Trip Report 3/20/07-3/27/07

Our fourth trip to SXM: travellers this year were me, my husband, and our 17 year old daughter. Every trip we do less and less – fewer outings, less exploring. We just get lazier and lazier, sucked onto the sand by sand gravity.
We flew from Boston via Newark on Continental, no unanticipated problems. (Missed the snowstorm cancellations by a couple days.) Arrived to cloudy skies and intermittent rain showers, some torrential, and were met at the airport by Unity Car Rental. No problems with our lovely white Corolla. Off to pick up cell phone from Sharon Harris, and again no problems. At Cap Caraibes rental agency we were about five minutes too early to meet the agent, as they take lunch from 12 to 2 – an innovation I plan to suggest to my boss at home. Then off to Villa Modigliani, a two bedroom aaprtment just behind Caribbean Princess that we rented through Sandy Molloy. They were cleaning it as we arrived, so we dropped our luggage and went straight to the beach. Chairs at La Playa are included in the villa rental, so we moved right in and set the pattern for the week. Sun, waves, wind, and total relaxation!
The villa was very comfortable, and very convenient. Mosquitoes, however, plagued us this year as never before. When the rooms were cleaned, the doors were wide open, and we were swatting mosquitoes inside as well as out all week. There was a fair amount of rain that must have hatched a bumper crop! We never were able to sit on the patio due to the bugs. The pool caught enough breezes that we could settle out there in comfort.
Most of our meals were at the various restaurants in le Village d’Orient. We really enjoyed Le Cadre, and had good meals at Cotes Plage and La Chapelle. Pizza at Le Piment was also good, as was the pizza at Tap Five. However, the other dinner offerings at Tap Five were terrible. I ordered grilled chicken, and received an overdone, overly seasoned piece of baked chicken—no grill in sight. My husband ordered lobster bisque—inedible, and shrimp and scallop skewer—again, overdone and poorly prepared. We did enjoy our daughter’s pizza, and she preferred this pizza to Le Piment’s. However, the service was awful, as the waitress was busy flirting with her boyfriend at another table. The owner looked over at our table once, but did not come over—perhaps he noted that my husband and I were sitting with our food cooling in front of us as our daughter waited quite some time to receive her dinner. Two years ago we had an excellent meal here, but I will not return again unless it is for pizza only, or I might try the charcuterie (cold cuts and cheese platter.)
Our best meal was lunch at Gus’s Beach Bar on Baie Rouge. Red Snapper fillet, perfectly grilled, and a skewer of mixed fish and seafood, served with our feet in the sand. Was it the cuisine, or the atmosphere? Both were superb. That day was quite windy at OB, so we piled into the Corolla to the leeward side of the island. Did some snorkelling, and I saw a sea turtle for the first time. That was exciting for me, as last year in Aruba everyone else got to see turtles and I did not.
Our return was easy, again through Newark. I know we’ll be back to St. Martin again.