This got WAY too long. I should have split it up or edited it down, but didn’t.. Read what may be of interest and skip the rest. I say this every time, but the written word sometimes gets interpreted differently than the spoken word. If I offended anyone, I’m sorry.


Flights: Sun Country charter non-stop from Mpls. New planes with a lot of leg room. How lucky is that! They seem to be recovering nicely from difficult financial times.
Sat behind Dave and Britt on the plane, got an early start on “Island” chatter.

Accommodations: The “Book Ends of Orient Beach” The first week we stayed at [/b][b]Les Balcons on Oyster Pond. I was a little nervous what room we would get assigned to, but was elated when we got a upgraded American owned bungalow with an extra large terrace and fantastic view. After staying in hotels near Orient village the past 5 years, we thought we should try something different and Oyster Pond was great. I guess we like things a little on the quieter side and yet you are only minutes away from almost everything (during low traffic hours). Plenty of good restaurants within walking distance. Maybe the only slight disadvantage is you cannot walk to the beach. After one week we moved to a studio in Pavilion Beach, Grand Case. (the northwest bookend of Orient) We got lucky with an early check-in, so we left Les Balcons at 9:30 and were checked in at Pavilion Beach by 10:15. We did not “lose an entire day” as some have suggested. We rented from an American owner through VRBO. Ground level, several doors down from La Petite Hotel. We could throw a stone in the water from our patio. I do not recall reading any feedback from this property or any others on the west end of Grand Case Beach. We felt for the first time in 6 trips that we were “living” with the local residents. It seemed like most of the tourists staying on that end of the beach were not Americans. Very few people spoke English, but we felt extremely welcome and did not feel unsafe. The parking is very limited and a definite problem ( 7 spaces for 18 rooms).

Beachs: Spent most days at Orient Beach. Got some chairs at Pirate for $12 with 2 drinks. We found it a little nicer next door at Orange Fever for $14 with 2 drinks. They have a new structure built with their own nice bathroom and shower. They intend to open the restaurant in March. I believe this is where pizza yoyo is located, and I think pizza will go over very well in that part of the beach. Orange Fever has very comfortable cushions and new big umbrellas plus tables. There is a turf war for setting up chairs and there were a few discussions taking place about being 6 inches over the “line”. It’s too bad the chairs are so close together. It gets worse every year.
Dawn Beach was very nice, got our chairs from Ms.B for $10, They are spread out with lots of space between. Wish there were a few more places to eat over there. We got questioned several times about getting chairs from Mr. Busby’s and where we had parked.
Friars Bay was also nice,$6 for chairs if you eat lunch at Friars Beach Bar. Grand Case Beach was right outside our door the second week. It’s actually a nice beach which is hardly used. Very few chairs to rent but we had access to our own.
Simpson Bay Beach. Free chairs at Karacters if you have lunch and drinks.

Breakfast: Most were on our deck/patio, could order fresh pastries the day before at Les Balcons and have them delivered to the hotel. Baywatch is always good. Our best find was L’Ile Flottante Creperie( recently discussed on this board) located at the Y in Grand Case near Bounty. The locals flood the place and they speak very little English. All their food was very good, but I loved the Ham and Gouda omelet $ 7.50, and they would always add onions for no charge. The restaurant is covered with a canopy of flowers 30 ft in diameter. It is home to about 100 Bananakeits which they feed sugar to. Our last day we gave the owner $5 for their bird sugar fund and they were all smiles. We will drive back there just for breakfast next year.

Lunch: Pirate Beach Bar has good wraps,grouper etc. $7-12 range,$2 beers Chicken Sate wrap the favorite.
Chez Leandra also good wraps about the same price, Service a little slow, but who cares.
Mr. Busbys, pretty much the only place to eat on Dawn Beach. Pretty good ribs and salads. No more $.75 beers
Baywatch, I think I liked the clams with linguini even better than the mussels. They come in a big black pot. The cheese cake is pretty tasty as well.
Toppers, Had the grinder sandwich/fries $10 and Toppers goat cheese salad $8. I know you shouldn’t be eating meatballs in St Martin, but it sounded good. At least you can park here with ease.
Friars Beach Bar, Had my first hamburger on the Island in 6 trips. Very good
Cornies on the Boardwalk, Ribs were good, not great $10
Capt Frenchy’s near the Y in Grand Case (beach side) They speak very little English. Had a very good chicken/onion/pepper skewer with fresh vegetables and a healthy portion of seasoned mashed potatoes which were excellent and a nice change of pace. $13. Nice clean setting, quiet part of town, nice change from the lolos. Probably our best new find for lunch. We didn’t have it, but they advertise lobster for 29 euro a kilo, and most Grand Case higher end restaurants are close to 60 euro a kilo. They brought in a huge pot of large lobsters while we were there. It’s always kind of fun when they dump them out and they waddle around on the floor while the chef picks out the ones he wants.
Skys the limit. Whenever you can get the ribs coming right off the grill, they are the best. If they pull them off a warming area, good chance they will be a little dried out.
Karacters. Great lunch on real dishes. Bucket of 6 beers for $12, fun new place.


