So Tuesday Bill & Jon went deep sea fishing. They signed up through the Atrium activities desk which used Captain Ron. I had tried looking up other charters but they were priced by the boat and in the end none of us ladies wanted to go. It worked out pretty well for them as they were the only guests on the boat. They stayed out about 5 hours with Jon hooking 2 Wahoo and Bill kept getting Barracuda, 5 to be exact. The barracuda got thrown back, the captain kept the larger wahoo and Bill and Jon brought the smaller one back filleted. There was about 20 lbs of fish.

Meanwhile, Shawna, Meg & I drove to Philipsburg to do Back Street and the alleys. Having a phone was handy as I could call my mother back in the unit and ask her what color she would like of a Tote Bag/Wrap combo I was looking at. The price started at $20 and ended up at $13. We also had fun redeeming the free jewelry cards. When we were hungry we ate at The Original Jerk & Roti House on Back Street that was definitely a local hangout. It was cafeteria style and had everything from Bull Foot Soup to Goat Curry. Shawna got the Goat Curry, Meg the Chicken Curry, and I got the Jerk Chicken. The goat was apparently a winner. My chicken was dry but the jerk sauce was great. I have not figured out why the cooks hack up the leg and thigh into 2 or 3 inch slices, bone and all. It ends up being harder to eat as there are then small pieces of splintered bone to possibly choke on. Captain D's had done this also. We got enormous portions of peas and rice, and a salad. We also split a vegetarian Jamaican fried patty.

That afternoon Shawna and I went to Mullet Bay for a quick snorkel trip before cooking dinner. It was not my first choice as again there was just so much trash around. Facing the sea if you enter to the left by the rocks you get the best snorkeling. That is also the side closest to the parking lot and the side with the most trash. Walking to the other end the trash disappeared and also that is where there were quite a few topless bathers, a correlation, perhaps, between big families and tourists and the more solitary and private sun worshipers? The snorkeling was surprisingly good, although the sight of Fanta cans down below was sad. We saw Sergeant Majors of all sizes, Blue Tang, Trumpetfish, Juvenile Angelfish, a little baby Puffer, lots of Yellowtail Snapper, a variety of Grunts and Wrasses, the very pretty Fairy Basslet, Spotted Goatfish, Stingrays, a few Flounder, including a big fat one that looked delicious, and a big surprise for me: As I was swimming along the rocks something caught the corner of my eye and I came face to face with a 3 foot Barracuda. He looked as startled as I and swam off.

We stopped at Captain D's on the way back to get some wings for my mother, and arrived to the wonderful smells of the guys cooking their Wahoo. I have never had it before and it was wonderful, firm, white, totally fresh. Jon had seasoned some with some crazy mixed up salt blend and sautéed it in butter while Bill had coated some in Dijonnaise and crushed potato chips, then baked it. Along with a fresh baguette, Brussel sprouts, some Zatarains Red Beans & Rice, a takeout container of fried plantains from the Greenhouse, and some of the giant wheel of gouda we had bought it was marvelous!

Bill, Jon & Meg walked over to the movie theater to watch The Scorch Trials while I did a load of laundry and Shawna and my mother relaxed. While it is nice that the Atrium has washers and dryers there is only one set per two floors. Even as sparsely populated as the place is at the moment I had to search for an empty washer. They want you to keep the doors closed to the laundry room but the dryer vents to the room, which makes a very hot mess. Each machine uses 8 quarters.

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Tuesday evening I noticed the right front tire on the Corolla was going flat so Bill called Michael with Unity early Wednesday morning. He was instructed to take the car to a tire place right up the road and they looked at the tires, filled them all up, and pronounced it good to go.

We could not get my son or his girlfriend to wake up to go to the French Market in Marigot so Shawna and I went by ourselves. Wow, what a difference from last week. There was a ship in port. Traffic was a mess and there was hardly any parking. We ended up parking past the Westin. I would hate to think how it is in high season, with more than one cruise ship in port. The ladies in the stalls had different attitudes also. Last week T Shirts were $5 each or 3/$10. This week the 1st lady I asked said $5 each so 3/$15. When I started to walk she dropped it to $12. When I mentioned that just last week she had said $10 she let loose with a string of French and the ladies on either side echoed her in French and they all appeared agitated. I made out something like "that was last week in the past and prices rise over time." Well, that's nice but I'm not on a cruise ship. We made our way to the stall of the woman whose husband designs their own shirts and picked out 2, one for each of us at 2/$25. Shawna also picked out some custom Larimar earrings from the stall that prices by the gram. They were unique in that they were reversible, Larimar to Amber, for $24.

