Saturday, June 13

I wanted to post a trip report this morning, but Divi wifi was just awful; attempting to upload and then resize photos was excruciatingly slow. So I decided to take my Surface to Karakter to see if their wifi was any faster. It probably was but, unfortunately, it was so sunny I couldn’t find an angle where I could see my screen. Foiled again!

Headed to the Marigot market to see Patricia at the French linen stall as I wanted more napkins to match some I already have. Wouldn’t you know: after several years of the same designs, she now has new designs! They wouldn’t go with what I now have so I passed on any purchases. I then headed to Tijon in Grande Case as I needed more after-sun cream. Closed on weekends! I was really striking out all the way around.

I meandered back to Divi and encountered these fun creatures who were all over the place, road included, in the Coralita area.



Spent a few hours enjoying the Infinity Pool, and then it was time for dinner. After getting cleaned up, I realized I didn’t want to go “out” so decided to give Toucans its annual opportunity to amaze me. I sat outside, and the service was great; even got some hugs from staff. I dunno; perhaps I’m just hard to please. I had the lamb shank. It was tasty enough but nothing about it stood out.

Sunday, June 14

Spent a lazy, do-nothing day at Divi. Dinner at Fusion where I had a couple of appetizers: Thai chicken spring rolls and bacon-wrapped scallops.

Went to LaBamba for a short while, running in to friends in the process.

Monday, June 15

Time to go to another beach! The choice today is what used to be my second-favorite beach on the island: Friar’s Bay. I was determined to find the turn-off that would take me to FBBC’s own parking lot. However, the traffic was terrible due to tour buses and I wanted to get off the main road as quickly as possible so used the “regular” entrance. It’s really not that long a walk to get to FBBC from the main lot. There was no ravine but, oh, the smell. I kept hoping it would go away by the time I arrived at FBBC, and occasionally the winds did cooperate. I decided to have lunch before settling on the beach. The incredible duck confit I had last year wasn’t available so I ordered hangar steak preceded by a simply lovely mint/cucumber soup. Delicious! The hangar steak was also excellent, and service was attentive.



I stayed all afternoon and had to leave when they told me they were closing. The water was terrific, and it was a great beach afternoon.



Unfortunately, the sewer smell didn’t really go away all afternoon, and I could still “feel” it after showering. It will probably be awhile before I go back to this beach, which is really a shame as the water and food are just what I like in a beach and beach bar.

I made it back to Divi in time to attend the end of the weekly “managers’ party” and caught up with fellow timeshare owners who are always on island this week. I hadn’t planned to go out for dinner but received a call from friends who were going to IZI. It’s been years since I’d been there and wanted to give it another try. I had the duck risotto.



Tuesday, June 16

Was in the mood for another spectacular beach experience so back to Anse Marcel



where I ran in to Jag2596 and her friends, here on a “girls’ week.” The waiter remembered me by name; impressive after just one previous visit. I had planned to order a seafood salad, but the waiter remembered I had duck last week and said they had a duck special that day, which I ended out ordering. I asked him to box up the half I didn’t eat; he said he would put it in their refrigerator for the afternoon. It was relatively windy, but that kept the heat down. Sand and water were just top-notch.



The one thing I don’t like about the Anse Marcel Beach Restaurant is that they add to their slip “tip not included.” I asked if service was, and they said yes; so I just left a couple of $2 bills. Caveat emptor. And I forgot to ask for my to-go box. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

Upon arrival at the parking lot, some of Jag’s group noticed my right-front tire was flat. The boyfriend of one of the women had arrived during the afternoon, and he promptly got to work changing the tire to the spare that was in the trunk . . . which also turned out to be flat! Some of the wait staff had been hanging around helping; one of them had a pump for a bicycle tire so inflated the spare. I drove the car out to the guard station to wait for Leisure since I wasn’t confident the spare would last me back to Divi. Two of Jag’s group insisted on waiting with me until Leisure arrived. It was extraordinarily kind of them to do so and I felt awful for infringing on their evening’s plans. Leisure arrived in due course, found a nail in the original tire, put a new tire on, and pressure-checked all of the other tires, one of which looked as though it could also be going flat. To Jag2596 and all your group: thank you, thank you, thank you! You definitely went above and beyond, and I’m indebted to you. Late dinner at Bavaria.

Wednesday, June 17

Hump Day, not only of this week, but of my three weeks. Since I had a very early dinner engagement with friends, I opted to stay at Divi for the day. Much of the time I just lounged on my deck, taking in the activity on Little Bay and the beach. It was very relaxing.

I met friends for dinner at 5 PM at Bar Code, a cute little place by the University. The drinks were great. Menu is American food (salads, sandwiches, a few entrees) with a bit of an Asian flavor. Prices are very reasonable. Not fine dining by any measure, but run by very nice people. I hope they are successful.

