Two weeks before we arrived in SXM we knew almost nothing about the island. We relied heavily on advice from this board and are greatly appreciative to all those who took the time to respond to our inquiries….do internet searches and even book a day trip. Thank you very much as we had a wonderful vacation which would have been vastly different if not for your collective efforts.

Sat. 9/17 - Arrived on time around 1pm, picked up Toyota outside, cell phone was in glove box as expected; we were on the road 10 minutes after walking out of the airport door.

Overcast/light rain, very nice drive up to Grand Case (GC) despite getting a little lost. As a newbie driver on SXM I incorrectly posted "I felt a little like James Bond heading up to GC". As I was in a Corolla I should have said "Jason Bourne", sorry Bond; but now we're even. It doesn't take long to get used to the driving and I'm not a great driver… one couple we met actually loved driving there… one of his highlights.

After checking into the Bleu Emeraude (where we stayed all week - and we'll go back) we took a quick swim and headed into GC around 4:30, not much open, a nice light rain falling. We meandered up the street, reading menus along the way (even restaurants which are closed have menus posted). Popped into a French place almost all the way at the GCBeach Club end on the ocean side… name has Sea or Ocean or Plage in it… Very nice floor/ambiance however not yet serving food (6pm). Regrettably we never ate there but did hear good things.

Fortuitously walked into La Villa where we had the first of two wonderful meals. I honestly feel the meal we had that night (snails, duck egg-rolls, tuna.. rare, duck breast mr, creme brule 3 ways and the three ice cream sampler) will be remembered for years to come. Food was exquisite… every side dish prepared with great care, service was superb (attentive, yet not intrusive) a very nice Cote du Rhone by the glass for $7; 1$=1€. This wine was drinking very nicely right then, many of the wines by the glass we had during the week were drinking young or very young (as is usually the case), not this one, it was mature.

La Villa was, without a close second, our favorite restaurant… reasonably priced and even better because of the USD = ECU.

On the walk home we stopped at the convenience store where the 'two roads meet' and bought two Grand Vin du Bordeaux for $7.50/btl. Both were very good, excellent for the price… we had an afternoon ritual glass of wine with cheese and crackers throughout the week. That night we sat night on our porch overlooking GC bay and watched a small lightening storm.

Sunday. I woke up very early, sun rising, light rain, wife still asleep. I took a walk up GC Blvd (on the way two donkey's walked on to the side walk, looked both ways for cars… there were none… and trotted across/down the street, hysterical… 'welcome to Grand Case!) Everyone in GC was very friendly, I didn't feel slightly uncomfortable. The owner of the LOLA where I got my coffee waved and said bonjour/bon soir every subsequent time our path's crossed.

By the time I got back to the hotel (8am) it was pouring; we had a 1:30 appointment at Zen Diving so went shopping (Bacchus wines was closed), stocked up on basics a couple of bottles of wine and cheeses (US Market). Made a huge breakfast, went to Zen, postponed diving until Wednesday (weather/visibility) and took a clockwise self tour of the island. Windward side was desolate (Orient ->Dawn). We walked around at one place (nice marina just north of the Westin) because we saw another couple. Turns out they were doing the exact same thing we were. Nobody else around… deserted. This alleviated my fears of things getting stolen as thief could have a field day in the marina.

Mid-late afternoon we realized we were incorrectly in Marigot, having missed Simpson's Bay and Maho, turned around, passed a middle aged local woman standing at a bus stop in the pouring rain with her thumb out; she had a look of desperation. As I have received more than I given in the hitch-hiking department, we were lost and she looked harmless and like she really needed a ride, we picked her up… Our communication was restricted to pointing and 'Maho', 'Philipsburg' and 'Simpsons Bay', but we got to Simpson's Bay. Traffic began backing up before the 'Blue Bridge' so we dropped her off at the bus stop right there; her thumb was sticking back out before we pulled a U-Turn. I point this out because people (myself included) have asked about public transport/taxis. We are very glad that posters on this board convinced us to rent a car; without a doubt the correct decision.

