We were trying to remember whether this was our 6th or 7th trip. Either way, we had a great time.

Travel: Flew USAir non-stop to and from PHL. I have to comment (like so many others have) on the bad USAir experience on arrival in PHL. Wait for a gate? Weren’t they expecting us? I feel like an unexpected dinner guest and they are trying to fit us at the table! Then, we waited forever for our luggage. The passengers from our plane were the first group in the baggage area, but 3 other planes’ luggage unloaded ahead of us. It took us over an hour to get our bags. Ridiculous! If we didn’t live so close to PHL, we’d definitely fly via another airport. Maybe we’ll try Continental out of EWR next trip!

Rented from Marius @ St Louis. He said that they weren’t allowed to do business in the parking lot anymore, so we had to drive to get the car (just down about 200 yards from the airport parking lot exit)

Accommodations: We have a studio at the Flamingo. We don’t spend much time here. It’s low-key and homey. Nice beach, nice pool. We saw more families with young kids this time.

Beaches : In general all the beaches were very small in comparison to our prior trips. We rented chairs and umbrella from Packlight again. It’s nice to be able to just sit down on a beach for a few hours and not pay big $$ for a chair.

Orient was oh so windy. We had the same experience last May. We didn’t stay long, although we do love it there.

Dawn Beach was also pretty windy and much narrower than I recall. In front of Mr. Busby’s there was only one row of chairs. There was a bit more room on the Scavenger’s end.

Baie Rouge was very rough. Some brave souls were trying to swim, but they didn’t stay in long. Just to give a point of reference, I’m from NJ and I swim in the ocean here. This was much rougher.

Plum Bay was also very rough. We headed there on the day there were 7 cruise ships in port. We figured they don’t take the tourist busses way out here down the dirt road! We’ve only been to this beach once before. This time, there was hardly any beach. We were sitting up against the vegetation and a few waves came close. A few people were out about 100 yards off shore surfing 4-foot waves.

Long Bay. We stopped by on our way back from Plum Bay just to have a look. It was also fairly rough but wide, but not as wide as I remember in the past.

Food: We have made it our ambition to try every restaurant on SXM, so we’ve never eaten dinner at the same place twice. Just for some background, we have simpler taste in food—I don’t mean burgers and fries, but we prefer natural simplicity rather than rich sauces and eclectic combinations. The restaurants from this trip haven’t gotten much press here on TTOL.

Jimbo’s – this isn’t really my type of place, but we had a late dinner after arriving on Sunday and wanted a place nearby. I had a fantastic grilled fish, salad and rice platter. Everything was fresh and deliciously done. Tim had quesadillas and Carib.

Saratoga – We’ve been meaning to eat here since our first trip but never did. It is a lovely place, beautiful décor, on the water by the yacht club. I don’t really remember what I had because all I remember was an obnoxious party in the place (more on that later). But the food was wonderful, as was the service.

Le Charolais – we had eaten there when it was in Simpson Bay and liked it. Now it is in Maho, so technically it’s not the same restaurant. It’s in a nice location on the 2nd floor across from Casino Royale. We both had flank steak that was good but HUGE. A crazy singing waiter was funny at first, but it got old….

Le France – We’ve eaten in most places in Marigot marina. It’s probably our favorite dinner location. In past years, we never saw many people eating at Le France and always managed to find someplace else to eat. This year, we decided to give it a try. The staff was very friendly. I had a delicious meal of goat cheese salad followed by huge shrimp wrapped in veal Carpaccio in a light sauce.

Le Picolo – Although we wanted to, we never managed to make it to Le Picolo when it was in Cul de Sac. It has now moved to Simpson Bay in the Yacht Club complex by Saratoga, Good Fellas and Jimbo’s. It’s in the same building as Zee Best. It’s an all appetizer menu so we ordered several plates and shared. We had an out of this world stuffed smoked salmon—thin slices wrapped around a mound of sautéed mushrooms in a wonder mix of flavors. A crab salad stuffed tomato. A shrimp dish that I can’t describe but it was great. All good and just right. One of the partners (I can’t remember his name) was our waiter. He talked to us about the venture. They’ve only just opened and have done a good business so far, so check them out.

L'Oizeau Rare – this is on the Marigot waterfront across from La Vie en Rose. It was pouring the night we went and there was only one other party in the place. They have a large specials board as well as a large menu. I had grilled snapper that was just OK but the accompaniments were really nice side servings of vegetables and rice and herbed potatoes.

Lunches: Talk of the Town (our favorite ribs), Mr. Busby’s, Baywatch (the best food on St Martin. Period), Chez Raymond.

Honorable Mention . The bakery in Orleans has the best baguettes. We would stop by there on our way to and from anywhere, buy 2 and finish one by the time we got where we were going!

People:
I’ve come to the conclusion that visitors to SXM either love it or hate it, there’s no middle. Personally, I think the potholes are part of the charm! I think people (specifically Americans, but maybe others too) travel to a foreign country and are disappointed because it doesn’t have the same things as they have at home. I don’t think they are being realistic (just my opinion!)

As always, we met some fun people. There was a TTOL party at SSBB (and I won’t name names because I’ll leave someone out!) For those people planning a get-together, this is a great place for it. Lots of room so whether 10 or 20 people show up, it works out fine. Thanks Nautical Joe for setting this up.

One Bad Experience
On the night we had dinner at Saratoga, there was a group of about 10 people. One woman in the group was especially vulgar and obnoxious, loudly dropping f-bombs in her conversation. She later informed her dinner companions (and everyone else in the place) how to pronounce “Foie gras”. The rest of us in the restaurant could barely hold a conversation with our tablemates; she was that loud. Believe me, I’ve had my share of drunk and rocking good times, I just don’t think this was the appropriate place. Her friends tried to shush her, but couldn’t. The woman at the next table leaned over and told us that this was their last night and they wanted a quiet romantic dinner. It wasn’t gonna happen.


Activities

We pretty much spend our days sitting on a beach, but we always plan one excursion for the week. This trip we went on the 12-meter America’s Cup Sailing. This trip is awesome. I admit it’s not for everyone, so if you are expecting a nice boat ride, this ain’t it. But if you love the wind in your hair, going full out, spray in your face, this is the trip for you!

Surreal Moment
Sitting under the canopy at Chez Raymond on Baie Rouge, eating barbecue and listening to recording of steel drums playing “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas”

Already planning our next trip….
Tim & Diane. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/circle.gif" alt="" />