Trip Report - June 5-12 - 2011

This was our 20th visit to St. Martin in as many years and our 9th stay at Club Orient. It was also very special for us as we celebrated our 40th Wedding Anniversary on April 30th. Back in 1991 I told my wife (hereinafter referred to as “Herladyship”) that I would like to visit St. Martin “just once”...you all know how that turns out!

We have also visited other places such as Mexico, Dominican Republic, Cuba and most recently Jamaica last January, but St. Martin has an irresitable pull.

Flights
Westjet out of Toronto. We have previously flown from Buffalo NY but after researching with the US carriers we found it was cheaper (by $300) to fly from Toronto...and it was direct. We love Westjet!

We arranged to be on the island at the same time with friends Bill and Linda, their daughter Katy and her friend Samantha, John and Diane and their daughter Elise and her boyfriend Jordan...who I will refer to collectively as “the gang”.

From here on in I will list activities by the day. Anyone who is a “Foodie” may want to skim through this report as we are not high end diners. From reading other reports, some out there like to go through the island like Pacman <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />, but we usually stick with the tried and true, and convenient, after so many years. Also, we pay no attention to the “who’s doing 1 for 1” thing as it is just a marketing strategy, however, we did work out the exchange rates a number of places.

We have also learned over the years to split meals, none of the restaurants that we did this seemed to have a problem with it, in fact it seemed to be a common practice.

Sunday, June 5
Landed a few minutes early. Cleared customs fairly quickly and after a short wait for our bags we were met outside of Arrivals by Myra of AAA Car Rentals. We were then driven to AAA’s new yard which is pretty much across the runway. Myra did insist on taking the road though, and 2 left turns past Sunset Beach Bar and Grill we were at the AAA yard. In my negotiations with Alain Arnell of AAA we forgot to talk about the price of the car! We were given a very fair rate on a gold coloured Toyota (big shock) with plenty of dents and scratches as per my requirements. As it was Sunday Myra suggested we could probably get through Simpson Bay without much traffic problem but we elected to go through the Lowlands and Marigot to get to Club O. The island looks very lush and green...a sure indicator there has been plenty of rain!

Check in was very easy at Club O and we received our coveted yellow towels, car windshield hanger (an improvement over the pass cards) and keys. Once through the gate we stopped at Bill and Linda’s Mini Suite (they arrived the day before us) for hugs and kisses and some welcome drinks, and a few more welcome drinks, and talked about where to go for dinner, and a few more welcome drinks....Papagayo it is!!

Finally unloaded our stuff in Mini Suite 147 and got ready to go to Papagayo with Bill and Linda. Herladyship and I split a Caesar Salad and an entree of Spaghetti Carbonnara along with a few Caribs. We found Papagayo to be even more expensive than last year. The Carbonnara (which was very ordinary) was 16 Euros or approximately $23 US. We do expect Papagayo to be expensive due to the type of venue that it is.

Monday, June 6
Breakfast in our room and then off to Philipsburg for groceries and the all important trip to DK Gems.

Background - Around the time of our 40th Anniversary, Herladyship discovered that her engagement ring had worn thin over the years and she was in danger of it breaking. She felt our best option was to have the diamond reset rather than trying to have the ring repaired. What a coincidence that we were heading to St. Martin in a few weeks! I e-mailed Deepti at DK Gems about my plight and also took pictures of the existing ring. I received a reply from Simran that he received my e-mail and to forward the photos and he would pass them on to Deepti.
A few days later I received the following ominous e-mail from Deepti:


I think I am in serious trouble now and have a “snowball’s chance in an oven” of coming out unscathed!!!
Bill and Linda came with us Philipsburg to do some shopping as well. We luckily found a spot in the pay parking lot. Upon entering the store all the salespeople were smiling...I know those grins...”dead man walking”.
Deepti was not there at the time but the salesman had our e-mails, offered us a cold drink (another bad sign) and then pulled out the “dreaded tray”. He knew exactly what we wanted (white gold) and the whole deal was done in about 10 minutes...I hadn’t even finished my beer yet! Herladyship was delighted and the beautiful ring would be ready to go with the reset diamond in it in about 2 hours (we thought it would take days). Linda had also made a purchase and hers would be ready at the same time so the four of us decided to go for lunch at Mark’s Place (good food and prices), do our grocery shopping at Grand Marche and then make a short stop at Rimas before heading back to DK.

