I feel a little odd posting this after reading sxmsneed’s trip report today (which was great, BTW), because it appears we have eerily similar writing styles, but here goes…

Sunday
We arrive on time at 1:40 on Delta. I always get a rush when I get my first glimpse of the island from the plane, seeing Mullet Bay, Simpson Bay Lagoon, Maho beach as we land. I love the feeling of walking out the airplane door and feeling the heat hit my face as we walk down the stairway, taking in the sight of the airport, the hills, the ocean, the tastefully understated casino signs. Gonna miss that when the new terminal opens.

We fly through customs and baggage and arrange a car rental from one of the companies in the courtyard. Only hitch - they don't tell us that the car we selected is not at the airport lot, but is over at a lot near the marina in Phillipsburg. They'll drive us over to get the car. No problem, since its on the way to Orient, right? Wrong. We drive into P-burg just as the Carnival parade, which moves at about 0.1 mph, hits Front Street, and traffic everywhere around the city is snarled. The driver tries two different routes in, turns back both times. We finally make it to the Marina about an hour later and get the car. It's a POS, but no worry, they'll deliver a new one to us the next day.

Finally make it to Club O. Nice to be back. We check into our minisuite and hit the beach for the remaining couple hours of daylight. Dinner is at Papagayo. Spaghetti Carbonara for me, Mango Chicken for Jen. Both of them good. We sign up for the Tiko Tiko. We want to go on Wednesday, since there are supposed to be four cruise ships in that day, but its full, so we sign up for Thursday. Turns out to be a blessing in disguise.

Monday
Great weather. Breakfast at Papagayo - omelettes. Very good. We grab a couple of chairs and hit the beach all day. I'm reading Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell. It's a quick read. I knew it would be good about two sentences in. Jen is reading about reading Lolita.

Lunch is at the Perch. Fantastic burgers with BBCs at happy hour. Plus, they put everything on our Papagayo tab.

There's a French couple at CO some folks have nicknamed the Energizer Bunnies. They look to be in their sixties. All day long, they swim the length of the beach in front of CO, get out of the water, walk back, and do it again.

Dinner at Cheris. Food is OK. The decorations and entertainment are cheesy, but it's a fun place.


Tuesday
Breakfast is French bread, butter and juice from L'Orientique. We eat at our outdoor table on the back porch, kept company by doves, little yellow-breasted "sugar birds" and lizards.

Into Phillipsburg for some shopping in the morning - have to make our annual liquor, perfume and Rima’s run. We stop at an internet cafe to find out how the Carolina Hurricanes did on Sunday. Find out the Canes won 2-1 to take the lead in the series against Montreal at 3-2! Excellent!

Back to OB for lunch at Baywatch. We run into some rain showers. Not to worry though. They're common in the antilles, and usually blow over in a few minutes, right?

Andy tells us about the roast beef special, says its the best ever - tender and delicious and served on garlic bread. I have the roast beef. Jen has the ribs. Andy is right about the roast beef. The ribs are great, too.

Out in the bay, the now-famous water spout forms. You can see a narrow, curved finger of swirling wind and water twisting down from the clouds. Jet skiers buzz in and out of the spout as it spins across Orient Bay. Very cool to watch. It seems that a lot of people on TTOL were at OB that day and saw the same thing.

I finish Blink and move on to Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen. Entertaining book. Plus, it seemed like an appropriate choice.

Into Simpson Bay for dinner at Ric's place. We check to see if the Canes' game is on, but its not, so we sit with a very nice couple from Philadelphia and watch Buffalo demolish the Flyers. After the Flyers game is over, the network shows highlights of the Canes game, which went into OT. Stillman takes a pass from Brind'Amour and puts a slapshot in from just above the left circle, and just like that the Canes advance to face a real team ;-)

Wednesday
Interesting day. Starts with a swim from Club O to Mont Vernon. I head to the beach around 7:30 while Jen sleeps in. The Energizer Bunnies are already in the water. There's usually a helpful current running northwest along the bay, but not much of one today. I swim with fins on, but even so it takes about 33 minutes. The water is not too choppy until I get past the Coco Beach rock pile, and even then is not too bad. The walk back is nice.

It rains off and on all day, and OB is virtually empty except for some cruise shippers here and there and a few other people with yellow towels. We get chased into Papagayo by a rain shower and decide to stay for lunch. After lunch we are relaxing at the table, playing gin rummy when a couple of guys from a cruise ship come in and get drinks from the bar. They sit at the next table, both of them facing our table. My back is to them, Jen is facing them. They start running their mouths loud enough for the entire beach to hear them. A typical exchange between them: "YEAH, I BET THOSE F***ING PU**IES ARE PROBABLY F***ING SITTING BACK AT THE F***ING SHIP WISHING THEY WERE F***ING HERE RIGHT NOW!" "YEAH, THOSE F***ING PU**IES!! THIS GUY IS SO F***ING FUNNY! HA HA HA! I CAN'T BELIEVE WE'RE AT A F***ING NUDE BEACH !!! MY MOTHER WOULD F***ING DIE!! HA HA HA!"

