Trip Report 11/6 – 11/13

My first trip report although we’ve been to SXM about 10 times.

Flew direct from JFK to SXM on AA. No real problems except for check-in for return flight. “Computers are down” was the reason we were given, although I wonder if it’s a slow down due to AA’s decision to lay off local AA attendants in SXM?? At least they didn’t try to paw through our dirty underwear due to the long lines.

The weather was probably the worst we’ve experienced in all our trips…2 days of rain. But we didn’t let that dampen our enthusiasm! Good friends on a beautiful island can have fun despite the weather!

Fun time the first night at Papagayo’s Happy Hour thanks to the TTOL get together organized by doctorj2 (thanks Jim!). Stayed for dinner after with some of our gang. My face was really starting to ache at the end of that 1st day from all the laughing!

Restaurants:
Calmos – good food, great atmosphere with toes in the sand. Good fun with a large group.
L’Amandier Plage – didn’t eat here this year, but went to the bar for drinks. Don’t tell them you know Paul…he got a little overenthusiastic with the pool after some drinks!
Repaire du Pirate – What fun! We were a group of 11 that night, a little overwhelming for one waitress, but she handled it well. Marcel was his usual congenial self…hats & swords & pistols handed out to all. Good Creole cooking, try the crème brulée…c’est magnifique!
Bistrôt Caraibe – Fabulous as usual. Both of us had the sea bass special over roasted vegetables; it melted in our mouths! Good wine selection.
Chanticlair – Good food, fabulous dessert l’innomable (chocolate to die for!)
Temptations – This was a new one for us. We went on Deepti’s recommendation. It was wonderful! I can’t remember what I had, Paul had the steak and said it was cooked perfectly.
Papagayo – ate here twice for dinner. Both times the food was fine, the service slow. No complaints, since we were always in a big group & didn’t really notice since we were too busy laughing!
Baywatch – twice for lunch here. What can I say…Andy is the Master Chef and Cheryl is the Hostess with the Mostest! Yummy margarita wings one day and beer battered scallops the other. The view is the best around!
Bar de la Mer – is CLOSED! This was a disappointment. We loved to come here for the fresh grilled fish and lobster & people watching. It looks like its closed for good.

Lodging:
Club O. This was our first time in a studio; we had previously stayed in deluxe mini suites. At first, I was worried it was a little small, but we got used to it quickly. Loved the location of our unit, we could see the water while sitting at our picnic table. It was close to Papagayo, but not close enough to be bothered by any noise.

Shopping:
Tap 5 – got our initial “groceries” here. We always eat dinner out so we only get light lunch supplies & water. Warning!!! They used to take credit cards, but there was a sign on the credit card machine saying it could not process “foreign” credit cards.
Match – a parking nightmare! Good prices for wine & beer. Remember to bring a euro coin to get a cart if you need one!
DK Gems – Front Street is still torn up, but Deepti’s shop is clean, cool & comfortable! Deepti came through again with some fabulous jewelry. I’m beginning to feel like a spoiled brat! As always, she is an absolute princess. She’s low pressure and makes jewelry buying fun (even for Paul! He especially liked the pain killing shot of tequila). Her customer service is extraordinary. She told us when we first met that our lives would change forever and she was right!

The Island:
It was the greenest we’ve ever seen it. Both the French and Dutch sides seem to be taking advantage of the good weather for planting as we can see more and more new palms trees etc being put in all over. The road into Club O was worse than ever and really suffered from the 2 days of rain. More & more building on Orient worries us. We don’t need our island paradise too crowded. On the other hand, the beach crowd on Orient seemed a little thin and we had no problems getting into any restaurants. Lots of no-see-ums from all the rain. We bought a mosquito coil in Orientique to burn whenever we ate outside. That seemed to take care of the problem.

Miscellaneous:
Rented a cell phone from Sharon. No problems with reception anywhere that we noticed. Easy pick up and return.

Car rental was Hertz. We get good service here and fair pricing. The vehicles are fine; we’ve never had a mechanical problem or any hassle with dents etc.

Reservations were made through Jim & Mary Ruos of CITS. Great service as usual. Mary was even helpful in giving our son instructions on dialing to St. Martin. Thanks for extra special service!

Club O's wine & cheese party has been switched to Monday evening. A "invitation" is dropped at your chalet sometime Monday afternoon which you're supposed to bring with you to the party. I didn't see anyone actually checking or collecting them.

We did the Tiko on Friday. We had the BEST time! Melanie is Phillipe's new assistant. She is very sweet and lots of fun! The food was good and the company was even better. It was a perfect day!

The days flew by. It was the best trip ever! Good & special friends make this week something we look forward to all year long. And my face still hurts!

p.s. I LOVE this bar!
Kathleen & Paul