an Italian restaurant, with pizza and pasta, but the nightly specials are more French. Each time we stopped by Christelle greeted us with the double-cheek air-kiss thing. She does a great job of greeting folks who stroll through the Village and, judging by the crowds, she pulls ‘em in. On several occasions her restaurant appeared to be packed and the others were pretty quiet. The food has always been great and the service friendly and efficient without the feeling of being rushed. They claim the tiramisu is the best in the world; I can’t say if that’s true but it sure is good! The meal always ends with the customary shots of rum.

June 21 is “Fete de la Musique” (World Music Day) and the French take it seriously. The gazebo at Orient Village had musicians beginning at 5:30, starting with teens and ending, well, I don’t know how or when it ended. We were tired and left at about 9:00 but I’m pretty sure I heard one of the groups drumming, probably at Waikiki, at 2:30AM. Christelle had to turn a bunch of people away that night but she saved a table for us. We ate a leisurely dinner under the stars, listening to the music, watching children play in the square and listening to the music. Absolutely delightful.

We’ve never been to Grand Case for dinner so we decided to try Piazza Pascal. During the day much of the town looks rather shabby but at night it is transformed! I couldn’t believe the change. We found a place to park on the street and walked a couple of blocks to the restaurant. I had called ahead to be sure we didn’t need reservations. Donna greeted us warmly and we had a great meal on the terrace upstairs. Terrific Italian food and great service. We’re sold on this place.

There is periodically discussion on TTOL about tipping. I’m not sure why this is so difficult. We dine primarily on the French side where menu prices include “service” so we do as Europeans do: leave a little extra for particularly good service. I just round up a bit. For example, if the bill is $92, we would leave $100. On the average it probably comes to 10% or less. We don’t frequent those few places that add on 15% above menu prices for “service” so it’s not an issue for us. On the Dutch side, unless there’s a service charge added to the bottom of the bill, we tip as we would in the States.

Finally, on shopping day we ventured to the Simpson Bay area and stopped at Carousel. This place is so clean, so white, so cool. Delicious gelato in many flavors, reasonably priced. It’s a great place for a cold treat.

ACTIVITIES
On the day we had chosen to shop in Philipsburg, we had just a couple of items to pick up: basic souvenirs and noodles at Rima, and liquor. After a short walk on Back Street we found what we were looking for. As suggested by several others, Gulmohar’s had a wide selection and good prices. Walking around a bit, we found ourselves a few doors down from DK Gems. Sue didn’t really want anything but she had started out the day telling me about the dream she’d had the night before. Somehow it involved “chocolate diamonds”, which she says she had never heard of before. I suggested we talk to Deepti but Sue warned me that we weren’t going there to look; if we set foot in the store we’d be buying! Sure enough, there is such a thing as a “chocolate diamond”! Now Sue has a nice ring to prove it. Nothing extravagant, but very pretty.

By the way, we returned to the States with about 2.5 liters of liquor (we’re allowed 1 liter each, duty-free). On the customs form I listed “local souvenir rum”, no quantity, only the price paid. No one seemed to care about the details. We packed 6 one-liter plastic bottles of MaDouDou wrapped in dirty clothes and inside jumbo zip-loc bags. Everything arrived intact.

Based on the reports here we were prompted to try something new: Peggy and Paul’s Nude Cruise. We’re not nudists, or naturists (or even naturalists, as I heard one person say) but I don’t mind a nude walk in the AM. Sue was game for the trip but didn’t want to snorkel and was worried about a full day in the heat. I PM’d JimCandD who were scheduled on the same trip and they encouraged us to give it a try. Wow, are we glad we did! Peggy promises the day with them will be the most fun day of your vacation, and I believe she’s right. Everything you’ve read about this trip is true, and then some. We were completely comfortable with or without clothes and at one point I looked over and was shocked to see Sue without a bottom! Never expected that! Paul is a fine captain and Peggy is a hoot. We made several snorkeling stops and both of our hosts did their best to be sure we all had a good experience. We saw parts of the island you can’t see from land; I was impressed at how much is undeveloped. My only regret is that I didn’t follow one of the suggestions that I’ve read here: do this trip early in your vacation because you’ll make friends you want to spend more time with. JimCandD introduced us to several of their friends at Club O, we had a nice dinner at Papagayo and learned a new dice game, Farkle. I am certain the P&P trip will be a regular for us.

SAFETY AND SECURITY
We never felt uncomfortable or nervous. Of course, we tend to turn in early so we didn’t walk dark streets late at night while intoxicated.

The rooms at L’Hoste have electrically operated metal hurricane shutters that we kept closed almost all the time: during the day to keep the sun and heat out, and at night for security. As warm and humid as it was, we weren’t going to sleep with the windows open anyway. There’s no view of the beach so it didn’t matter much.

Some here have scoffed at the idea that, while on vacation, one should be security conscious. I don’t buy that. Locking things up when indicated just makes sense to me and allows us to relax more. Accordingly, we used a locking cable looped around some furniture to secure the MacBook when we were out of the room. We used a Pacsafe bag to hold money, the camera and the Kindles so that we can go in the water or walk away without worrying. I even used it to secure a few things in the car, under the seat, when necessary. On the beach we keep our Kindles dry with specially designed bags . Incidentally, I find these beach umbrella hooks very convenient for keeping stuff out of the sand while on the beach. (Hopefully these links to Amazon will work; I have no particular allegiance to Amazon, they’re just convenient.)

PHOTOS
When we got home I discovered that we had more photos of food than anything else. Some underwater shots also included; a bit of PhotoShop work was needed to make the fish (or whatever) stand out. Picasa