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St. Martin Trip Report Dec 3-10, 2005
Saturday - Traveled from St. Louis to Charlotte via USAir, small plane but all on time. Traveled from Charlotte to St. Martin, again no problems and flight on time. Took shuttle to Value Rental car, no problems getting the car and I really didn’t care what kind of car it was so that was not an issue. Drove to the Alamanda where we were staying. We have learned when traveling abroad to not expect much but the Alamanda surpassed our expectations by far. Clean comfortable rooms and excellent service. I had requested an ocean view on the 2nd floor. It would have been just that but the palm trees by the pool have grown up a bit hiding the view. Did some exploring around the hotel and had a bottle of wine on the balcony.
Sunday – Ate breakfast at the hotel every morning. We thought it was delicious, but I have read some complaints. It is a good helping of fresh fruit along with a basket full of bread and pastries. If you are looking for a full breakfast you can purchase French toast, bacon and eggs etc. for $5 more. I usually eat a lot for breakfast and found it plenty. It is the same thing every day though. Went to Orient Beach for the day and it was just as beautiful as we remember. We at lunch at the Mexican restaurant which was simply outstanding. At the end of your meal you receive complimentary tequila shots from the owner; great experience. For dinner we ate at “Le Fish Bar” which is very affordable just behind the hotel. Again, excellent food.
Monday – Went to Marigot for a bit of shopping. The mall there is the fanciest we had ever seen. Bought some things at the outdoor market, then hiked up to Ft. Louis. Pretty neat fort if you like that kind of thing with outstanding views. Traveled to Cupecoy beach to check it out. We were just about the only ones there at the part by the Cliffhanger bar. The Cliffhanger bar is a really fun and friendly place. Be sure to chat with Craig the bartender who was also my wife’s favorite site on that beach…. We then traveled to Sunset Beach Bar to watch the planes and bar attractions. Good band and lots of fun.
Tuesday – Another day on Orient beach just relaxing. At at the Pirate restaurant which has good prices and decent food. That afternoon we took a short drive out of our hotel area to a place called Paradise View. Not to be confused with Paradise Peak. Paradise view is a restaurant owned by a local named Claudette. We sat in a gazebo with an outstanding view of the Orient beach area while Claudette gave us a history of the island. Returned to our hotel area and ate at Le Fish Bar again.
Wednesday - Drove up to take the ferry to Pinel Island. Walked to the far island where we hunted for shells and again we were the only ones on the beach. Walked back to the other side and stopped at the Pirate Shack. If you go to Pinel Island, be sure to stop here. It does not look like much, but the drinks are reasonable (compared to the Yellow Beach Bar nearby) and the owners were a real treat. Cecilia sat and talked to us for about an hour. Did a bit of snorkeling which is okay, but pretty average if you’ve been to other places. Later went to Grand Case for dinner. We settled on “Le Fish Pot”. It was good, but not worth the $90 price in our estimation. On the way we passed a “LoLo’s” which had ½ chicken for $5 and ribs for about the same. We wanted to experience a nice French restaurant, but probably would not do it again.
Thursday – Another day at Orient Beach, lunch at the Mexicano Bar again. Excellent margaritas and very strong. Two each and we were back to the room for a rendezvous. That evening we ate at La Chapel, another restaurant just behind our hotel. Very good food specializing in clams and Belgian beers. Has several large TV’s which are tuned to sports if you are looking for a favorite team playing.
Friday – more Orient beach, lunch at Chez Leandra which was again good and reasonable. Drove to Sunset Beach bar, LOTs of traffic, took an hour to get there. It was kind of dead so we made an early night of it.
Saturday – Time to return home, stopped at Paradise View again for lunch; another excellent meal. No problems in returning the car, flights, or customs. I had called USAir before the trip asking if departure tax was included in the ticket price, and they indicated it was. However at the airport it was another story; had to pay. Good thing I had listened to TTOL and saved the needed cash.
Overall an excellent trip with absolutely no problems. How many times can you say that? Thanks to TTOL we were very prepared and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
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