Dinner:
Captain Olivers Saturday night buffet. Our expectations were high, and we were not disappointed . The selection and presentation were excellent and we would highly recommend it. In addition to the over the top seafood choices were great prime rib and roast pig. Also a huge selection of hot and cold side dishes, and the dessert “boat” was wonderful. It is a lot of food, but if you exercise a little self control, you might get by with stents instead of by-pass surgery. Nice setting on the water, with live entertainment. $45/pp plus 15% added tip. I’ve been to Claude’s Mini Club also. I like Capt O better for my dollar, but they are both good.
Dingy Dock: Great ribs, good fish and chips. Had a seafood linguini/cream sauce dish that was one of my better meals. It was loaded with bite size chunks of red snapper and shrimp.$13. All the food is reasonably priced, fun place.
Marks Place: Hard to beat the prices for quality food in large portions. Wait staff very friendly, good service. Great ribs, “head-on” red snapper in foil, poached with peppers and onions was excellent ($15). 1 app, 6 drinks, 4 meals, tip. $80
Mama’s Pizza: a short walk down the hill from Les Balcons. A huge excellent pizza and a couple of drinks,tip. $24 When we left there was a basket of bread sitting by the exit. Susan asked if it was for sale. They insisted we take a loaf and since it was near closing time,encouraged us to take it all! We took one loaf and it was very good.
Cheries: Don’t holler at us, after 6 years we decided to try it. It wasn’t our destination when we started out the evening, but we ended up there. The food wasn’t too bad, more like fuel. Pretty good shrimp and a decent ribeye, drinks, dessert, tip. $52 The “show” was as described. Not sure any of that crew is going to Hollywood, but it was simple fun and ok. Not sure it will be on our repeat list.
Quai Quest: Near Dinghy Dock on Oyster Pond. Small French restaurant, very quiet right on the water. 1 app,2 entrees (scallop/ shrimp dish that was great) 2 desserts, water,tip $80
L’Estaminet: Across from California(used to be La Mambo).Recommended from several people. Started with an app of sauteed vegetables/green tea pumpkin glaze/ poached egg on the top/ with a hint of the ylang ylang flower from Madagascar. We ordered one to split, but they put it one 2 plates and essentially gave us each our own and charged us for 1. It was awesome. Susan had salmon cooked and served on a stone that was great, and I had duck done perfectly. We shared a chocolate dessert plate with 6 different items (plenty for 2 people). They gave us the prettiest complimentary “shot” we ever had. Bottom layer Kahlua, next Bailys, next cream, sprinkled with a little cocoa powder on top. Called Tiramasu $1.15- 1 euro. $85 plus tip. Our opinion is, this restaurant is comparable or better than a number of other Grand Case restaurants, and has modest prices. We will return.
Le Gallion: We goofed and went to Marigot Marina on a Sunday night. We didn’t realize how many restaurants were closed. Onion soup was extremely bland, shrimp scallop fettuccine was good but a small portion. Had to listen to the waiter complain about why they couldn’t do a lower exchange rate. ( they would lose the French business) All we did was ask what the exchange rate was. Soup, 2 entrees, bottle of water, tip $95. Probably our worst value/ dinner decision of the trip.
La Petite Auberge de Ilse: Our only “must repeat every year” restaurant. Always do the fixed price menu, and they often let you have a small portion of their special main entrees for your starter. Nice people, small quiet spot, great rums shots at the end. 25 euros pp for fixed price menu. 1-1.30
Le Ti Coin Creole: We think this is the “Yvettes” of Grand Case. Its off the main track on the road to Grand Case Beach Club. Good Creole dishes for reasonable prices. Had the conch cocktail to start, stuffed grilled red snapper, chicken with tamarind glaze, water. All very good. Carl Richards owner/chef was very nice and Joel our waiter was the same. $65
Au Grain de Sel: Great spot in Cul de Sac area. This restaurant is worth it’s salt! Susan had veal, I had duck, both very good. They came with a side of scalloped potatoes plus more which was a nice change. We got the last table in the place, they were full. Didn’t try it, but the pizzas looked great, people said they were great, and they were huge($13-16). Got a shot of rum that I know would have burned if I lit it. I had to drink Susan’s, darn. $58
Pineapple Petes; Finally got there. Fun place with live music. Went with Dave and Britt. Susan said her coconut shrimp were some of the best she had anywhere, and I had to have the lobster thermidoir. It was really good. They could maybe try a little harder on the frozen mixed veggies, but it was a fun evening. The thermidoir was $36, don’t remember the rest.
Brasserie des Iles: Our last night wasn’t our best. Maybe caught them on a bad night. We ordered 1 onion soup to start and a pizza. The pizza came in about 15 minutes, and it was good, but the vegetables were barely warm. The soup arrived after we were done with the pizza and we ate slow. It had a very odd taste to it. Not sure if it was goat cheese or what on the top, or maybe a heavy wine in the broth, but we really didn’t even eat much of it. They offered 2 rum punches when we were looking at the menu, but they never arrived, and I didn’t ask. I know a lot of people like this place, may try it again someday.

