Last year I wrote a long trip report. It took several hours and I received 3 responses. I was going to cut down on the report this year but realized I was not going to be able to do so and still be able to give a good report. So this year I will try to give a more interesting report, maybe sprucing it up with sex, drama, comedy and maybe even helpful information. I also thought about smiles but rejected that idea. Maybe a gift for the one millionth reader? Anyway, here we go…

This was our fourth trip to SXM. We flew out on AA from Philly. We used frequent flyer awards and flew thru San Juan. The trip down was not only uneventful but actually quite pleasant. A one hour connect in SJ which went off without a hitch.
Upon arrival, we ran to customs hopeful to get through quickly before a backup occurred. We proudly were in the first five in line and with 3 women custom agents we knew we had it made. As we waited for the agents to settle in, one gave a scream of delight and jumped out of her booth. She ran to the other two and was yelling and laughing and pointing down the line. They ran down the line and grabbed 3 guys and the three of them together checked them thru customs. They then chatted with the men and one of the women ran around looking for a camera. They found a camera, took about 10 pictures of the six of them and twenty minutes later finally settled back into their booths. As we went through customs the woman looked at me and said “very famous raggae band”. I told her I had guessed as much. Everyone in line was pleasant and just laughed and took it in stride.

Joseph from Unity Car was waiting for us with a Carolla and we were on our way in a few minutes. They are such a pleasure to deal with. They make the trip so much easier. As always we highly recommend Michael and Joseph

A few general comments as to the trip
Crime- We experienced no crime, nor did we feel any anxiety while we were there. There was a major anticrime operation going on while we were there and it kept crime on the front page of the paper. (BBB was raided and shut down while we were on the island) Everyday the dutch police hit a neighborhood.(sucker gardens suffered thru a prostitution raid, most of the others were drugs or immigration raids) We are not late nighters so cannot speak for early morn crime activity but we had no problems. I also noted the paper reported as many crimes on other islands as in SXM. It's a universal problem.
Weather- It was definitely wetter than usual as Olga went through. While no day was totally lost there were more frequent periods of rain. Fortunately advise was provided at http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/s...part=1&vc=1
Dan, your suggestion proved to be the most frequently used. I might add the rains were longer than usual.
Bugs- With the rains they were horrendous. Souvenirs for weeks to come. Nothing proved effective, in or out of the room
Traffic- the bugs were easier to deal with. It gets worse by the minute. The thought of the traffic in high season scares me more than seeing a subject title “car rentals” when browsing TTOL. I settled in, tried to drive at non peak times and never let it bother me (except for the dent, but that’s for later)

Back to the report. La Vista could not house us for a night so we decided on a romantic night on the French side. Christian at Sol e Luna was more than pleased to accommodate. We took a room (Vanilla) for the night for $144 incl all taxes and had made reservations for dinner. The room was charming in a Caribbean style. There was A/C but also a ceiling fan, Caribbean color with a Vanilla flavor and lots of steps. A porch overlooked the lake and also the ocean at Orient. A few minor problems (drain clogged, no toilet paper but all quickly corrected) This was our first dinner at the restaurant. The restaurant is physically as beautiful as the food presentations. We met friends and the four of us had a wonderful meal. Christian was a gracious host (Bridgette a bit gruff) and we enjoyed talking with him. For appetizers we had wrapped monk fish which was excellent, good salads and I had a lobster bisque with an exquisite almond pastry top. I had lamb in puff pastry which was wonderful. Raves were also received for the Sea Bass and the Seafood Stew (which I drooled over as my friend ate). Including one killer Royale Mojito the bill came to $175 a couple, another victim of the dreaded Euro exchange, a malady that was to follow us our entire trip.