TravelTalkOnline Forums Trip Reports (Read Only) SXM Trip Reports and Photos Fun iin the Sun Part 2

Nov.14- We started our second week with glorious sunshine and 30 degree Celsius temperatures. Love those hot sunny days when temperatures at home are steadily plummeting!



After breakfast, we got ready and went out to do some grocery shopping at Grande Marche. The new causeway makes getting there so much faster. We had lunch when we returned and then spent a relaxing day on the balcony reading and enjoying some tropical drinks.

We were having dinner guests tonight so time to make a few preparations. We had a very enjoyable evening with our good friends, Bill and Elaine and the time flew past so quickly we discovered it was soon midnight. Such a wonderful evening with two special people!

Time now to go to bed and get refreshed for tomorrow's adventures.



Nov.15- After enjoying coffee on the balcony, we had a nice cooked breakfast in the condo. We did a few chores and then decided to get ready and go to Dawn Beach in Oyster Pond to spend the afternoon.

We had lunch at Mr. Busby's Beach Bar which consisted of a great crab baguette with fries for me and David ordered the rib plate with fries and salad. Both meals were very tasty and Amstel Bright was the chosen drink. The view from there is beautiful and there was a nice gentle breeze which was delightful. The beach was covered with dense seaweed today so we decided to have a few more beer and relax on the deck there. You really can't beat the price of $1 per beer!

We stopped in to visit Maueen and Larry at their condo in Princess Heights and then we all went to Happy Hour at the Iguana Bar at Captain Oliver's Marina. We had a nice time there....lovely location right on the water.

We left Oyster Pond at 7:00 P.M. and headed towards Simpson Bay where we stopped at Buccaneer Beach Bar to listen to the live music and have a drink with Bill and Elaine. We decided to head homewards around 9:00 P.M. and had a light snack since we weren't too hungry after all the calories we had consumed all day.

We toyed with the idea of going out again to the casino, but opted to stay home and read for awhile before drifting off to dreamland.



Nov.16- Today we were meeting our friend, Jeannie, for breakfast at the St. Maarten Yacht Club so we left the condo around 8:00 A.M. to do that. Jeannie arrived a few minutes after we did, and we settled in for a three hour breakfast with several cups of coffee and good company. We enjoyed traditional French toast with sausage and a full American breakfast.

We saw several large yachts arriving during the bridge openings, all of which were very impressive. We also met Motown Tim there and Dennis and Michele who were having their last breakfast, before returning to the USA on an afternoon flight.

It was almost noon when we left the Yacht Club and we were meeting a group of friends for lunch at Layla's so off we went to Nettle Bay. We spent a lovely afternoon with Bill, Elaine, Ann, Steve, Alan, Harry, and Joe and Gail. All the meals were great especially the Rack of Lamb and the Ocean Salad which David and I had chosen. The rum punch was one of the best I had tasted since we arrived! We enjoyed a fantastic day with good friends overlooking the water. It doesn't get much better than that! It was 5:00 P.M. before we departed and got home just in time to catch the sunset from our balcony.

After a late lunch, we decided against going out for dinner tonight and opted for some appetizers and a bottle of wine instead.



Nov.17- Today was another Orient Beach Day, so after breakfast we left to meet Maureen and Larry there. The day started with a brief shower, but it quickly cleared and it was a fabulous day! There was some excitement on the beach near Pedros as a catarmaran was beached on the rocks there. It took a few naked bodies to finally get it off the rocks and ready to be towed away toard Cul de Sac. It must have had some damage after hitting the rocks.

We enjoyed the water and sunshine, but there was a good breeze there today so the water was choppier than usual. No seaweed in the water up by Club O but the water was full of it down the beach past Pedros. The beach was also very narrow in the northern direction and only one row of chairs, while there was a wide beach at Club O. It is very interesting how the same stretch of beach can be so different!

When it was lunch time, we all ventured down the beach to Leandra's. We sat out on the newly constructed covered deck and enjoyed shrimp pita, BBQ chicken wrap, cheese burger and cheese hot dog platters accompanied by beer... all very tasty!

After lunch, we returned to the beach to enjoy the rest of the afternoon.
Some dark clouds were forming around 3:30. so we packed up and ended another relaxing beach day.

Our evening consisted of Happy Hour at the Greenhouse and a few hours at the Hollywood Casino. Winnings were small tonight, but lots of fun!



