This is all I have written so far. I plan on finishing soon. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/typing.gif" alt="" /> I also want to post a link to a few pictures. The quick summary - Excellent weather for 14 days. Awesome trip!!
Saturday Feb 11
My wife Jan and I left Rochester to drive to Toronto airport at 8:45am with a fresh cup of Tim Horton’s coffee. Arrived at the Fairfield Inn (next to the airport) at 11:15am. Dropped off the car for extended parking and got shuttled over to Pearson Airport. Had a nice relaxing lunch at Swiss Chalet, then headed for the gates. Air Transat started boarding our plane right on time at 2:30, then they abruptly stopped. They were having trouble with one of the doors on the plane and it would take at least an hour to repair. Boarding resumed around 4:00pm and the flight was smooth and un-eventful. We landed in SXM around 9:15pm, about an hour behind schedule. Getting through customs was a breeze and our luggage arrived unscathed. I will surely miss this quaint little open-air airport. Leslie Bruce (Kenny’s Car Rental) was waiting for us in the parking lot with a brand new Toyota Corolla. I thanked him for waiting, considering the late arrival. The car worked perfect for us all week and I highly recommend Kenny’s to anyone who needs a car. We headed to Great Bay, but were met with a road block at Cole Bay Hill Rd. Apparently there was a Jump Up Parade going on so we had to drive to Phillipsburg by way of Marigot, Grand Case and Orient Bay. Definitely not an efficient route. We eventually arrived and checked in to Great Bay Hotel and Resort. Our room was an ocean view on the third floor, overlooking Great Bay. As in previous years, the room was spotless, with 1 king size bed, large teak dresser, a round teak table with two teak chairs, nice tile bath and lots of towels. There was no serious musty smell as reported by some travelers, but we did open the sliding doors to the balcony, which let in plenty of fresh, ocean air. Next we headed down to the BaySide Restaurant. They knew the flight was late arriving, so they set up a special late dinner buffet for everyone. Our favorite waiter, Gilberto, was excited to see us return this year and he greeted us with open arms. He took extra special care of us for the next two weeks. We are generous tippers, even at an all-inclusive resort and it rewards us with prompt service. (The official policy at Great Bay Resort is that tipping is optional and discretionary.) After dinner we snagged a few banana coladas and sat by the hot tub for an hour, just winding down and enjoying the soft breeze and sound of the rolling waves.
Sunday Feb 12
I woke up at sunrise and headed down to the pool deck for some fresh coffee and to enjoy the early morning sky and to watch the cruise ships arrive in port. I reserved a few lounges on the beach and we went to the Bayside restaurant for breakfast. This was pretty much my morning routine for the next 13 days. The Bayside restaurant at Great Bay Resort is an open air, buffet style restaurant. Breakfast is the same fare every day, which was perfect for me. I start the day with a bowl of oatmeal and usually enjoy a fresh made omelet with Gouda cheese and maybe some fresh fruit on the side. Of course an endless cup of coffee is mandatory. We spent our first full day soaking up the sun and allowing sand gravity to take over. I did make a quick run over to the Royal Palm to pick up my cell phone from Sharon Harris. The phone worked awesome all week and I would highly recommend Sharon’s service. By 10:30am the banana coladas were flowing freely and the occasional swim in the infinity pool was necessary in the hot afternoon sun. I had been dealing with a slight cough and cold, which made for a slightly rough first day. I coughed through dinner and then I was pretty much ready to crash. A friend from Rochester gave me a Mucinex pill to help with my coughing and congestion. Well, my throat must have been a little swollen from coughing and the darn pill got stuck going down. I drank an entire 2-liter bottle of water trying to wash it down. I think the pill dissolved where it was stuck, but the side affect of drinking all that water had me up every 20 minutes to relieve myself. I was definitely not dehydrated!! My plan was to find the pharmacy first thing in the morning.
Monday Feb 13
Got up with the sunrise and did my normal routine for beach chairs and breakfast. I took a nap in the shade of a beach umbrella for a few hours, then Jan and I went into Phillipsburg to find the pharmacy and introduce ourselves to Deepti. We stopped at the pharmacy at the far Eastern end of Salt Pond Rd. I bought some Robitussin and I immediately felt better and my cough was subsiding. We stopped by the internet cafe on Front Street so the wife could check her precious e-mail (sarcastic grin). We did check for wireless in various locations in and around Phillipsburg, but never found a useable signal. We decided to have lunch at Taloula Mango’s before jewelry shopping. I had an excellent burger, cooked to perfection and Jan had a salad with bits of mango, roasted walnuts and balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Service was quick and the prices were modest. Next we headed to DK Gems International to meet the famous Deepti in person. I was wearing my TTOL hat, so she came over to us as soon as we walked in the door. After the introductions and some small talk about TTOL, we got down to business and designed a nice bracelet with gemstones representing the children and grandchildren. We had to order the piece because she only had it in yellow gold and Jan preferred white gold. Deepti said it will be ready and shipped to us in 3 or 4 weeks. I think Monday night was seafood night at the Bayside. Jan enjoyed the scallops and various offerings from the sea. I don’t do seafood so Gilberto had the kitchen whip me up a grilled chicken breast. After dinner we went up to the Living Room Lounge for Karaoke Night. There was a lot of really bad singing going on but everyone was having a good time. I used to sing in a band back in the 80’s and 90’s, but haven’t sung for years. Not having sung for 11 years, plus having a cough, I did not expect to be singing tonight. I was wrong! After a few rum-n-cokes, I was ready to let loose. I sang “All Night Long” by Lionel Richie and it sounded pretty good. The crowd voted me the best singer and I won a bottle of champagne.
