Wednesday, June 27

The port’s web site says three ships are in port today, but this is the only one I saw arrive.



Today is the day I pick up my painting from Ruby Bute. She told me she was very grateful for my purchase and wanted to express her gratitude so we agreed on lunch at her place. She cooked codfish with dumplings, sweet potatoes, and a sugarless banana cake. It was very good, and I enjoyed spending time with her. She has a beautiful cat who really wanted some of our food.




I left with my painting and discovered that it would need additional wrapping to be ready to ship so went to a couple of stores to get bubble wrap, wrapping paper, and tape.

Back at Divi I continue to be attracted to these pretty lavender flowers. They are in full bloom in the morning; then in late afternoon, there are only a couple of blooms. I don’t know if there are fresh blooms every morning or if they just reopen.




Tonight was my first-ever visit to Spiga; dinner companions were Cindi Frye, Jeff Jhangiani, and another friend of Jeff’s. The crab cake appetizer was very nice, but I’m spoiled by Dungeness crab in the Pacific Northwest. The lamb chops, however, were out of this world, probably the best lamb chops I’ve ever had. The rosemary flavoring was exquisite.



If you haven’t signed up for Cindi Frye’s food blog, I encourage you to do so. It’s at http://sxmcooksblog.com/island-style/.

Thursday, June 28

Errand day. I had finished prepping my painting for shipment so headed to Fedex. It took about half an hour, but I was pleasantly surprised at the cost. I was told the painting would arrive on Monday so I will barely beat it home.

Then to DK Gems to have some jewelry cleaned; at least that was my original intent. But a Tahitian pearl slider and stud earrings caught my eye. Jeff tells me his mother has the same earrings and wears them all the time, so my good taste was confirmed. 😊 Both required some adjustment so Jeff suggested dinner, and he would bring the jewelry with him. Clearly, this is the type of service that results in so many happy customers. I headed back to Divi to do some packing and reading on my deck. I am sooo missing the Infinity Pool!



Jeff picked me up for dinner, sans jewelry. There was a festival of sorts on Front Street, and he didn’t want to tempt fate as he has a long walk to his car; I agreed completely. We met another friend of his at Vesna Taverna for dinner. After last night’s incredible lamb chops at Spiga, Vesna had a high “lamb bar” to exceed. They didn’t quite make it, but the owners are delightful.



Jeff had some errands to run in Orient Village. Before arriving there, however, he dropped by the home of some islanders in need who had a three-year-old son celebrating a birthday. Parents couldn’t afford gifts for him so Jeff had a bag of toys for the adorable little boy. He also gave backpacks to his siblings.

Jeff ran his Rotary errands at Le Piment and SAO, where we had a nightcap. A nice evening.

Friday, June 29

What better way to spend one’s last full day on the island than to go boating? Met Capt. Ian at the Yacht Club for an “around-the-island” sail.



AnnandSteve were on this sail, and it was nice to see a couple of friendly faces. All the boat charters I’ve been on this trip have had “boat dogs.” This is Ginger.



It was a fabulous day on the water! We spent snorkeling time at Creole Rock and were scheduled to go to Tintamarre. However, Capt. Ian said it would be a rough ride and would it be OK if we went to Anse Marcel instead? Fine by me! We had a delicious lunch of ribs, chicken, and a couple of salads, with water time before and after lunch. As I’ve said many times, Anse Marcel is my favorite beach so it was gratifying to me to at least be in the water there for a while. I’ve heard the Anse Marcel Beach Bar will reopen in December; there is definitely work going on.



Went back to Divi after the sail, where my jewelry was delivered to me. Everything was so sparkly!

My final island dinner was at Holland House with Jeannie of Shop ‘n Drop and Cindi of SXM Cooks. Some nice “girl time” overlooking Little Bay. Food and service were just OK, but the company was superb! Back to Divi to finish packing.

