Please be warned – this is very, very long.
Monday – flew out of Pittsburgh on U.S. Air to Philly and continued on to SXM , arriving at 1:55 p.m. Absolutely no problems with U.S. Air – even though we left Philly 15 minutes late, they made up the time and we actually landed 5 minutes early. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Banana.gif" alt="" /> Very quick getting luggage and through customs. Next, picked up rental at Hertz – we reserved a compact, which they were out of, so they upgraded us to a Daihatsu Tersario (small suv) at no extra cost. After that it was off to Royal Palm to meet Sharon Harris to pick up our phone, then off to La Plantation, our home for the next 10 nights. This was the second time we stayed at this hotel. La Plantation does not seem to get mentioned very often on this site, but we love it. We find everyone who works there to be very polite and helpful. The price of the room includes breakfast every day as well as chairs and an umbrella at Coco’s, Waikiki, Bikini, Kakao and Kontiki. We booked through Jim and Mary Ruos. They are great to work with and we will use them to book future trips. Check in was quick and we were escorted to Unit 892. It sits at the top of the hill and we had great view of Orient Beach from our front porch. It did not take us long to get out of our travel clothes and into our bathing suits. Walked down to Pedro’s for drinks. Dinner that night was at Le Fish Bar. Prices here are very reasonable and the food is great. We shared an appetizer of kingfish pate, Berne had grouper with passion fruit sauce, Gary had marlin steak, and we shared a bottle of wine, for a total of $37.80.
Tuesday – Spent the day on the beach at Coco’s – lunch at Baywatch – the license plate we gave to Cheryl last year has really been sandblasted. Lunch was garlic shrimp Caesar for Berne and fish and chips for Gary. Both were very good. Cheryl and Andy are truly great people. Total cost including 3 beers was $46.00. Dinner was at Turtle Pier. Gary had conch chowder and Shrimp St. Martin. Berne had Lobster Champagne. Total with one drink each, $60.00. Food was okay, service very slow and they weren’t even busy. Probably not a place we will return to. After dinner, we paid a visit to Casino Royale. The slot machines were good to Berne, but the craps table cleaned Gary out.
Wednesday – After breakfast, it was time to head to the market in Marigot. Bought some spices to take home, as well as souvenirs. Lunch was at Baywatch, we both had wonderful Philly cheesesteaks, as well as sharing onion rings, and 4 drinks for a total of $50.00. Paid a visit to Luis to order a bathing suit. He is a very friendly guy. Spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach at Coco’s. Dinner tonight was at Bamboo Bernie’s, where we shared an appetizer of chicken satay, 4 different sushi rolls, and 2 mojitos, for a total of $54.00. Went over to Sunset Beach Bar for drinks and then back to Bamboo Bernie’s for Ladies night.
Thursday – Spent the morning at Baie Rouge. Really enjoyed this beach. Cost of 2 chairs and an umbrella was $15.00. Before heading back to Orient Beach for lunch, we filled up the gas tank at a cost of approximately $4.00 per gallon. Ouch!! Lunch was a shared pizza and 2 beers at Tap 5, for a cost of $25.00. After lunch it was time to get ready for the TTOL Party later that evening. Since Tom (aka Tommyboy) and Lena were staying at La Plantation, we met at the hotel bar for drinks before heading to Los Gauchos for the party. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" /> Dawn (aka dawnskers) arranged an awesome party. Liesa, the owner, did a fantastic job and everything was wonderful. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" /> There were plenty of very good appetizers. This is a very nice restaurant. Only problem was that we were so full from the appetizers, we were not hungry for dinner, but knew we would be back another night. Got to meet lots of great TTOL folks, including the one and only, Deepti. Headed over to Princess Casino, but did not have good luck there.
Friday - This was the day for our sail around the island on the Golden Eagle. This was a great trip from start to finish. It was raining when they picked us up at our hotel around 8:30 a.m., but the rain did not dampen the spirits of about 12 TTOL folks. Again, thanks Dawn for taking the time to arrange the sail. We had an absolutely wonderful time. The captain and crew of this catamaran were a first class act. We will definitely sail with them again. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" /> The boat stopped in Grand Case for lunch at Calmos which was included in the price of the sail. Great food. Dinner tonight was at Bananas. Berne had mahi stuffed with crab and shrimp and Gary had yellowtail tuna. Total including 2 drinks was $47.50.
