Just came back – 12th to the island, 10th at Club O.

What a great trip, and I just heard the weather was awful up here when I was gone (my trips to SXM usually guarantee perfect weather for the Northeast US). We had a waterfront chalet, #50, the absolute closest one to the beach. It couldn’t have been more than 15 steps. Weather was great. There was plenty of sand on Orient, in contrast to what apparently is happening now, so I read. The Halloween party was loads of fun as always, and in what turned out to be a very popular move they finally banned cameras at the event. We did the Tiko Tiko, which wasn’t actually Tiko this time. Phillipe has sold Tiko, but for some tax reason won’t be picking up his new boat until the end of November, at least according to how well I understand a very thick French accent. In the meantime, they are using the Pelos, which is really a very nice cat, even somewhat more so than Tiko. Phillipe wasn’t present - 2 other guys ran the cruise, a Frenchman and a Spaniard, with the same general format as before. Isabelle was the mate. All three were clothed the whole time, and with the occasional exception of Isabelle weren’t particularly engaged with the passengers. We had to make several trips from beach to boat and back to restock the meager cooler provided. Even worse, except for a handful of Caribs, all they had beer-wise was Bud. Alas, what foul deed hath brought this cruel fate upon myself? On the other hand, I reckon it’s not much of a challenge to imagine how a European would assume that Budweiser is just what all Americans want to drink. And to be fair, Bud is definitely better than no beer at all. Anyway, the lunch was good, not quite up to Phillipe’s standards, but still good. The other guests were loads of fun, and all in all it was a very fine day despite these few minor hitches. I would certainly do it again knowing what I do now.

Since our rental car often just sits and collects dirt while we turn to mushy vegetables on the beach, we tried it this time without one. It worked out great. We took a taxi from the airport queue for $30. The driver lady was most entertaining. She started with her tale of financial woe in the first minute, going for the sympathy tip I guess, which we parlayed into a long and lively chat while we shared our delicious Chips Ahoy! cookies with her all the way to Orient Bay. She did make it clear via numerous vague biblical references that it was wrong for folks to be walking around naked in front of each other, but nevertheless safely delivered us to our final destination. The trip back was with a driver that Club O had called for us; he was a really nice guy with loads of island wisdom and a great sense of humor. For everything else we just walked up the beach with nary a care for Gendarmes with Breathalyzers in hand.

At both Kakao and Bikini, our favorites, we enjoyed lavish late lunches which also served as dinner. Papagayo was OK; service good, food mediocre. Its main asset remains its location, but that asset is sufficient for our continued patronage. It was so hot and stuffy in there we couldn’t really stay and linger over drinks as we used to, but that’s what the chalet is for. Other meals were either cooked in our kitchen or grilled out on the porch --- we keep a Weber Smokey Joe in storage at ClubO for this purpose. We also tried SSBB on the way out. To me, $4 Presidente’s and a very good $8 burger sound perfectly reasonable for a resort area such as that, and we loved the planes.

Over the years we’ve seen about all of the island we really want to so we didn’t miss the car at all. I don’t miss the restaurants, we get plenty of that at home and on other travels. Also, I am feeling a bit put off by all the crime, the congestion, the litter, the general state of disrepair, etc. If it weren’t for OB and Club O, I doubt we would return at all. We are keeping our eyes open for an alternative but so far have to admit that SXM, warts and all, will not be easy to beat.

The new airport is actually pretty nice. There are more eating areas and shops, and the shops that are currently open look more high-end than those of the old Julianna. There is a smoking room on the upper level that you can bring a beer into, which can be purchased at a nearby bar. Not quite Cafe Julianna, but better than I had hoped for. The terminal has a nice upscale feel about it and the air conditioning was wonderful in all respects but one. The waiting area for the B gates (ours, and probably yours too) on the lower level is even hotter and more uncomfortable than the old holding cell. Unbelievable. No a/c or ventilation whatsoever that I could tell. Hopefully this was a just a glitch that will be fixed as the bugs are worked out of this new facility. I will still miss the ambiance of the old one though.

So, with that I will close with the following story: While waiting in the customs line in SJU (quite long, as was Immigration), I watched an agent going through a gentleman's very large suitcase in one of the "closer inspection" lanes. It was hilarious, though a bit sad at the same time. We watched over a 10 minute period as the agent pulled out eight 1.75L bottles of booze --I was counting-- and was still pulling them out when we left the area. The passenger had them all wrapped up in clothes and whatnot, but at least one bottle was broken. What a mess. This poor guy carried the dripping bigger pieces to a nearby trash can and was absolutely soaked in the stuff, as was everything in his bag. The agent was positively gagging on the fumes. I'm sure she was not in the mood to give him a break of any kind, and for his sake I hope he had declared the full amount he was carrying. All to save a few bucks (well, maybe more than a few...).