Trip Report SXM July 18 – August 5, 2003<br><br>We traveled on American FF. For the first time in years we didn’t have our final flight segment canceled in Chicago!! Generally we end up renting a car in Chicago or if we can get a flight to another closer city and get a rental there and drive home. With the exception of the American Eagle flight from SXM to SJU, all flights were on time for departure and early to arrive. <br><br>One of the changes in the SXM airport is that one must now clear SXM customs. This consists of having all of your luggage x-rayed as you take it out of the airport. I took my bag of film out of the carry-on and hand carried it through so it didn’t get x-rayed. It appeared the operators were so busy talking that they didn’t watch the screen. Nothing new there!<br><br>Within 30 minutes of landing we had our luggage, cleared customs and were driving our Hertz Rental Car. The car had its share of bumps and scrapes, which we prefer, and even with a small engine it ran fine. We never had any problem get up the hills.<br><br>The island appeared dryer and browner than during the last few years although by early August it was starting to show some green due to several small rains that accompanied the tropical waves. Litter continues to be a problem. I realize that with the wind, papers and plastic bags do get blown around, but the beer bottles on the side of and in the middle of the roads were not blown there. Perhaps the new slogan of SXM should be “Take Pride – Throw it outside.” It was not uncommon to see locals throw trash out of their cars. Radio and newspaper reports stated that the scheduled cleanups of the island were poorly attended.<br><br>The bad economy is having a very negative effect on business. There have been many of the stores downtown and at Maho close. Many of those left had lower than normal inventory.<br><br>The Grand Marche is located at the site of the old Food Center. It is an excellent grocery. Prices just a little higher than in the states. Good selections of products, including Diet Pepsi can be found.<br><br>Many of the restaurants in Grand Case were closed from July to September, including Alabama. Some of the Lolos were open in their new better looking location.<br><br>We dined one night at Peg Leg Pub, one of our favorites from last year, but were quite disappointed. Service was extremely slow and our steaks were tough and not as we ordered them. I also think they would be better off offering more plain vegetable selections. Cooked cauliflower has one of those odors that I find objectionable.<br><br>Sunset Bar still has good burgers and a great view of the landing traffic at the airport.<br><br>Poulet d’Orleans remains one of our favorites. The food is excellent and very reasonable ($10 –15 for entrees). Their business is very slow at the present and I hope they can survive until the high season. Based on the quality and price, it is amazing that they are not packed every night.<br><br>The New York Chinese restaurant is another of our favorites. They have some of the best Chinese and local foods on the island. Meals are from about $5 to about $15. They have generous portions.<br><br>Baywatch continues to be our favorite beach restaurant. While Cheryl had not yet returned from the states, the service was still fast and the food excellent. It’s a great place to have breakfast also.<br><br>We did try the Club Orient restaurant – Papagayo. The restaurant has had a slight change of the menu, but not significant. We had their hamburgers one day and the meat had an odd taste. They used to have very good burgers. Service is pathetically slow. <br><br>We also ate at Mark’s Place. It is still as good as ever. Plan on a doggy bag to take home some of your meal. The portions go beyond generous. It is low to moderately priced.<br><br>There seemed to be more French and Dutch people staying on island during this year’s trip. The Dutch were friendly, but we got the distinct feeling that the French did not like Americans. Most would ignore you even if you spoke in French. There was no issue with SXM French.<br><br>There was one murder on the French side during our stay. The police are stating on the Dutch side that serious crime is down, but the murder level is up. There were already more murders on the Dutch side than there were in all of last year. None the less we saw no crime, we only read about or heard the stories on the beach (see Club O post). There was an article in the Daily Herald about the TTOL bulletin board and postings on it alleging a crime spree in the lowlands that made it unsafe to travel through. The Police will look into it.<br><br>We did stop by the ZOO now called the St. Martin Park. For a small island zoo it is not bad, but the progress that was seen last year in updating it, seems to have come to a halt. There is a new bat exhibit that will be opened soon and the addition of the birds from the old Parrot Jungle has increased the number of the animals. We do suggest that all visitors take a look at it. Your ticket allows unlimited returns to the zoo during your visit.<br><br>All in all the trip was great and we will go back. Our car and hotel reservations were made by Jim and Mary Rous at Caribbean Islands Travel Service, one of TTOLs sponsors.