The heat and humidity was so bad I knew I should not try climbing the steps to Fort Louis so I drove Shawna up the hill to the steps then waited in the car. She went up and said it was extremely scenic but I made the right call not to go as I am afraid of heights and the steps were not only slanted but there were no guard rails of any kind up at the top.

After we drove over to Howell Center to go to La Pain Gourmand to load up on baguettes and croissant. We got 2 very long baguettes, a box of 6 mixed croissant/pastries and a beignet for a very reasonable $5. Then we headed to the Simply in Sandy Ground so that Shawna could get some of the painted bottles of rum for gifts. They had by far the cheapest prices. A fifth size painted bottle was $7. We proceeded to take the long scenic route back to Simpson Bay along the coast. Unfortunately there are quite a few private walled estates so that views of the sea were blocked. I also needed yet more half &half (the Simply didn't have the larger size) so I drove to the Cole Bay Grand Marche on Union Road. Wow, that store is much nicer than the one on Bush Road. It seemed to cater to a more upscale clientele. The fruits and veges were all artfully arranged and it appeared much cleaner. I also ended up getting a huge bucket of Etna Rhum Raisin.

Returning to the Atrium at last we gathered everyone and headed to Le Galion. Always an interesting drive up and down. I can see why this is the children's beach. It was a very warm shallow bathtub. There was a portable structured pool where lessons were taking place. The reef was a lot farther out than I thought it would be so my son was the only one who swam out there but he was rewarded with seeing a turtle. The rest of us stayed snorkeling over the grass bottom. There was a multitude of various species of perfectly camouflaged fish and a few schools of snapper and jack.

As the sun was setting we made our way home to change and walk up the hill to Toppers by the Sea so that my son could try the All You Can Eat Lobster. It was $45 but the lad downed 6 lobsters. The waiter also brought him a gratis bottle of wine, which he also managed to down. Wow, that's what a 25 year old guy can do...I tried the Fish and Chips, which was red snapper. It was excellent. We also tried the Mango Chicken salad, which had a very mayonnaisey vinaigrette that we did not care for. The Fettuccine Alfredo was an enormous portion and was quite tasty.

Earlier in the day Bill and I discussed what to do with all that Wahoo. We had wrapped and frozen what we did not cook that first night. Since we have very limited time left on the Island we thought we'd offer the maid some of the fish. Well, she jumped at the offer and Bill ended up giving all of it to her while I was in Marigot, which sorely disappointed Jon. After he got over the disappointment that he would not be eating any more of his most excellent fresh catch he then was disappointed that there was none left to give to his own maid. Oops! I had thought it was the same maid for floors 4 and 5 but it turns out ours does 3 and 4. Oh well, he will think of something.

It is hard to believe we only have 2 more days to spend before an 8 am flight on Saturday! Nooooo, I'm not at ALL ready!!

Thanks for your continuing reports. I'm confused, however, at your parking "past the Westin" to go to the Marigot market, as that's just not possible. We usually park on the street when we go, and it can certainly be difficult to find a place.

Oops, I meant West Indies Mall...

Didn't know Toppers had the all you can eat lobster. I'll have to give it a go next time on island.

Nice detailed reports! Sounds like a lovely trip, but sadly coming to an end.Thanks for sharing your island time with us.

I hadn't heard that either. I wonder if it is an offseason special.

Maybe they are trying to compete with Clauds Mini Club which is the best lobster buffet in SXM.

Whew! That makes much more sense!

Enjoying your reports. You sure pack a lot into one day. We are sorry your vacation is almost over because we will miss your reports. Sand gravity usually gets the best of us but we have newbies coming with us in February so that will get us going. Enjoy the rest of your vacation.

I'm loooving your reports. thank you. Isn't it funny how they 'quarter' a chicken?

You wrote
We made our way to the stall of the woman whose husband designs their own shirts

Where are they located - If 12 o'cloack is the north end where Kalina sells his sauces / spices where would this stall be located. Would like to look next trip

Thanks
J&B