Bill and I thought it would be a good idea to drop the ladies off at DK to pick up their loot and then drive around the block (actually, all of Philipsburg) and pick them up. Bill said he knew some shortcuts but I thought “two ladies in a Jewellery store”...we’re going to have to kill some time! At the end of our first complete circuit we stopped in front of the store and got the sign from Linda that they would be another 5 minutes...how did we know. At the end of the 2nd circuit they came out of the store accompanied by Deepti who greeted us warmly.

In all seriousness, DK Gems was fully prepared for us, Deepti knew what we wanted and it was fun and easy to make the selection...and my credit card did not curl up from the heat! I told Herladyship that she now has to wear the new ring — which she deserved many times over — for another 40 years, to which she agreed.

With the pressure of shopping off, we headed back to Club O from some water time. Although it was overcast we managed to get some time in the water...and a couple of beers. The beach population was very sparse indeed, but we thought at this time it was largely due to the overcast weather. The worst was yet to come!

We headed off for dinner at the Lolos with Bill and Linda and Katy and Samantha. Talk of the Town Too has always been our favourite. The six of us ate and had drinks for about $75...pretty hard to beat. Good food for the price!

Tuesday, June 7
After breakfast (we love the almond croissants from Le Boutique) in our mini suite we managed to get some beach and water time. Along with Bill, Linda, Katy and Samantha we decided to go to Andy and Cheryl’s for lunch. This is one of our all time favourites and Cheryl greeted us by name (that girl must have thousands of names in her memory bank) but she always remembers us. The prices at A & C’s do not seem to have risen since we were there in April 2010. Cheryl said that business on the beach has been very slow. I had my mandatory Grouper Burger and Herladyship had a Meatball Hero, both right up to A & C’s usual high standard. Can’t remember what the bill was because around the time we finished lunch a massive storm started blowing in. The staff starting dropping the wind screens down, Samantha courageously volunteered to go get all our stuff from our beach chairs, she made it back just as the wind really kicked up and the torrential rain started. We were stranded there....wait a minute...I can’t think of a better place to be stranded! So we ordered more drinks—and waited—ordered more drinks—and waited some more. Andy pointed out that one of the umbrellas from Club Orient was floating by about 200 yards off shore and headed for Pinel! Finally the storm let up enough that we could make a break for it and we all ended up back at Bill and Linda’s mini suite.

While there, with a few more drinks in us, the ladies of the group decided to set up a “welcome” for John and Diane who were arriving that day. They tried every which way to get into the mini suite but to no avail. Finally Samantha came up with the idea of going to the office and ask for the key. She said they were going to leave a welcome bottle of champagne in the room. Club O thought this was a nice idea and surrendered the key, but not only did the girls leave a bottle of champagne, they short-sheeted the bed, unscrewed the light bulbs, did some very nasty stuff to the toilet and put vodka in the ice cube trays. This all seems a very “high schoolish prank” but funny as hell when powered by enough alcohol!!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" />

When John and Diane arrived, the door of the mini suite would not open because the indoor lock was set. John had to go get maintenance to open the door, then discovered none of the lights worked but quickly checked the bulbs. The only light that did not work was the one the girls never touched...Maintenance quickly changed the fluorescent bulb.

John and Diane’s arrival, along with Elise and Jordan was somewhat delayed by a mixup in baggage along with water covering the roads...a lot of water. It took them 4 hours to get from the airport to Club O.

That night “the gang” decided to go to Le Piment in Orient Village on our recommendation as it is one of our favourite new places. The staff gladly set up a table for 10. Herladyship and I shared a Caesar Salad and a Pizza Regina (white pizza with an egg in the centre) and a Creme Brule. With drinks the bill came to 33 Euro or $44. The rate worked out to about 1:1.33 so we paid in US (I did bring some Euros with me to offset any unreasonable exchange rates).

Wendesday, June 8
Woke up to very overcast weather and absolutely torrential rain. It was strange to see the cleaning staff going around in full rain gear. I swam my way to the gym at Club O to kill some time and some excess calories. When I returned from the gym there was a huge thunderstorm with many loud cracks and lightning. We decided to go to Papagayo and hang out for lunch despite the heavy rain. On our way there, there we many people sitting outside by their Studios just chilling and watching the rain...not much else one could do.

