This was our 4th trip to the island, and our first ever trip report.

We had posted our names on the TTOL calendar and got an email from Dave(IL) as he was going to be staying at OBBR at the same time as us. We made arrangements to meet up on Saturday after we arrived.

We stayed at the Amerisuites NW hotel Friday night as we did last year and left our car there and took the shuttle to the airport. Everything went off without a hitch. We were able to get exit row seats all the way to SXM so that made our day. AA changed our flight times so we had a 3 hour layover in San Juan which we didn’t like, but we were on vacation.

We arrived in SXM about 2:00 (on time), again parking on the tarmac and taking the stairs down and busses to the terminal. We breezed through immigration and beat our bag to the carousel. We had only carry ons, but they would not let me take mine on from SJU to SXM as they said it wouldn’t fit in the overhead.

This year we rented from Mohammed at Panoramic arranged through Sandy Molloy after Dave’s recommendation. We were supposed to get a Getz but when we arrived they didn’t have any so upgraded to a Mitsubishi Lancer for the same price which was fine with us. On the way to OBBR we stopped at Le Grand Marche and picked up some goodies and at Rima’s as I forgot my bathing suit at home. It took a little over an hour to get from the terminal to Le Grand Marche. The traffic situation is horrendous over there, and will only get worse during high season. Arrived at OBBR about 4:30 and went to our 2 bdrm which overlooked the pool area and Atlantic. Absolutely beautiful view! We called Dave & Ann and they met us briefly at the pool so we could introduce ourselves.

Sunday we went to The Good Life Spa at the Sonesta Maho for our massages. I had Johanna and Judy had Gabriel (for the 4th time) and they did a fantastic job! We always email them and everything is always taken care of, no complaints. Excellent massages and great atmosphere. Well worth every dollar spent. We then left the spa about 11:30 and headed to Baie Rouge for the day. We have seen pictures of the beach and the house at the end on calendars, etc. but wanted to see the beach for ourselves. It is a very nice beach, lots of families there. We rented 2 chaises and an umbrella for the day. We had a late lunch at Gus’ which was mediocre at best. Judy ordered the BBQ chicken with rice and I ordered the same. The girl came back & said they didn’t have enough chicken for both of us, so I ordered a burger with the rice & peas. I received my burger with fries and was told they were out of rice. A little advance warning would have been nice. Drove the long way around back to OBBR (thru Marigot).

Monday was spent on Orient Beach. It feels so good to be “back home”. We met up with Dave & Ann who then introduced us to 2 other couples they had met on previous trips to SXM. We met Pete & Pam and Curt & Carrie. We walked over to Pedro’s for lunch and split a chicken & ribs dinner. That hit the spot! Later that night we went to Tabba Khady’s for supper. We had wanted to try this place on previous trips but just never got there. The ambiance is very nice and quiet. The tables are set around a pool and look very nice. We were greeted at the door by Bill one of the owners. They have an eclectic mix of dishes from all over the world. Judy ordered the Mahi Mahi and I ordered the Cashew Chicken (actually named something else). We were served a pita bread that had been baked with spices in it and some “spiced” butter. It was delicious! The main meal was excellent and reasonably priced. Judy said it was the best Mahi Mahi she had ever had. My chicken came with jasmine rice and some veggies. Absolutely excellent! It beat my regular Thai place back home hands down. Bill was very gracious and talked with us answering our questions about their flowers that adorn the seating area. We would wholeheartedly recommend Tabba Khady!! They also give a 1 to one exchange for cash.

Tuesday was also spent with our new friends on Orient Beach. We also saw Clem & Paulette who we met last year on the beach. We also discovered a bakery that has excellent sandwiches in Orleans. It is Seege’s on the right hand side as you are driving from OBBR to OB. It is in the complex that the grocery store is in. The bakery sticks out and has Heineken signs around the top of it. We got ham & Cheese with lettuce, tomatoes & onions for $2.70 each. They were made out of the crusty baguette bread that French bakeries are famous for. Not quite gourmet, but an excellent value and cheaper than the restaurants on OB. We were going to the Halloween Party at KF and it took us about 45 minutes to get there. Traffic was backed up heading up to Cole Bay Hill Rd (over the hill). We arrived at KF and parking was hard to find. We parked, turned off the car and some idiot ran into us. He then looked at us like it was our fault. We went into the party and didn’t know a soul. We then spotted Clem & Paulette so talked with them for a few minutes. They left shortly after that and we left about 30 minutes after we got there. We really hate Halloween so it isn’t one of our must do things. We went back to OBBR via Marigot. This time we hit traffic just before Grand Case where a car had stalled in the middle of the road and was still there. It took us about 30 minutes to get around the car. We made it back to OBBR after about 2 hours of driving for a 30 minute party. We had a message on our phone from Dave that they had been in an accident on the way back from OB. Everyone was fine, just a slightly damaged car.

