Our trip was for two weeks from July 11th until July 25th. After the first week two friends,who had been to SXM before but only on a cruise, joined us. We flew almost 14 hours from the West Coast. We arrived with numb derrières, half-starved from not catching meal flights, and a raised drawbridge on Airport Road. Oh well. <br><br>Even though we have been to the island 6 times, I vowed not to let sand gravity get in our way and go to some of the places that we had never visited but have read about on this Board. Our intentions were righteous, but sand gravity once again lured us to a semi-conscious state for our first week while we were alone. (Sigh)<br><br>I will give some highlights and comment on areas that may be of interest based on previous discussions. <br><br>The weather was very hot, - even the locals were complaining. I found myself more in the water than out. We used Bull Frog sun tan lotion which worked great and we were out in the sun and water almost all day. We never burned. I tried Neutrogena sesame seed oil after being out in the sun to help keep myself from “molting”. We have been home almost a week and still no snake skin as of yet. <br><br> We only made it to Orient, Baie Rouge, Galleon and Friar’s Beach. We found Baie Rouge surf not as rough as in the past and Chez Raymond’s as fun as ever. They really pour good drinks there. Friar’s has always been a favorite of ours and we had been dismayed at the reports of the “smell” emanating from the pond behind the beach and the rude attitude towards Americans. We did smell the odor once briefly, and that was very slight. Friar’s still remains one of our favorites for excellent sand gravity, free beach chairs, good French food and hospitality. It is much more laid back than Orient, and I think that is why we like it. We didn’t experience the rude attitude towards Americans that was described in another trip report. But, they remembered us from previous visits, so maybe that helped. Not to belabor the point, but at Friar’s Beach Café, we had great stuffed mussels, bacon and goat cheese salad, mushroom pie, etc. etc. Galleon Beach is ok, - great for kids because of the extensive shallow and calm water, but not our favorite. <br><br>Orient really has changed since our last trip in 1999, (Lenny survivor.) It has built up a lot as mentioned by earlier reports. The beach was crowded and much was going on. We were sad to see Pedro’s closed on several different days, which we heard is now their practice when the cruise ships are not in port. Maybe someone on the Board can add more to this rumor. So, we ate at Tiko Tiko and had a good, but not great lunch. We were “hustled” quite a bit for beach chairs at Orient. We could hardly walk 20 paces without being accosted. We did not notice this on our other trips. Since the beach has eroded so much, you really are walking right in front of the occupied beach chairs. Twenty years ago, Orient would probably appeal to us much more. Right now, we like the pace of Baie Rouge and Friar’s. That is the appeal of SXM, it has something for everybody. <br><br>We met several TTOL’ers at SSBB and later, the “Canadians” who were a heck of a lot of fun. (Hi to Ron from Ontario, Canada.) We had great neighbors, Ralph and Kay from Detroit. <br><br>One afternoon the ladies absconded with the car to go shopping in Phillipsburg for a “short time” while we left the guys at SSBB. Many thanks to Aletha of SSBB who babysat our fellows while we were gone. They did an excellent job of punishing the evil liver and were moving quite slowly the next day. Nary a peep out of them about our Phillipsburg treasures. <br><br>The Village Bakery on Billy Folly Road is excellent. Great breads, tortes and a pastry cheese sandwich to die for. We barbecued and ate on our deck 5 or 6 times. Add a dessert from Village Bakery and you have a very special dinner. <br><br>We picked up some banana MaDouDou at Food Center. It made terrific banana coladas. Just use Ma DouDou instead of rum, usual colada ingredients and add a sliced banana. <br><br>We finally made it to the Butterfly Farm. Great educational experience. We had a very enthusiastic guide, who was the nurseryperson. However, after our visit she gave us a 20 minute session on saving the earth and all the guys could think of (shifting from foot to foot) was quenching their thirst. Off we dashed to the Galleon Beach Bar. If you want to go surf-boarding being pulled by a parachute, Galleon Beach is the place. Way too much effort for me.<br><br>We visited Cheri’s once for our friends to experience. They were glad they went, but once was enough. Food so-so. Although we sampled many other places and levels of culinary ability, our friends felt that their best food experience was at Friar’s Beach (Sunday midday meal with the locals) and the Boathouse. We were surprised.<br><br>We were a little concerned about our friend’s reaction to the casual attitude of topless and c/o at the beaches. Never to fear, they soon adopted a “When in Rome”… etc. <br><br>Hubby and I are counting the days to go back again this November. We are having a reunion with a few of the people we became very close to (literally) during Hurricane Lenny. <br><br><br> <br><br> <br><br><br>PamJ<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Administrator on 8/8/01 02:51 PM.</EM></FONT></P>