As we continued to wander (now armed with a better understanding of how to navigate the two main transit roads on the island) we saw a large crowd at the end of a field…. or should I say… runway. We headed over and were quite amused at people standing in the jet blast armed with nice cameras. Not my cup of tea but took the opportunity to have a few fish tacos and people watch…. large group standing at the perimeter fence of an active runway… including a 747-400 taking off.

To each his own. We headed back to the hotel, took a swim (light rain), and a snorkel.

Walked down to GC Beach Club, stopping briefly at the LOLO just before the street goes 'black' (and, it is not lit up at all). Interesting menu, had a brief conversation with a young boy and the owner/chef. GC BC street was empty, two or three cars passed us and there was a security guard wandering back and forth. Headed back towards the Bleu Emeraude and had a drink at the LOLO at our (south) end of the street; had an interesting conversation with a local off duty cab driver and the bar staff, very friendly place as was pretty much everywhere we went. Finished the evening with wine and cheese on the porch with a nicer lightening storm than the previous night.

Mon - Headed to Orient Beach, wind was blasting (20-25 knots, gusting 30) and the leeward side of Pinal looked quite inviting. Spent the day there, great active and relaxing day. Good snorkeling on the back side (the marine park is nothing special). Very nice meal at the Yellow Beach (only one of 3 restaurants open). The beach wear shop nestled between the restaurants had cool iguana's crawling on the roof which was made of sails from boats that didn't fare too well in previous storms. All in all a very relaxing and enjoyable day. Stopped by Bacchus Wine on the way back to the hotel, great place, thanks for the recommendation.

Back to GC, diner at the LOLA down by GCBC. Great Cote de Bourge for $18/bottle and the creole conch was excellent. They were out of red snapper so our second dish was baked mahi… regretted not trying the goat as the Mahi was good, but, nothing special whereas the goat probably would have been. This was a fun meal, the power was out in GC as we were walking there, came back on just as we got to the door; we were the first seated. By the time our food came they had a few customers and some family friends (owner grew up in the building, his mother was the chef) a very enjoyable interactive diner. Ended the day with…. a glass of wine on the porch.

Tues - Day trip to Prickly Pear, Bob booked it for us. Had a great day, nice sail there, crew was good about answering all my questions (recall, I'm still 'touron' status) which were numerous about what each beach was, snorkeling sites, restaurants etc. Once at the snorkeling destination we were the only two to head out to the outside reef, which is where the action was. However, the seas were a little rough and they don't recommend it; they also recommend using a floatation device. We both grew up right on the ocean and did not heed either piece of advice; again to each his own and perhaps not great advice for every camper. Great snorkels (one 90+ minutes before lunch and one 45 minute after… For the pm snorkel we walked down to the 'point' on the beach, easy entry and moving with the current back towards the boat -- this one is for every camper.. walk to the point, enter and swim 100 ft out). Lunch was better than I expected for that type of trip, although nothing special.

Because Bob booked this trip for us an added bonus at the end of the trip… they let us clean both heads and scrub the deck! Thanks Bob!

Seriously, the detailed descriptions of the various day trips and directions were very helpful and we are grateful, thank you Bob.

After the boat trip my wife did a little shopping in the proximity of the launching/landing dock and I took a swim one beach over, 200 ft. south east of the Peli Deli. Nice little beach where everyone was quite friendly. There is a woman selling 'Island Dresses' and my wife bought a few things from her. One turned out to be not so perfect and she exchanged it hassle free on Saturday on our way to the airport. Very cool and sums up the attitude of the locals we interacted with throughout the trip. Light diner at newly re-opened Blue Martini (with foie gras of course!)

Wed - Two dives with Scuba Zen in the morning, GC reef and Creole rock. We dove with Zen Wed, Thurs and Fri mornings. I'm not going into detail on the dives as there are many who can speak more eloquently than I to the dive sites of SXM. I will however say, 4 of the 6 sites we hit had great areas for snorkeling… albeit one very 'open water' and not for novices. GC reef, Creole and the Tug on the northwest side of Tintamere are prolific and very 'snorkelable'. Highlights included Hawksbill turtles, two reef sharks, a fun barracuda incident (one of the OW students dropped his snorkel and I submerged to 45' to get it, a 4' barracuda was quite intrigued by it, kept 'hitting' it as it slowly fell and when it finally settled and I went over he circled me until the other divers submerged)… good dives, incredible sea fans, prolific schools of fish. Definitely worth a snorkel trip as much of what is to see is in less than 20 ft. of water. I saw a very cool looking fish, which I believe was a grouper, the size of my torso. There weren't a lot of snorkeling tours running because of the weather/waves, low season etc. However, in better days a trip to sites around GC/Tintamere Island would be most memorable. These are supposedly some of the best sites on the island (makes sense, north side).