Wednesday was the shopping day of the week. We went to Marigot to walk around the market and see what was there (other than Rima products). Judy likes the local artists that make the statues from the Tagua nuts. She picked up a couple of pieces there and I picked up a watercolor from another local artist. We also ran into Clem & Paulette again. We also met some people that had been on our flight to SXM who we had talked to about things to do as this was their first time in SXM. They had some friends who joined them from Franconia, NH which is where we used to vacation when we lived in Worcester. It really is a small world! After Marigot we headed to Phillipsburg to visit our favorite jeweler, Prakesh at Park Avenue. We had met him on our first trip where I bought Judy a diamond for our 25th anniversary. We have been going there every year to pick up another piece to match her ring (ear rings & necklace). We stopped in to say hello and check on how their children were doing. We chatted and said we weren’t buying this trio when Prakesh’s wife pulls out a ring like Judy had, only bigger. He offered us a little more than we originally paid for her first ring for a trade plus $280 for the larger ring. We said no and left to walk around. We got up by the courthouse and turned around as we really are not shoppers. On the way back Judy said she really wanted that ring and had the money. She asked me if I minded and I told her to do what she wanted. Well, on the way by we stopped and Judy walked out with a new ring. What business people!! We then headed over to peg Leg Pub for our Petite Filet Mignons. We go there every year and the steaks are ALWAYS the best!!! Never disappointed and better than any steak I have had in the states. We then went to Cliffhanger Beach Bar after trying to get there on previous visits. We watched the sun set and had a couple of drinks, BBC’s (our new favorites). Went back to OBBR via Marigot again.

Thursday was Tiko Tiko (Pelos?) day. Dave had booked all 4 of us couples for the day. What an amazing experience!! The ride out was very rough with Dave & Curt riding the “suicide” chairs. I’ll bet they were moving 10 to 12 feet. Watching them get wet was fun. I have never been n the Tiko Tiko but from what I hear it was the same basic setup. Cooler & umbrellas on the beach, lunch cooked on the boat, a mud bath and then the ride back. The food was okay, nothing great. The captain (Jean Claude) & mate Isabel didn’t interact very much with us. They were sociable, but not overly so. The cooler got a little drained in the afternoon and no attempt was made to fill it. It was a good day, with excellent company. Would I do it again?? For the experience probably yes, for the money ($96) probably not worth that much. We went to Poulet D’Orleans for dinner and what a treat that was. We were kind of skeptical of the place considering the appearance of the place. We drove up and the 2 sons ran down to the car and opened the doors for the ladies and did the “kissy kissy” that the French are known for. They seated us and took our order. Judy & I had the chicken (Creole); Pam had ribs and Pete also chicken with peanut sauce. Everything was delicious! The 2 young men talked with us after we had eaten and were a delight, very polite & inquisitive. We really enjoyed our meals, the prices were very reasonable and I would NOT hesitate to eat there again. You need to try this place. The father is the cook and actually cooked for G.H.W. Bush. We then headed to Le Frigate for dessert. The coffee was excellent and so were the desserts. It was a great night with great people.

Friday was our last day on the island so we spent it at Orient Beach with C & C. Excellent day, enjoyed our sandwiches and just chilled out. There is no place else we would rather be than there. Ran back to OBBR to change and went to Baywatch for the first party of the year (as Cheryl said). I guess Dave had a hand in setting this up and it was a very good time. We hung around with the other couples we had met and also met some new people there. Andy & Cheryl did and excellent job of taking orders, getting the food out (hot) and making the evening a night to remember. There was a full moon out which reflected off the water and made for an awesome backdrop. The fire on the beach was also a very nice touch. Kudos to Andy & Cheryl & their staff.

We headed out of OBBR about 10 AM Saturday, hit Rima’s on the way by and dropped off the 1 bag and got our exit row tickets. We then headed to SSBB to wait for our flight. The burgers there are worth the money, and the grouper fingers are pretty good too! Left for the airport at 2:30, dropped off the car, through security and sitting at the gate by 2:50. Not bad! However, the gates were switched. The monitors in the new terminal don’t work (most of them anyway) and the PA system isn’t very loud. They moved our gate downstairs. When we went down there, they then announced they had overbooked the flight and were making offers. We were going to get one but all the people at the desk work on “island time”, VERY slow. We didn’t get there in time to get an offer. The flight was about 30 minutes late leaving SXM for SJU. Once we got to SJU there was another flight delay of 30 minutes. We ended up getting back to Orlando about 10:25. I had not checked my bag from SJU to Orlando so we didn’t have to wait for that. We found the concierge phone and the shuttle was there in about 10 minutes getting us back to the hotel at 10:45. I then had to find a Dunkin Donuts or Starbuck’s as we still had about a 90 minute drive home. We got to Starbuck’s 5 minutes before closing and got a good cup of coffee.

Restaurants: Peg Leg, Poulet D’Orleans, Tabba Khady’s all excellent
Croissants from Mom & Pop’s store at OBBR – Almond are to die for!!

Traffic: HORRENDOUS – Avoid Simpson Bay at all costs

Comments: Drinks at Cliffhanger $7 a bit pricey

This was our ABSOLUTE BEST vacation on SXM. We think it was the fact that we met people this time and we actually enjoyed each other’s company. Thank you Dave & Ann, Pam & Pete, Curt & Carrie for a GREAT vacation. It was AWESOME!!! We hope to see you all next year! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Banana.gif" alt="" />

Pam: email us (poissonfam@hotmail.com); we had a Verona in your honor at Starbuck’s <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" />