Saturday – Spent the day at Club O. Parked behind Pedro’s and walked over the rocks. $18.00 for 2 chairs and an umbrella. No problem getting chairs in the first row. Made it up to the Perch for happy hour. Had a delicious drink called a Lemon Breeze. Also ate lunch at the Perch. Shared the ribs, baked potato and cole slaw, cost $10.70. Filled up on Lemon Breezes and there was no room for dinner this night.
Sunday – Happy Mothers’ Day – Needed to stay out of the sun today, so it was a good day for shopping in Philipsburg. There was only one ship in port, so it was not too crowded. First stop, of course, was DK Gems. Bought several pieces of jewelry from the very lovely Deepti. Lunch was at the Greenhouse. Both of us had fresh grouper sandwiches, at a cost of $29.90 and 2-for-1 beers. Arrived back at Orient to spend some time on the beach before dinner. Dinner tonight was at Los Gauchos. Got to visit again with Liesa. We shared an appetizer of delicious empanadas and then both had excellent steaks at a cost of $66.00. After dinner we were given glasses of strawberry rum, which was very good. This has become one of our favorite places for dinner. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" /> We will definitely eat there on future visits.
Monday – Another beach day at Coco’s – lunch at Boo Boo Jams. Shared the rib platter, at a cost of $25.00 including drinks. After lunch we headed back to DK Gems to pick up the ring Berne needed sized. It was then that Deepti presented us with a bottle of champagne to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. She is an absolute doll. You could not ask to meet nicer people than Deepti and her brothers. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" /> Also paid a visit to Rima’s to pick up souvenirs to take back home. Dinner tonight was at Sunset Beach Bar for the ˝ price burgers and $1.00 Heinekens. Service was very good. Our waitress, Minerva, was extremely quick. Total for 2 burger platters and 8 beers was $16.00. Also paid a visit to Bucaneer Beach Bar.
Tuesday – Happy 30th Anniversary to US!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" /> – Finally got to Cupecoy, but did not stay long since the water was very rough. Headed over to Dawn Beach and Ms. B’s. $12.00 for 2 chairs, 1 umbrella and 2 rum punches. Shared the rib platter for lunch, but don’t remember the cost. When we got back to our room late in the day, there was a bottle of chilled champagne waiting for us from the hotel staff. (We somehow think Jim and Mary Ruos had something to do with that. Thanks guys!! ) Dinner tonight was at Temptions based on a recommendation from Deepti. This was an absolutely wonderful meal. We shared an appetizer of crab cakes and for dinner Berne had the chicken and shrimp pad tai, and Gary had the tuna with wasabi mashed potatoes. For dessert, we shared the cream brulee quartet. Deepti paid us a surprise visit during dinner and sent 2 glasses of champagne to our table. Deepti, thank you for everything you did to make our anniversary special. The police had a roadblock set up in Grand Case as we were heading back to the hotel. There were about 7 officers and they were pulling everyone over. They checked Gary’s driver’s license, looked in the back of our car with a flashlight and then we were free to go.
Wednesday – Our last full day <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" /> – it sure did go by fast. Headed to Club O after breakfast and then to the Perch for happy hour and more ribs. Dinner tonight was at the Boathouse. Shared an appetizer of conch fritters, Berne had coconut shrimp and Gary had seafood skewers. Also shared key lime pie. Total was $56.00. Headed over to the Lady C for drinks and live music. The entertainment was Eric Zafra and Gianfranco Segatto. They were excellent and we purchased their CD to remind us of our vacation.
Thursday – Time to go home (how sad!!) – Took one last walk along the beach and then had to pack up. Had lunch at Bananas. Hamburgers and fries were great. Got to sit and talk to John, the new owner of Sunset Beach Bar. This was the day after his “problem” with immigration. When we mentioned TTOL, John told us he had learned quite a bit from TTOL. Returned the phone to Sharon Harris and the rental car to Hertz. U.S Air flight to Charlotte left on time. We were not so lucky on the flight from Charlotte to Pittsburgh (but it was not the fault of U.S. Air). About 30 minutes before we were to board in Charlotte, a very large storm hit the area with lots of lightening. The Charlotte airport actually closed the ramps for a while and would not allow the baggage handlers and the folks that refuel the planes on the tarmac because of such close lightening hits. We ended up leaving Charlotte much later than expected, but it was a safety issue.
Like we said in our opening sentence, this was a very long trip report. This was our second trip to SXM and by no means our last. We are already talking about next year. We absolutely love the island. Thank you all for the information you share. It sure helps in planning our vacation.
<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/thanks.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/thanks.gif" alt="" />
