After visiting St. Martin for our 5th time, I've finally decided to try my hand at a trip report. I've enjoyed so many reports others have written and thought I'd like to contribute. I'll try not to bore you TOO much <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" /> Sorry it is SOOOO long. We had so much fun it was hard to leave anything out.
SHORT VERSION:
We had a good flight. Weather was great – a little windy, but a good dermabrasion now and again never hurt anyone, right? There were a few passing showers but who cares when your in St. Martin? As fast as you can gather up your things to leave the sun is out again, so its best just to blink and your in sunny paradise again. There was more sand on Orient than we have ever seen. We didn’t have a bad meal. We felt safe everywhere we went, but took precautions as we would at home. TTOL friends are the best! Can’t wait to return and do it all over again!
Here's the link to our pictures.
http://groups.msn.com/sxmphotos/sherrieampstevesapriltrip.msnwLONG VERSION:
We flew out of Boston at 6 a.m. on 4/24 on the GWV charter (straight flight) and arrived just before 10 a.m. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" /> We were through customs, with our bags, and heading for our car with Unity in less than an hour. As usual, Michael had our car waiting and we were on our way to our villa, Soleil Eternel. We met our guide Kesley in the lowlands who showed us the way. The place was a dream!
Saturday was mainly settling in, grocery shopping, picking up our favorite island rum, and relaxing by the pool. Getting up at 2:30 a.m. didn’t leave us too peppy to go exploring. Then it was out to dinner at Pasta Café in Simpson Bay. We had stopped there on our last trip for drinks and thought we’d try it. Food and service were good. Then we walked across the street to some Chinese bar to buy a phone card to make our one call home to Mom. Carol was right, calling from the villa can be very expensive. At this particular villa you had to call using your credit card, so we opted for the phone card instead. Our weariness overtook us and we decided to turn in, in preparation for our first full day of vacation on Sunday.
Sunday we ate breakfast in, as we did everyday, and enjoyed the views and the flowers. Then it was off to Orient Beach. Looked for Louis to buy some swimsuits but he wasn’t there. Rented chairs at the edge of Kon Tiki but got drinks from Cool Corner. There was more sand than we had ever seen on Orient Beach. Dinner was at Ric’s Place, taco salad and drinks of course. Our waitress was from the states and was a sweetheart. Her husband is in med school in St. Martin and she was so excited to be there. We walked down the street to stop for a drink and ended up at Buccaneer Beach Bar. Neil must have pinpointed me as a shy one and quickly made himself known and teased me to death! We were made to feel like regulars.
Monday was spent at Baie Rouge. This was our first time there and we were greeted by the guys in the parking lot with smiles, and one guided us in and rented us chairs. He introduced us to the girl at the beach bar who was SO nice. We snorkeled a bit around the rocks. There were plenty of tropical fish, and I even saw two spotted turtles. For a late lunch it was ribs and drinks. YUM!! They do have GREAT ribs! Then it was back to villa to change up for our first TTOL party at Bikini. As you can see by the pictures we had a blast! This trip was different than any other as we attended our first two TTOL parties. We had such a great time. Contessa made us feel like one of the gang. We also met Sandy & Bill (hosts of the second party) whom we sat and laughed with. We met Bryan & Kimmi (Dinow22) who happened to be staying two villas down, and we had a great time enjoying the party with them. It felt like old home week, even though we were actually meeting for the first time. Bikini Beach Bar was generous in offering 2-for-1 drinks for those wearing the official lay and some yummy appetizers. Tasted like chicken . ?. ?. ?. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/thinks.gif" alt="" /> Mr. St. Martin handed out brightly colored beaded necklaces, and a good time was had by all. KIDVEB also stopped by our table and introduced themselves. Great people!!! The names of others who stopped by escape me, as the 2-for-1 drinks were starting to add up. I hope to meet many more TTOL friends on our return trips. Then it was home for a dip in the hot tub.
Tuesday we were off to Phillipsburg to shop for our favorite alcohol to bring home and jewelry shopping with Dean at Joe’s Jewelry. Bought an Omega necklace for me and a watch for Mom for mother’s day. Checked out the boardwalk. What a great addition to that area. We hope to go back on our next trip to enjoy it in the evening. Then it was back home for a little lounge time by the pool, as it was off to our next TTOL party at Buccaneer. We met up with Bryan & Kimmi and got to check out their villa (Harmony) which was really nice, then it was off to the party. We had planned to head out to the party for a while and then go to Harmony night, but time ticked away and the next thing we knew it was pretty late. The mom of Pepcats came over to say hi, as did Rural Carrier. It was great to put a face with the name. Mr. St. Martin once again was handing out beads. Neil makes a mean BBC. A trip to Johnny B under the tree and were back on our deck for a late-night feast of ribs and sides. It was yummy!
Wednesday it was off to Friars for a hike over to Happy Bay. Once again it was pretty windy but we enjoyed every minute of swimming and sunning. When we felt our first layer of skin was just about gone, we sauntered back over the hill for our afternoon by the pool and private cocktail hour(s). Nothing like some island rum. Our choice of the week was guavaberry coladas or banana vanilla Madoudou. Dinner was at LaGondola. David has a great place – very classy! The lasagna was huge and to die for! Then it was off to meet Bryan & Kimmi at Bamboo Bernies for ladies night (ladies drink free mudslides/margaritas). We danced and partied until about 2:00 a.m. We even bumped into Kesley our villa guide. What a beautiful person!
Thursday we were up early again and off to Petit Baie. It was easier to get to this time as the footpath was more beaten down. We found a low spot in the sand to avoid the wind and were the only ones there for hours. The water is so calm there! Dinner was at Mark’s Place. This is a must for us each time we visit. They have awesome ribs. Two dinners with drinks came to a whopping $24. We ended up back home after dinner with intentions of going out to Bliss, but took a cat nap and watched a movie. Too much partying for us I guess.
Friday came too quickly and we decided to spend our last beach day at Orient. We walked the beach and then camped out at Cool Corner. More drinks, swim time, and sun. Louis was nowhere in sight so I did a little shopping at Sexy Fruits, and we were on our way back to the villa. Our last supper was at Hot Tomatoes, with a stop at the Boathouse and then SSBB for a drink and a little Reggae.
Saturday we were up early for our return flight to Boston. This was the end of another wonderful week in our favorite place, made sweeter by the friendship of many TTOLers. Can’t wait to return in September.
<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/dance.gif" alt="" />
Sherrie & Steve (Thurston & Lovey)
