Let me begin by saying I am not a seasoned traveler. My husband and I have taken time to see a few places out of the country, but this is only our second trip to SXM and much of what I have to report may look to you like so many others reports. But for me, my report is about memories. I have always told my family that I would rather have memories than stuff. “Stuff” deteriorates, but memories are forever. And St Martin has given me many “forevers”. If you just want to cut to the chase, I have listed the places we ate, along with the approximate amount we spent on our dinners at the bottom of this report. If you enjoy memories, then I’m happy to share mine with you.

Our flights were fine…with the possible exception of taking way too long. We had no delays; it’s just that I was so anxious to get back to St Martin that I didn’t think we’d ever get there. Upon our arrival, VIP Caribbean Service met us. They provided exactly the service they had advertised; we were met at the door, escorted quickly through customs and they took our bags to Aqua where Cristina met us. She is truly a gracious lady and I would highly recommend their services, especially if there is a long line at the airport. We used Alain of AAA and his employee was waiting for us at Aqua with our transportation for the week. This is the second year for us and I am impressed with their prompt, courteous and efficient service. We had our first island refreshment at Aqua and unfortunately, experienced our only mishap there. After getting into the car to head to our villa, Greg began to look for his glasses. (He switches between sunglasses and regular) We were short on time, so drove to the villa immediately. After we had met with the house manager and received our keys, we began to look for his glasses in our carry-on luggage. It was then we realized that he must have left them at Aqua and he immediately headed back while I explored the villa. When he arrived and inquired if anyone had seen them, he was a bit disappointed when he heard that no one knew where they were. He began to look around, and sure enough, found his now mangled glasses on the driveway. Seems we must have driven over them on our way out. Luckily, he’s not too blind…I just stayed extra close to make sure he could always see me!

After picking up our cell phone from Sharon Harris (she really is great to work with), we decided it was time for dinner. Our first night out was probably the best meal we had on the island. We ate at Halsey’s and ordered the special (coconut shrimp) and blackened mahi mahi. The fish was extraordinary. The atmosphere was simple and tropical and just exactly perfect for our first dinner in St Martin. We had excellent service and were pleasantly surprised at how affordable the meal turned out to be. After dinner, we drove back to the villa. Oh my. The villa. It was more room that we needed, but we truly enjoyed it. A large master suite, Jacuzzi tub (actually two of them), separate living room and dining room, and the veranda/patio, which leads to the pool, which leads to the view. Sitting atop the rocks, waves crashing and a cool breeze brushing our faces, we talked and laughed and dreamed and remembered one more time why we began this journey of life together. After hours that seemed like an instant, we found ourselves dancing under the stars, feeling more like newlyweds than ever before. Yes, I think magic resides in St. Martin.

The sun rises at 6:00 AM. This I know because every morning it would wake us. I know a lot of people aren’t early risers, but I find so much promise in those hours. I love to sit and think and pray and nothing beats an early morning watching the sunrise with the one you love. Every morning we would rise and drink our coffee. A few mornings I made a small breakfast. Mostly, we tried to absorb every moment we had. After coffee and breakfast, we drove to the beach. (Well, four of our vacation days were beach days…the others were too rainy). Sand gravity would hit us from 9 AM until around 5 PM, and then the drive home.

Lunches were generally light for us, although we did go to Baywatch for one meal. As I said before, we are not world travelers; we’re not well known, high-powered or famous. That’s what makes a trip to Baywatch so amazing. The food was good, but the warmth and friendliness that Cheryl and Andy show makes a trip to their establishment a must. Cheryl made us feel like old friends instead of new guests, and sitting under the blue and yellow awning just made us feel down right happy. Yeh, that’s it. Baywatch is a very happy place for us.

We also lunched at Taloula Mangos. We weren’t famished, but always seemed to be able to eat, so we split an appetizer. We ordered the quessadilla, and asked them to add their grilled mahi mahi instead of chicken. The waitress said it had never been asked for before, but she thought she could have it made. After tasting it, we decided that they definitely need to add it to their menu. With the added fish, it was more than enough for the both of us.

We tried ribs at a couple of places…Talk of the Town (great deal), Tex Mex (don’t), but the best ribs we have ever had came from our own grill. When we stopped in Maho at Food Express to stock up on groceries, Greg purchased a slap of ribs that had been seasoned with a rub. The next morning, he fired up the grill and we snacked on those ribs for the next two days. They were absolutely marvelous, as good or better than any rib we have ever had.

We did experience two days of downpours, however, while watching the Weather Channel we decided it would still be a good vacation. (Greg grew up on the farm, so you’ve got to watch the weather channel, no matter where you are!). While we had rain, we saw that “home” was getting a bizarre spring snowstorm, and after that news, we figured a few raindrops weren’t so bad after all. We spent most of the two days simply driving around the island, wandering different streets and experiencing a different side of the island. To be honest, there are many places that we discovered that we would never have known about if it weren’t for the rain. We did stop in Phillipsburg for some cigars and souvenirs and decided to drop by DK Gems to say hello. While chatting with Jeff I saw the most exquisite bracelet and of course, tried it on. Everyone comments on this establishment, but I have to add my own cudos. They really are gracious, courteous, and generous. I was able to pull myself out of the store without the bracelet...but have not been able to get it out of my head. Jeff offered to let me wear it to dinner that night, but I knew if I walked out of there with it on my arm, I would never be able to give it back, and with our daughter's upcoming wedding, I just had to put off the purchase for a while. That evening we dined at Temptations. Deepti was very gracious and made a reservation for us inside. The food was marvelous, although I should have eaten lighter…after the onion soup (best I’ve ever had), eggplant stuffed with crabmeat and half of the chocolate dessert, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to get out of my chair or not.

Besides free time, another great benefit of the heavy rain is the day after. We were almost giddy to see the sun again, and the island was a lush paradise. Even the mountains were green with foliage and the fragrance after a rain is so fresh and clean. We thoroughly enjoyed the rest of our vacation…sunning, and chatting and laughing and napping. We did stop by to see Luiz Gomez while on Orient. After over an hour of chatter and learning his life story, I decided on a fabric and now have the best fitting bathing suit I have ever owned. The suit is great, but the experience of meeting Luiz and hearing of his 72 siblings, his life in Brazil, and his struggle and success in St Martin, was one of the highlights.

Our final day we simply spent at the villa, lounging around the pool and trying to get the very last ray of sun available. Since we checked in early, we were able to stay by the pool until the very last minute. After reading so many wonderful trip reports over the past year, I am reluctant to submit ours. We did nothing that others may consider extraordinary, but the days passed way too soon. For us, St. Martin has become our sanctuary. It has become a place where we can go and forget the bills and the burdens of everyday life and purely enjoy the company of one another. Thank you all who have submitted so much valuable information.

MEALS/COSTS:

-Halseys: Coconut shrimp, Blackened Mahi Mahi, 2 Caribs, 1 Martini - $58
-Pineapple Pete's - Stuffed Grouper, Jerk Chicken Sandwich, Bruschetta, $40
SSBB - 2 Angus burger platters (with Maryland seasoning!); 2 caribs - $22
Taloula Mango's - Cheese Quesidillas with Mahi Mahi, 2 Caribs - $22
Temptations - Salad, Onion soup, filet mignon, stuffed eggplant, chocolate dessert, 2 martinis, 2 glasses of house wine - $148
Buchaneer Beach Bar - BEST swordfish sandwich I have experienced, 1 Burger, 2 Caribs - $25
(waited too long, and didn't take good notes...can't seem to remember where else we ate!)