This goes on for a while, with a pause when they go back to the bar for a refill. The manager/waiter stops by our table and asks how we're doing, we tell him we're having difficulty enjoying ourselves with those guys next to us. He nods, and walks away, says nothing to them. Must not have gotten the hint. When they get back, Jen asks me to shift my chair so they don't have a direct view of her. One of them shifts his chair to the side. This is too much. At their next outburst, I turn around and tell them I'm tired of listening to them. One of them apologizes, the other one is hostile, tells me they're just trying to enjoy themselves on vacation. They get the picture, though, figure out they're not welcome, and decide to leave, one of them still apologizing, the other one muttering "f**cking bulls**t" under his breath. Sorry boys. Back to the card game. Jen owns me at rummy. I don't know how she does it.

After nice massages at the fitness center, its back to the beach to dodge the rain showers. As we're sitting on the beach, another group of cruise shippers, two or three couples, walks by, headed up the beach from Papagayo. One of the guys has gotten brave and taken his suit off. There are lots of empty chairs around, and one of them suggests they stop. No way, the nude guy says. He wants to set up near the Perch, where there are more people around. As he lets everyone within earshot know, "If I'm gonna rock out with my c**k out, I want somebody to see it!" Classy. Jen rolls her eyes and says to me "what's there to see?"

Phillipe brings the Tiko Tiko back in early today. Melanie says its because of the weather. The passengers are loud, happy and drunk.

Dinner at the Pasta Bar in Simpson Bay. Very relaxed, casual place. I have the Hawaiian Pizza, Jen has the Fettucine Carbonara. Both very good.

Thursday
Tiko Tiko cancelled. Melanie tells us the forecast is bad, but we will try again tomorrow. We stay at OB and dodge showers all day. Still a good day, though. I finish Skinny Dip and start in on The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Really excellent book.

Lunch at Baywatch again.

We stop by Luiz's shop, and he fits Jen for a new bathing suit. Another customer is there, buying her sixth suit from Luiz in four years. Not a bad recommendation at all. Luiz says he will drop Jen's suit off at the Club O office tomorrow, since we'll be on the Tiko Tiko. Jen is excited - she can't wait to see the suit.

Dinner is French bread, wine, crackers and cheese on our back porch.

Friday
Orient Bay is choppy in the morning, but the skies are looking better. I swim in the bay, but only to Coco Beach. Feels like further.

Two couples back out of the Tiko Tiko trip, worried that the water is too rough. Phillipe is bummed, but another couple joins in, leaving us with ten. Melanie tells us it looks like we are on the tail end of the depression, and the weather outlook is good. We head out, and the sail over to Tintamarre is surprisingly smooth.

Its a beautiful, perfect day on Tintamarre. Best day of the week. Fluffy clouds roll past all day. We spend the day snorkeling, chatting, relaxing. The company is wonderful. The rum punches taste great, both to me and the resident peacock, who sips some from a cup someone left on the sand. Lunch on the boat is terrific, as always. The mud bath is great, as always. The ride back to Club O is even smoother than the ride out was. Might have something to do with the rum punches. I need to find out how to make those. If anyone knows the recipe, please send it to me.

We have drinks at Papagayo with two of the couples from the Tiko Tiko. Great folks. While we're there, Luiz brings Jen's new swimsuit and matching wrap to Papagayo and gives it to her. The office was closed, he explains, so he came looking for us. The suit looks great, fits even better. Jen loves it. She already has plans for more. I have a feeling we will be purchasing many more suits from Luiz.

The three couples decide to have dinner together at Le Tastevin in Grande Case. The gendarmes are patrolling the street, conspicuously ticketing every car parked along the street. Fortunately, there’s a $5 parking lot nearby. I think, its convenient for the lot operators to get that kind of boost for their business. The gendarmes are just doing their job, I guess. Jen and I both have the beef tenderloin. Its good, but not as good as the roast beef at Baywatch. The company is better than the food.

Saturday
Last full day on the island, and we are determined to get as much OB time as possible. So we do. Lunch at the Perch again. No sense leaving the beach to get food.

Dinner at The Boathouse in Simpson Bay. The coconut shrimp are beyond compare. Jen walks into the bar area to see if she can find out the score of the Canes first game against the Devils in the second round. I hear "Yes!" from the bar. Six-nothing Canes! Good start to the series. Surprising, against a very good Devils team that had been on a 15-game win streak.

On to Atlantis Casino, where we make a small donation to help keep their humble operation running. Not surprisingly, Jen lasts longer at the slots than I do at the tables. As I'm playing blackjack, a French fellow walks up to the table and puts down two $100 bills. He bets $100 each at two positions on the table, and immediately loses both. $200 gone, he pulls out $300 more. Loses it immediately. Enough! Done! he says, and walks away. Good plan. Its good to see other people are contributing to the cause, too.

Sunday
Last day on the island. A long walk in the morning. We spend a couple of hours on the beach, then check out. Lunch is at Buccaneer Beach Bar. Nice place, with a nice view. The sign over the bar says they have the best burger on the island. The sign might be right.

We return the car and head to the airport. Check-in, customs and security all move quickly. The terminal is packed, so we head up to the lounge. Its a little pricey, but the chairs are comfortable and the A/C feels good.

The flight out leaves a little late, but that's OK. A few extra minutes on the island is nothing to complain about.