Nov.18- We enjoyed a lazy morning with several cups of coffee and breakfast in the condo. I decided to do some laundry and attend to some correspondence before going out for lunch.

Our lunch stop today was at Hilma's Windsor Castle in Simpson Bay. We always like to spend some time with Hilma and enjoy the company of the other locals who dine there. Today was no exception, and we met Captain D, a well known local resident who pilots the Win Air flight to Saba and also owns Captain D's BBQ shack near the bridge. Conversation with local residents is more informative than reading the newspaper and definitely more enjoyable!

Hilma's famous salt fish and johhny cakes are the best and we both ordered them with carib to wash them down. If you haven't had the pleasure of having lunch at Hilma's, you haven't had the true St. Maarten experience!

We left there around 3:00 P.M. and David did some shopping at Blue Point before returning home. We tried to go to the Driftwood Bar for some rum punch , but the cars and people crowding the area on that stretch of road from Driftwood to Sunset Bar was terrible! We made four attempts to find parking, and finally gave up. It was almost 4:30 P.M. and the taxi vans were still parked all over the road taking people back to the ships. I would have thought they would have all departed by then, but not today! It is unfortunate that people living and staying here cannot enjoy that area as they did in the past. People were hanging on the fence as the planes took off and disregarding all safety signs. I don't understand why the police cannot do anything about these actions.

Finally we came back to the condo and relaxed with drinks on the balcony and viewed another sunset. It just never gets tiring!

We decided to have dinner at Islandgem Cafe tonight and chose grilled steak, mashed potatoes,and fresh vegetables. We enjoyed a nice bottle of red wine to accompany the meal. Dessert was Etna Mango ice-cream and chocolate cookies.

We spent the evening watching The Voice which is one of our favourite musical shows and just relaxing with some tropical drinks.


Nov.19- We awakened to another glorious day of sunshine and enjoyed some early morning coffee while taking in the view from the balcony. David cooked breakfast..... eggs, sausages, hash browns and toast which was a perfect start to the day! After breakfast, we went down to the pool and basked in the sunshine until 2:00 P.M. It was now time for a light lunch as we were still feeling quite full from our large breakfast.

We had arranged to meet Annie at the airport today so we got ready and headed out around 3:30 P.M. Her flight was on time just after 4:00 and we were soon off to get her settled into her accommodations at Mary's Boon. Annie had never stayed there before so settling in may take a few days. After freshening up from her travel day, we left there with Annie and went to a party hosted by Ann and Steve at the Dream Pool Bar at the Alegria Resort. It was a nice evening and we met some November regulars who had just arrived on the island. I also enjoyed my favorite mango colada and Marty undoubtedly makes the best tastng one on the island!

After the party ended, we went with Annie and Jeannie to Pizza Galley for dinner and drinks. We shared three delicious thin crust pizzas with beer and wine . It is always fun to share time with good friends. Annie had a long travel day so after dinner, we got her back to her unit and she got settled in for her first sleep on the island since last November.

We returned to our condo to relax for a while and enjoyed our last night at Blue Marine before packing for our move tomorrow to Beachside Villas, where we will be spending the last two weeks of our vacation.

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Nov.20- Moving day is never fun, but the owner of our condo at Blue Marine was extremely accommodating and we didn't have to check out until later in the afternoon. This made our move so easy as we were not able to check into Beachside Villas until 4:00 P.M.

We had breakfast and then started packing. Everything was almost completed by lunch time so we decided to go out for lunch. Vesna Taverno was our destination today and we were so glad we tried it. The staff was friendly and efficient and the food was very good. I had the buffalo chicken wrap and it was served with the best french fries on the island! David had the curry chicken served with rice and salad. We both enjoyed cold beer with our meal.

After lunch we returned to the condo and packed everything in the car for our move to the other side of the airport. Pilots love their planes! Our view is different and now we have a beautiful beach with crashing surf to entertain us.
We checked into the villas and got all unpacked and settled in to start our last two weeks in paradise. It was a lovely evening and we opened a bottle of wine and just sat on the balcony watching the Passaat go out and return from the sunset cruise.We had planned to go out for dinner, but just couldn't get motivated to move from the balcony. We cooked dinner at home and had a relaxing night with a few cocktails , serenaded by the sound of the waves breaking on the beach. Life doesn't get much better than that!
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