Fun Stuff:
SXM Lovers party at the Iguana Bar. Met a lot of new people and saw some friends from previous years. Great location and turnout. Was fun giving Norm a monogrammed hat. I guess he didn’t really need the name on the hat, everybody knows him already. Thanks for putting together the party Norm.
One Eyed Jacks. Got to meet Dan and Pam and a bunch of other crazy Canadians. Being from Minnesota, I seemed to relate to them pretty well. I think their culture is sliding down south of the border a little bit. Eh? Also saw Bill and Elaine there again. What a delightful couple. I think they are our new role models on how to enjoy life and the Island.
Had friends meet us on Orient from a cruise ship visit, and a week later our daughter/son-in-law and crew did the same thing.
Brought monogrammed Baywatch hats to Adrian and Ross (Cheryl and Andy also). They seemed to like them and were generous with a few complimentary beverages.
Enjoyed several beach days, dinners and the Lambada cruise with Dave and Britt. Hope to see them during the year since we live fairly close to each other. Fun couple to hang out with.
Beach reads. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Husseini (Kite Runner) A really good book wherever you are. Gone Bamboo and Wet Feet. Kind of fun sitting on Dawn Beach reading about stuff going on in a fictitious villa overlooking Dawn Beach. The Ambassadors Son by Homer Hickman. Don’t know how I got that book down there, but don’t waste your time.

New Idea
I obviously spent more time with my mouth ( talking) on the beach than my eyes(reading). That may account for my lower lip getting sun burnt several times. I have more than a casual interest in the oral cavity and have an idea which I would like to share. I want to develop a Carib based mouth rinse with a rating of at least SPF 45 sun blocking ability. Of course we would have to make effective only if swallowed. I’m looking at different formulas and flavors, seems like a hint of lime might work. I figure Bill and Elaine could be my “on island” snoopervisors, Dave from Minnesota could be in charge of marketing., Dan could be the official taster, Norm could be the Oyster Pond Rep etc etc. The rest of you can help in the initial test marketing. If you have any thoughts on this, let me know, think how many people we could employ and do our part to help the economy.

Random Thoughts:
Traffic was not too bad except when we picked the wrong time to go somewhere. Crime did not seem to be an issue for us. Seemed to be more police presence on both sides of the Island.
The Island does not seem to be as busy as it was, but that is only our impression. Everywhere we went we asked people how things were and they all said it was slow. My opinion is that the main cause of the slow down is the economy, not crime fears. I was amazed how many people we ran into who knew little or nothing about St Martin and were full of questions. I really don’t think the majority of the people visiting the Island have a concern over crime issues. I’m not sure if that is good or bad, but I lean towards good.

The people we have met and continue to meet are what makes this Island our favorite by far. Both locals and TTOLers. We were looking for a place to park by Au Grain de Sel, and pulled in front of a house next door. I got out and asked the lady sitting on her porch if I could maybe park there. She said sure, but park a little closer so no one hits you. Seconds later she said,” Why don’t you just come up in our driveway, it would be so much safer and easier.” Her husband came out and directed us to a parking place with a smile. Common courtesy, respect and a smile go a long way in this world no matter who you are or where you are from.


Susan and I took a walk down to the end of Grand Case Beach early one morning. We noticed a red and white boat on the southern most end which had obviously been pummeled and sunk against the rocks. Probably from Luiz or some other bad storm. The boats name was Elena. I’m sure it was the pride and joy(and possibly livelihood) of someone. It almost seemed to represent a monument to the many other boats and individuals who may have been lost for one reason or another.
On the walk back, we noticed 2 men quietly digging in the sand up on a slightly walled off flat area. We soon realized that they were digging a grave. Several days earlier we witnessed the police helicopter and rescue boats searching for and recovering the body of the unfortunate young man who drowned on Orient Beach. We wondered if the grave being prepared might be the final resting place for that young man. We felt sorrow for his family and it caused us to reflect on a lot of things. We consider it a privilege to be able to come and spend our vacations on this special Island. This is not “our” Island and we have to remember that. The people here have the same hopes and joy along with disappointment and sorrow as we do and we need to respect that. I think most of us do.

See you next year.