Thursday, June 18

Anguilla day today; Jag2596 and her group let me tag along with them. We drove to Marigot and first stopped for breakfast at Saraphina’s where I had a nice spinach quiche; pastries for the others. On to get our tickets for the ferry, missing the current one by seconds. 45 minutes later we were on our way to Shoal Bay East. Evan was our very nice taxi driver, who consented to giving us a tour of some of the well-known resorts before going to the beach. We toured CuisinArt




Cap Juluca with its 19 individual villas


And the unanimous favorite, Viceroy

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Then on to Shoal Bay East. I had expected the cabbie to drop us off in front of Madeariman, but he drove us Elodia’s, where he “stood watch” until we had rented chairs from, I assume, his cohort. It was a beautiful beach day. Water of many colors and, oh, so clear.

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It’s really difficult to get a picture with a straight horizon with a point-and-click without a view finder; you just can’t see what you are photographing!

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We took the last ferry and decided to drop by Mark’s for take-out on the way home as we were tired from our exhausting day of lounging by the sea.

Friday, June 19

With no ships in port, it seemed like a good day to go to Philipsburg to visit Our Creations Arts & Crafts store. I wish I had taken pictures but didn’t. It is staffed by a few of the artists whose wares are shown. I was amazed and impressed with the level of creativity and talent shown by the different items for sale: the Lulu Dolls, as mentioned in the DH article; greeting cards; hand-painted drinking and wine glasses; art; decorative items made from shells; placemats and pot holders made from plastic bags (I had to wonder how they would hold up under heat?); purses made with shells; jewelry; much more. I made several purchases and highly recommend a visit to this store.

I had a ring whose setting I’ve always loved, but the pearl needed replacing. Went to one store that didn’t impress so headed to DK Gems. I’m replacing the pearl with a marquis-cut diamond and will pick it up next week. Can’t wait to see what it looks like.

The boardwalk was next. I had intended to try Burger Madness, but it was hot; Holland House was closer. I think their restaurant is in a very nice setting with a great view of the Bay. I enjoyed chicken sate on skewers.

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Back to Divi for the evening where I listened, from my deck, to Ronnie Santana playing at Gizmo’s.

+++++

Two weeks down; one more to go. I wonder how many of the places on my list I’ll actually make it to?

Linda,

Thank you for your time and effort in doing this. Too bad about the 'smell' and the flat - but after the fact, it all becomes a part of your story. How nice of the Jag group, too, to stay with you like that. It sounds like a new friendship has been forged. And how nice to be a part of their group at AXA and share the day with them.

And you're telling it all so well I can't help feeling like I'm right there with you seeing and experiencing the island through your writing. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />

Enjoy your final week.......your time and your experiences.....

Enjoyed our times together....going home today. You might get wet Monday-Tuesday.

Safe travels to you and Linda, Don. It was lovely spending time with you both. I look forward to your report and pictures. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" />

thanks for doing such a great job with the report! Wonderful pictures! We thought we might see you at Karakter last night. It was nice, but we left early. The parking was a ZOO!

Linda,

Nice pics.

Did you have a chance to visit the hydroponic veggie operation at the Cuisinart Resort while on AXA?

Here's a nice little video of what it's like, for anyone interested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5Ut5s7ep40

Linda. Since you like duck be sure and try fig's duck breast. Very good. Open every day at 6:00 pm but closed on Wednesday.

We walked one year from BSV. It was a little hard seeing where you were walking.

Beautiful pictures, and great report. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your vacation.

Thanks Linda for taking us along on your second week's vacation!Sounds like you are having a wonderful time and getting some time to relax as well. Enjoy your last week!

I would be afraid to walk back after dark..

Linda, As as been posted here over and over again, It is correct that the tip is not included, The service is included, Tip and service are not the same in France. A tip is a euro or 2 and tip translated into French is pour boire and translated back to english literally is "for a drink"

Thanks for another great report, Linda. Hate that feeling when you realize that time is flying by and you have so many things undone. Enjoy your last week.

I was so excited to see your trip report Linda, thanks for sharing. I felt like I was there.

DrDoug - Thank you for that link. No, I didn't know anything about the hydroponic farm and found the video fascinating. We were allowed just a few minutes at each place for photo ops, but it would definitely be worth a trip back to visit the farm. Thanks for the link.

Linda,

If you haven't already been there, you can check out another example of creative hydroponic gardening on Saba, too. It's small but still very interesting. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for another great update. I feel like I am there!

As much as I like SXM, the resorts you visited on AXA are amazing. I have toured many of them and it never ceases to amaze me.

Enjoy!