For us, traveling down and back to the island always means a few days of travel. This year was no different. We left our home for the 6 hour drive plus a 2 ½ ferry ride, to New Brunswick to drop off our son with the grand parents. As we live far away from family and friends, it’s also his opportunity to enjoy time with aunts, uncles, nefews and nieces.

Then, on Thursday June 26th, time for the 3 hour drive to Moncton, New Brunswick, where we flew to New York, via Montreal. As i travel a lot for work, we used FF miles with Air Canada for this portion.

We spent the night in NYC, spending time with TTOL friends Bob and Pam. Great dinner at the Heartland Brewery and then went to see Rock of Ages on Broadway. Dessert at Junior’s after the show, then a few hours rest before our early morning flight

FLIGHTS : This year, we used USAir. We had been using AA for all of our trips except our first ever trip, but as USAir is now a Star Alliance partner, it enables me to us my FF status and also get Air Canada miles. We flew LGA-CLT-SXM, with no major issues both directions. We were about 45 minutes late leaving SXM due to mechanical problems, and with only 1h30 for connection time, i was a bit worried, but we made all of the lost time.

CUSTOMS/IMMIGRATIONS : No problems at all after arriving in SXM. As we were sitting at the front of the plane, we were at the front of the line. They had multiple booths open, and were through within minutes

As for coming back via CLT, same thing. One nice thing is that there is a special line for non US citizens coming back in the US, so that line is usually very short. A great experience coming back via CLT.

RENTAL CAR : Year after year, we use Michael and Unity. We have been satisfied customers for years. Great service, along with competitive pricing. And having faith that if something would happen with the car, that Michael would be there, is to me, the most important thing.

ACCOMODATIONS : We are Club Orient people. There is no better place to stay. Over the years, we have made long lasting friendships with people from all over, Canada, US, and Norway, friendships that are still strong today. We have also become very good friends with a lot of the staff, from Carlos, JP, Kenny, Nancy, Karine and Mimi.

This year, a change, we stayed in a mini suite. Usually, we would stay in studios, to them being closer to the beach, and most of the time, having a beach view, and closer to Papagayo. But we loved the mini suites, and #165. Closer to friends, closer to the Perch, where we had our chairs set up.

BEACHES : We used to drive and visit many beaches, but we love Orient, with all it has to offer, and all of our days are spent on the Club O side. The beach was as wide as I have even seen it.

RESTAURANTS : We are not what you call « foodies », so we usually have a few favorites we go to, and this year, tried a new one.

Brasserie des Iles (Le Pub) : Situated in Grand Case, nice French place for a good dinner. Their pizza is great, although we didn’t have it this year. Strongly suggest trying it if you have not already

Calmos Cafe : A must to do on a Sunday night. Situated in Grand Case, arrived early to catch the sunset. Great food, sitting right on the beach, feet in the sand. They have live music on Sundays

Pineapple Pete’s : For us, this is a must every year. Owned by Pierre, a fellow Quebec guy, very good food, live music, but the service is A+. I’m not a seafood eater, but Annie has her lobster thermador every year

Cito’s : A new one for us, and it was very good. Very laid back atmosphere. They had been closed for a couple of weeks, and were just re-opening, and had a limited menue. For sure, it’s on our list for next year.

Baywatch : What else can be said. Best ribs on the island. As soon as you walk in on day 1, you are welcomed home like you never left. We had a few lunches there

Orange Fever : A new find on Orient. Open since late last fall, very good pizza, and i would highly suggest.

Le Pirate : This year, probably not as good as in previous years. We ate there on July 4th for lunch, and normally they would have been closed. But they decided to open, with very limited staff. They did the best they could, but more then a few left after waiting for a bit and not getting served.

Pedro’s : As usual, good food.

Papagayo’s : We love Papagayo’s. We’ve always appreciated the food, and for us, we have always received nothing less then great service. We had, i think 6 dinners there. Some days, after a few drinks all day on the beach, you find yourself not wanting to get dressed and drive to dinner.

TIKO TIKO : Over the years, i have become good friends with Philipe, and it’s always a pleasure to see him again. This year, we had the boat on July 3rd, to celebrate Sue’s (lovesbeaches) birthday. We also had someone else celebrating a bithday that day with us, and unfortuately, she was seasick. We had a full boat, and a great time was had by all.

TTOL PARTY : We went to the Buccaneer Beach Bar for a small TTOL gathering. Got to meet a few people that we have « seen » on the board but had never met. Always fun to meet new people and talk SXM.


MISC : No jewelery shopping this year, and no casinos either. We are just finding that we want less and less wanting to go out all the way to the Dutch side at night. After long days on the beach, we are now finding ourselves just doing dinner and then back to Club O and spending time with friends.

Traffic was not bad, considering all the construction going around.

Once place i enjoy visiting is Gulmohars. Actually went 3 times this year. Great selection of liquor and cigars, and for me, kind of similar to Baywatch, always welcomed back with a smile. Great service, and being remembered year after year shows that they care about their customers.

As some of you might know, the company i work for, we own the Cost U Less chain, so took a few minutes to visit, say hello to the store manager and get a few thing.

FRIENDS : This was a different trip, as we are usually August visitors. So, we did miss our August friends Bob and Pam, Ryan and Jennifer and Lynette and James, along with new August friends Steve and Debbie. But they were all there in spirit, and we found ourselves saying every day, wish you were all here.

But we did have the great pleasure of spending 10 days with the John, Sue and Marissa again. Not sure we can put into words what their friendship means to us, and we had a great time. We laughed, drank, ate and just enjoyed the beach.

To new friends and mini suite neighbor, Richard (thanks for the new haircut) and Sherrie, what can i say. Great people all around, and you were the best neighbors we could have ever hoped for, and looking forward to seeing you again soon, if not maybe next year at Club O.

We did also meet many TTOL’ers, and Orientbeach.com’ers which i won’t name so i don’t forget anyone. But it shows how these boards do bring people together for the love on SXM.

LASTLY : Another great trip. The weather was perfect. Lost about 20 minutes of beach time due to rain in 10 days. Also, being there for the 4th of July was definitely interesting. What did we prefer? Probably August, because of all the friends we have at that time of the year. So, next year, probably back to August. But if work would prevent us, it’s a great time to visit.

Hope to see some of you on the island one day…!!!


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