I knew there was a TTOL party that day hosted by Jazzgal but we never signed up. Our main reason was that we could not guarantee we could drag our sorry butts off the beach in time to attend. However, today there was a small craft warning...FOR CARS...so we would not be able to make it anyway. (We experienced this kind of weather back in 2000 and had our car swamped, but fortunately we did not stall.)

The rain stopped about 4 and we were able to go swimming with the gang and attend the Happy Hour at Papagayo. Back to the mini suite for a “doh doh” (don’t get the wrong idea...this is a French Canadian expression for a short nap, derived from the French “dorme” to sleep).

The young people went their own way so Bill and Linda, John and Diane and us decided to go to the “Cop Bar”. That is our nickname for Brasseries des Iles in Grand Case. We call it the safest bar on the island as that is where the Gendarmerie eats. We know how huge the portions are here so sharing meals is almost a must. We ordered Caesar Salad (is there pattern here?) which is served on a large platter, more than enough for two. For entree we ordered the Tagliatelle Carbonnara, although I am not a huge pasta fan, they serve the best I have ever had—raw egg and all! I ordered a creme brule and Herladyship said she would pass on dessert, however, when it arrived it became a game of “dueling spoons”. With a glass of wine and a beer our bill came to 37 Euros or $52. (1:1.40)

Now we are very concerned. We are booked for Peggy and Paul tomorrow and we are justifiably worried about the weather. Last year our trip was cancelled due to a small craft warning so we were really looking forward to this one.

Thursday, June 9
Weather looks OK, somewhat overcast but after breakfast we head off to Oyster Pond with the gang. Although this is our 20th trip to the island, there are still things that I have never seen or experienced. One is to completely circumnavigate the island, which Peggy and Paul did on this trip.

Once we were given our instructions (no spray sunblock, it is hard to clean off the boat) and the gear stowed we set off with the first stop being the Naked Buoy for obvious reasons and then off to Tintemarre. Allthough we have been to Tintemarre many times we have not seen the far side of the island, it is completely desolate and wildly beautiful. Once around Tintemarre we stopped at the beach side for a cooling off dip and then off to “buzz” the beach at Club Orient. Our first snorkelling stop was a reef off Anse Marcel and then a stop at Happy Bay for lunch. This was also our first time at Happy Bay. Lunch consisted of chicken, ribs, salad, fruit, ham and cheese sandwiches. It was a perfect size as one does not want to be “bloated and belching” while going snorkelling!

Once we left Happy Bay we went by many beaches that were only accessible by water. Just before Baie Rouge, at a small beach, Paul anchored the boat and the snorkellers went over the side. On our first trip back in 1991 we hung out mostly a Baie Rouge and I had always wanted to snorkel through the “hole” (David’s Hole or Devil’s Hole) but through the years procrastination always got the better of me. Now is my chance. I went through the hole and was soon joined by Peggy. She proceeded to swim around the point where the hole is located and I followed her, not being sure of the area. This girl can swim! I managed to keep up with her but I was wearing fins and she wasn’t!

Once back on board we went to Maho by the airport but unfortunately no planes were coming in at the time. There were also very ominous clouds around the Oyster Pond area. Once we reached Point Blanche, Paul opened up to full speed ahead...we were in a race with the weather! Whoops...quick stop at the Naked Buoy. As we were pulling into the slip at Captain Alan’s it started to rain slighted. Once were on the dock and settling our accounts the sky opened up, there was nowhere to run and we were drenched!

It was a very soggy ride back to Club O but a wonderful day with many first time experiences for me. We have been on the Tiko Tiko 9 times and are big fans, however, we are also now big fans of Peggy and Paul and will certainly do it again. To make a comparison between the two venues is not possible as they are two completely different experiences. They are both “must do’s” in our opinion.

Captain Paul is an extremely competent Captain and a very nice man. As has been said on this board many times before, Peggy is just a riot and the perfect hostess, there is never a dull moment!! If I can quote a slogan from a popular Jamaican resort “Everything you have heard is true”!

Went to dinner at Papagayo that evening. I think I had a cheeseburger and Herladyship had Coq au Vin (sp?) and the bill came to 48 Euro or $70! Approx. 1:1.46 the highest exchange rate we found.