Wed afternoon we were exhausted from 2+ hours of bottom time and a rather rigorous prior day at Prickly Pear. We hung out on our porch and beach read, swam did a little snorkeling. A 10-12' Manta swam right down the beach just when we got back on our porch (right on the ocean). Very cool, they are very magnificent graceful animals. This one has apparently been hanging out in GC for 3 weeks and has been frequently spotted by lunch guests at The Rainbow Cafe. This was our only sighting. We did see other rays while diving/snorkeling including a very large one whose tail was longer than I am tall (5'10"), but our manta moment happened from the porch and not in the water; c'est la vie.

Diner at Caribe. Very Good, not great. I had the house veal very nice sauce/gruyere coating, however too much salt which I consider a cardinal sin. However, this is supposed to be a great place to have lobster… I'm not a fan of the Caribbean Lobster. I thought the pouring wine drank too young (but, these wines change so don't call me on that). Nice conversation with the table next to us who; we had seen each other wandering GC Blvd throughout the week. Again, it was quiet and it was very easy to strike up conversation just about everywhere we went… locals, tourists, we all kinda knew one another by Wednesday.

Thur - Two morning dives w/Zen. Afternoon at Palm Beach Club. Very enjoyable, ate, swam, my wife got a massage which she was quite pleased with (she is very critical of massages I sometimes regret it when she has one 'out of town'). Was fun watching the kite surfers, food was very good (no GC, but very good), pouring a nice 05 Bordeaux, drinking a little young. This is a favorite spot of many of the GC/Anse Marcel locals we spoke with and it is easy to see why. Apparently the cheapest gas on the island is the station just to the west of the entrance from the main road. Back to the hotel room for our evening ritual of a glass of wine and some cheese and crackers… being there was only one other couple in the 9 room hotel we knew it was Monika (who posted on this board) and we had some pleasant interactions with her and her new husband despite the fact they are Red Sox fans.

As per our server at Palm Beach Camille's recommendation we ate at La Provence (?… something like that) in GC that night. Very nice meal, can't complain. Nice bottle of '03 St. Estephe for €34… no $=€. Comparable bottle in a comparable restaurant in the states would be double that.

Friday, basically same day, two dives, Palm beach club… instead of our usual wine and cheese back at the hotel we did an NV Tattinger (13th Anniversay celebration) and went to La Villa for the second time. Diner was again exceptional… service again attentive but not intrusive. My wife chose the 'wrong desert' and had to get a scoop of the carmel/butter ice cream. (Normally I don't eat desert, and she eats two, however that night I had the chocolate cake with warm center which has a 10 min prep time). Very nice, capped with a Remy VSOP. I loved the food here, the floor of the house/ambience and the people who work there (especially the ones in the kitchen!)

The Palm Beach Club reminds me of the Kit Kat Club in Cabaret… everything is beautiful… everyone is beautiful… even the Rottweiler is beautiful.

Saturday, leisurely walk on the beach and swim before packing. While packing a gentleman took his horse for a swim right in front of our room (easy sand bottom entry in front of the hotel). Little shopping in Simpson's Bay and Maho, didn't make P'burg because the traffic going in was hectic. Dropped the car off, again hassle free, and began the ritual of the commute home.

Sun 9/25 - Woke up, checked this board, realized I wasn't in SXM and went out cleaned the gutters as per my wife's instructions.

If I could do it all over the only thing I can think of changing is I wouldn't have gotten the duck eggrolls at La Villa, although they were very good their foie gras was fabulous (sauteed duck liver is a more accurate description). Of course I also wouldn't have come home as there are many things to do which I didn't… shore snorkeling from Baie Rouge (never made it there).

Thanks, again,
mattiedread