Saturday, June 30/Sunday, July 1

The nice folks at Leisure agreed to store my luggage until I return the car, at which time they will take me to the airport. After depositing my luggage, I went to Karakter for my last island meal and to kill time until my late-afternoon flight by working on this report. Karakter was running a June special of drinks featuring Grey Goose vodka, and I really enjoyed the Summer Tea earlier in my trip so had it again.



My Saturday departure from SXM was a bit different from the Hills’ experience. I arrived two hours prior to my flight’s departure, and the first step (getting your name checked off a list and receiving a plastic admittance card) took about fifteen minutes. The process bogged down after that. Because the departure hall was full, they weren’t admitting more people, so there we were standing in the heat with our bags; they were recommending people go sit in an adjacent tent to wait to get into the hall. I don’t know why I lucked out since it was still about 1.5 hours before my flight was to depart, but they allowed people booked on American and Air France to enter the very full departure hall. This is what it looks like on a Saturday.




We were bussed to our flight. For me, arriving two hours before departure was sufficient. I do wonder about those who weren’t allowed admittance. The flight was a bit late leaving; upon arrival in Miami, I overnighted at the airport hotel.

On Sunday, the flight from MIA to DFW, at the ungodly hour of 5:45 a.m., was late leaving. Since I already had less than an hour’s connection time, I was concerned about making the flight from DFW to PDX. However, the Sky Train in DFW is very efficient, and I thankfully made the connection, arriving in PDX just before 11:00 a.m.

Summary

I had wanted to do some volunteer work while on the island and contacted K-1 Brittania Foundation before leaving Portland as their web site states they will put you in touch with organizations wanting your specific skills. They didn’t get back to me until I had less than a week left as they were moving their offices. One of the options they recommended was Player Development, an afternoon school for at-risk youth; this organization was also suggested by BillandElaine and Cindi Frye. I had contacted them direct, but they never got back to me, and I was running out of time my last week. My one regret of the trip is that I wasn’t a little more assertive in making something happen with this organization. Reading to the kids would have been a joy.

If anyone is on the fence about returning, get off the fence! The island desperately needs our business. I am concerned about how they will weather the summer slow season. Yes, there are areas that haven’t come back yet that will bring tears to your eyes. But especially on the Dutch side, a lot of places are open that very much need your business. The people are still friendly, and the beaches are still beautiful. Come on down! I am very glad I did. A different experience, to be sure, but it’s still the island we love.

Thanks so much for all your reports and pictures!

Your experience at the airport was certainly different than ours!! Air France leaving around the same time made a big difference, I'm sure. I guess it really pays now to look to see what other planes are leaving around the same time and adjust your arrival accordingly. Sounds like a long hot wait for some people. Inside the departure hall was pretty comfortable for us, but with all those extra bodies, I'm sure the a/c didn't keep up very well.

The purple flowers are Mexican Petunias. We planted a 4 of them in our front courtyard in Arizona. Flowers don't last long but they are prolific bloomers

Thanks for all your reports Linda and for actually going to SXM and supporting them. It's Monday as I write this, can't wait to see Ruby's picture hanging in your place.

Thanks for reports & pictures . I'm exhausted from reading everything you did on vacation that I think I need a vacation! January will be here before I know it.

Thank you for taking us along!

jazzgirl - What did this sail trip cost you and how did you make the arrangements?

I think I used the "contact us" tab on their web site: Spellbound.

Capt. Ian generally answers emails in the morning. Cost for this one was $125 PP. I added tip for the crew; I think others may not have done that as Capt. Ian made a special point of thanking me for doing so.

I wasn't uncomfortable temperature-wise; just too many people for this introvert. And it was a bit jarring to see a man coming out of a stall in the rest room, but I guess they are unisex.

Thank you for that information. They certainly are beautiful!

I also still have my SXM puzzle/canvas to hang so hope to get to both this week.

Huh. I thought they were separate male and female restrooms??? Maybe there just weren't any men in there when I was there? Odd..

Thank you for all your reports. It sounds like you had a wonderful vacation. As someone else said, I would need a vacation after that vacation. We are looking forward to our November vacation.

Yeah, so did I. It was weird.