Friday, June 10
It is not raining...the sun is out..finally!!! After breakfast in our room we spend the morning on the beach. The gang decided that they would like to go to Repaire du Pirate in Grand Case. The senior members of the group had all been there many times before but the youngsters had not...corruption of youth was in order! With 10 of us I thought it would be prudent to go to Grand Case and make a reservation (the Pirate has a very small kitchen). I went to the Pirate on my own around noon to make the reservation and knocked on the door, then rang the bell. I then saw Marcel, the owner, come around the corner of the building. With my broken French and his broken English, he told me that he would be closed until probably October. He said the economy was so bad that it was not worth him opening. Also a thing that he described as a government “employee tax” was also killing business on the French side. To add insult to injury he was also having a problem with his arm and had difficulty working. I felt so very bad for him!

Back at Orient Bill and Linda and Herladyship and I went to Ethnic for lunch because of recommendations from this board. We always have a hard time getting past Andy and Cheryl’s but we really must try something else. Ethnic was great, I had a New York Burger (fried egg on the burger) and she had a BLT, 4 beers and a bottle of water came to $33. Quite reasonable for Orient and do not pay any attention to the Euros, it is dollars. My burger was huge and I could barely eat it all!

We then spent the whole afternoon in the water just relaxing...this is the Orient we know and love...blue sky, warm water and bright yellow umbrellas! We have been deprived of sunshine for so long we overdid it and had to put on t-shirts later in the day.

With Repaire du Pirate closed our next choice was Blue Martini in Grand Case. We split a Caesar Salad (Herladyship is addicted!) and a pizza and a couple of drinks came to 36 Euros. I paid in Euros but cannot remember what the exchange rate was. Some in our party said that their food was very salty as was our pizza...certainly not as good as Le Piment. There was also a Reggae band playing there which was very good.

Saturday, June 11
Again a bright sunny morning but sadly we must say goodbye to Bill and Linda and Katy and Samantha. We spent the morning with John and Diane and again most of that was in the water....I am really getting fried! No one was really that hungry but we decided to go to the Perch for lunch. The BBQ was closed so we just had a beer and a bag of chips...not really hungry. Back to the beach and the water but it really is t-shirt time. Now we are totally fried.

Went to Talk of the Town Too again as John and Diane had never been to the lolos. I had the basic fare of chicken ribs, rice and peas, salad and corn. I think she had green salad and grilled chicken breast. With a drink each our bill came to $26 and I think John and Diane’s was about the same. We decided to go the casino as Port du Plaisance. Upon entering I was stopped at the door. Apparently they have a dress code and I was wearing a sleeveless t-shirt (no it wasn’t one of those white, string vest wife-beaters!). I was so sunburned that I did not want anything touching my arms! The doorman said they could rectify the problem and brought me a cyan blue t-shirt with Princess Casino on it...it was really ugly! I had a feeling that I would be paying for that shirt. As it turns out I broke even and ended up with a free t-shirt, which is as good as it gets for me and a casino!

Back at Club O Elise and Jordan were having a party outside their mini-suite with many people in attendance. We were invited to stay, however, we were so tired we had to decline although they were having a great time.

Sunday, June 12
Breakfast of left overs in the room and then packed our stuff. We passed on our leftovers to John and Diane and Elise and Jordan (that’s the problem with being the last to leave, you end up with a lot of stuff which you in turn have to pass on), checked out and headed for the airport via Marigot. Traffic was light in Simpson Bay so we stopped at Bonita’s Cantina for lunch and talked hockey with Bryan, one of the owners. We like to stop here on our way home as we can park our car right in front and keep an eye on it, we were virtually 10 yards away from it.

We then dropped the car off at Triple A and Myra took us to the airport...no problems...although she would not let me throw the bags over the fence and walk across the runway!

Flight home was on time but we sat on the runway for about 20 minutes waiting for a jetway...wherever you are in Toronto, parking is always a problem!

Observations
Business is really slow on the island. We have been in this time frame many times before but have never seen it this bad. This was confirmed by a number of business owners. I suppose even visitors to the island are trying to economize, I know we did. I am not sure if Club Orient was full or not but the beach was sparsely populated, even on a sunny day, perhaps one row of chairs.

The Best <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />
Although the weather sucked the first four days, we managed to get some “water time” every day. I don’t think I spent more than an hour in my beach chair the whole week. Also, jumping in puddles can be fun!

The real best part is the people and Club O people are superbly friendly. Bill and Linda and John and Diane are wonderful people, great friends and always a pleasure to spend vacation with. The younger generation of Katy, Samantha, Elise and Jordan were also especially nice to be with as they kept the energy level up when us “senior members” started to lag!


A la prochaine <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="" />