Tuesday Feb 14
Valentines day. It is about one week past our first anniversary, so after lunch we went back into town to see Deepti again. We bought Jan a nice pink sapphire ring with two white diamonds on each side. It is so easy to spend money when Deepti is your salesperson. Deepti gave us a bottle of wine for buying jewelry on Valentines Day. We spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach at Great Bay, enjoying lots of banana coladas and melon coladas. We had a nice dinner at the Bayside with many of our friends from Rochester. There were lots of Valentines decorations and all guests were given a special chocolate in a shell with a red rose petal. It was a nice touch. I got out my winning champagne and bottle of wine from Deepti and we all toasted Valentines Day and enjoyed the rest of the evening around the pool deck.
Wednesday Feb 15
We had an early breakfast and the entire Rochester group (about 24 people) headed to Orient Beach for the day around 9:00am. It was a little windy, but the early morning shower had tamped down the sand, so it wasn’t blowing around yet. Many of them settled in front of Pedro’s, but I hate the beach there. It’s too rocky and full of seaweed. Jan and I and our friend Amy went down past the Perch Bar and claimed a few chairs for the day. Shortly after we arrived, John and Sue (Lovesbeaches) spotted us and came over to say hello. We had been chatting on TTOL for a while, but it is always nice to meet in person. Later that morning I walked down to Papagayo’s and signed Jan and I up for the Tiko Tiko for Thursday. The Rochester gang was going on the Lambada cruise, but I was more interested in Tintamarre and the mud bath. Jan and Amy and I went to Baywatch for lunch. We got inside and snagged a table just before a nasty windstorm and cloudburst of sideways rain. It only lasted 6 or 8 minutes, but the open-air atmosphere in the front of Baywatch caused me to get plenty wet. The sun came out when it was over and I quickly dried off. The women ordered burgers and fries and I ordered the Italian Sausage with peppers and onions. The girls loved the burgers and I was in heaven with the sausage. It had quite a kick to it. Cheryl stopped by a few times to check on us and give everyone a kiss. She also recommended we try the homemade carrot cake for dessert. We decided to split one piece between us. It was awesome!! I told Andy about the fantastic food on our way out and he said (as only Andy could) “What did you guys do ... eat next door?? “ Around 3:30 we decided to go visit Luiz Gomes and check out his suits. Jan tried on a few tops and in no time we had decided on a 4 piece suit - Bikini top and bottoms, tankini top and skirt. We would pick it up Friday, because we would be on the Tiko Tiko all day Thursday. We left the beach around 4:30 and headed over to Beau Beau’s for a TTOL happy hour. SXM Norm and his wife Betty were gracious hosts. Eventually there were 10 or 12 TTOL’ers and I’m sure more arrived after we left. We enjoyed the Dawn Beach scenery and shared our SXM experiences. It was a pleasant gathering. Back at Great Bay resort it was Italian night at the Bayside restaurant. They had minestrone soup that was luscious. The ravioli and lasagna were excellent. Others who tried the veal scaloppini said it was superb. Topped it off with tiramisu and spumoni for dessert. An excellent meal!
Thursday Feb 16
This was Tiko Tiko day. Jan and I arrived at Papagayo’s at 8:45am and there was one other couple who had just arrived. Phillipe and Melanie were scurrying around getting things ready and they said it would be a full cruise with 12 people. Once everyone arrived and we all paid the bill, we got shuttled out to the Tiko Tiko in a small dingy, 4 persons at a time. We motored all the way to Tintamarre as it was quite choppy and the wind was in our face. The trip took about 40 minutes. Most people on board were sans clothes, including Phillipe and Melanie. We anchored about 70 yards from shore and were given noodles and floating cushions. We swam to shore and began exploring this beautiful deserted island. The water was very calm now and the wind was practically non-existent. We took some pictures of the beach and rock formations and settled in for a relaxing day. Phillipe and Melanie brought 6 umbrellas and a cooler of drinks (Rum Punch, Beer, Soda, Water) onto shore using the dingy. After a morning of sunning and swimming and getting to know the other 5 couples, we swam back to the Tiko Tiko for lunch at 1:00pm. Phillipe and Melanie were wearing bow ties and an apron wrapped around their waist - nothing else. The table was set very formal, complete with champagne, wine, nice silverware, salad and bread. Jan and I had the chicken, which was excellent!! It was in a Marsala sauce, served with a baked potato. The other choices were steak or perch. Everyone enjoyed the food. The dessert was cheesecake topped with mango sauce. We sampled what we could because we were quite full after the chicken. Then Melanie poured shots of her homemade orange-flavored rum. It was an excellent finish to a great lunch. We swam back to Tintamarre and followed the trails to the North side of the island (a 5 minute hike). There were some pretty cool stone walls (a sign of previous inhabitance??) but the surf and beach on the North side were not as clean (seaweed), peaceful and calm as the South side. We got back from our hike and watched Melanie and Phillipe prepare the slurry for the “mud bath”!! Believe it or not, this was one of the big reasons that convinced us to go on the Tiko Tiko. We lathered up with yellowish-brown water and proceeded to bake it dry in the sun. We got plenty of laughs, commenting how we all looked like “camouflaged aliens” as the mud dried. We eventually jumped in the ocean and washed off all of the mud coating. It is true. Your skin feels incredibly smooth after this exfoliation treatment. Well, all good things must come to an end, so we swam back to the Tiko Tiko and put up sail to head back to Orient Beach. The water was very calm and there was just enough breeze for a leisurely sail back. All 12 of us sat up front surrounding the netting. We watched a 3 or 4 foot fish hang out near the boat for a while. One of the passengers (Donna) volunteered to snag the mooring buoy with the hook. Phillipe coasted up slow and Donna got it the first try. We all gathered for a few drinks at Papagayo’s and exchanged e-mails etc. It was an excellent day!
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