Sorry for the delay in getting this trip report done. We returned May 6 after 12 glorious days at Club O to be greeted by the worst floods in our area for 30 years. We have spent the past week cleaning up our property. Fortunately, there was no damage, but it was the first time we ever felt like it was a good <br>thing that we left SXM.<br><br>This was our 6th consecutive year on Orient Beach, and we always stay at Club O. The beach itself is wonderful, but it is the Club Orient atmosphere and experience that we return to time and again. <br><br>Overall, not much has changed over the years. For us, this is more a plus than a minus. We very much like the absence of TV and telephones. Because we have to be reachable, we always make arrangements in advance with East Caribbean <br>Cellular. We have never had any problems with them. When we arrive at the airport, we just switch our phone over. Most times we leave it in the room. Since only three people get the number, it's easy to track a missed call.<br><br>We also always rent a car from the Hertz rep at Club O. May be a bit more expensive, but it's very convenient, since we don't like to drive back and forth from the airport. The car stays parked most of the time.<br><br>Our days are always pretty much the same. Early morning walks on the beach, quiet evenings, and early to bed anticipating another day on the beach talking to <br>old friends and meeting new ones. Since most people return the same time each year, there are always familiar faces. Returning to Club O, is like coming home. <br>We hear that phrase often. Our TTOL flag always attracts attention and provides the opportunity of meeting new people.<br><br>This year our friends from elsewhere in Tennessee were once again staying in the chalet right behind us. We've come to know them and the people they travel <br>with each year and enjoy stopping by during their nightly happy hour.<br><br>This being said, a few comments:<br>Yes, the beach at the Club O end is far narrower than a year ago. Water laps at the patio wall at Papagayo at high tide tending to isolate the small beach area between it and the water sports shop. Amazingly, all the sand seems to have moved to the other end of Orient Beach where now one finds wide beach where none existed before. From what we hear, the folks at Club O are just keeping their fingers crossed that the situation will reverse itself in time. We hope so, for if it gets much worse it will become a real detracting factor. The lack of beach is <br>also a problem from Pedros as far down as Kon Tiki. Cheryl at Baywatch says she's losing a bundle because there is no room to put out her chairs. Early every morning, we saw the owners of other beach bars shoveling sand to make steps to <br>get into their property.<br><br>With less beach there is less room for beach chairs. We quickly found that unlike in years past, the early bird gets the worm and the late one gets nothing! Parks <br>was up between 5:30 and 6:00 AM each morning to stake out beach chairs, and was by no means alone. The situation improved slightly as the April crowd thinned into May, but it remained a problem. Hate to say this, but if the narrow <br>beach lingers, Club O may have to do something to assure that those staying on the property have chairs. On the flip side, reservin chairs you aren't going to use isn't fair either. Just a few minor problems in Paradise. Chairs were a frequent topic of conversation while we were there. Kind of a nice break from wars and the economy. We also feel the chairs are getting a little long in the tooth and very much need a wholesale replacement. <br><br>While on the subject of the beach, our biggest disappointment is that we, the people who love it so much are littering. It is sad to see tons of cigarette butts, <br>plastic cups and other litter left in the sand at the end of the day. This is new! <br>Perhaps management could do a better job of cleaning up each day, but the buck stops with we who leave the stuff in the first place. There are trash cans everywhere. We're cigar smokers, so we have nothing against those who smoke. <br>But it's so easy to put butts in the sand right next to your chair (or in an empty Carib bottle) and then pick them up when you leave.<br><br>As far all the construction going on along Orient Beach. What can we say? We don't think it adds anything and wonder who is doing all the building and what they are thinking. Hope they have deep enough pockets to wait until business <br>picks up.<br><br>We took the Tiko Tiko trip for our fourth time. This one was great! There were six couples that all got along fabulously. That is the key to a good experience. If <br>there is bad karma, bad trip! We would like the time on the boat itself to be longer, with the time on the beach being shorter. It's fine in the morning, but the afternoon can get long. They could easily wander around a little longer. <br>Under sail it cost them nothing. And speaking of cost, they raised the price per person from $85 to $95 while we were there. The exchange rate was the reason, <br>we were told. Since the boat didn't go out every day while we were there, it seems like someone is using the old "if business is slow, raise the prices" strategy.<br><br>As for beach food, we like Baywatch for the most consistently varied and well prepared food. Next in line would be the wonderful tortilla wraps at the Bikini <br>Beach Bar washed down with a cold Carib. We also had good food at Chez Leandra, right next to Baywatch. Leandra was lovely. We hope she makes it.<br><br>After lunch, it's always back to our chairs to people watch. There seemed to be fewer cruise ship folks walking the beach this year. But maybe it was just lucky <br>timing. Have to say, though, they don't bother us as much as they seem to bother others. We see no reason to react to them in one way or another. The Club O guards are generally quick to spot cameras and potential trouble makers. We like to take our clothes off. Some people like to walk by looking at people who take their clothes off. No big deal.<br><br>While we saw fewer textiles walking the beach in front of Club O, we thought there was more nudity on the rest of Orient Beach. We take that as a good sign and hope it continues. <br><br>Everyone has an opinion on restaurants. We ate in Grand Case fewer times this year. Not by design, it just happened that way. Our best dinners away from Club O were at the Sunset Café at the Grand Case Beach Resort, and the <br>beautifully intimate restaurant at Esmeralda Resort on Orient Beach. Dick and Paula invited us to join them there one night. The food was great and we <br>enjoyed getting to know them better. Best fun food for the price; always the LooLoo?s in Grand Case. Don?t miss the real no kidding homemade coconut ice cream at The Talk of the Town. Worth a trip just for that. Chez Martin, a <br>favorite of ours, was closed the whole time we were there. Someone said the chef was sick. Hope to read on the board that it's up and running again.<br><br>We usually eat a couple of lunches and a few dinners at Papagayo, mainly because it's close by, we don't have to put our clothes on and if we've done happy hour, it's better to walk than drive. We also like to dance, when there's music. It's not great. It's not awful. It's Papagayos. That's the kind of attitude we <br>get after a day or two in SXM. We were sorry to see the more limited choices on the dinner menu, though. We've always felt that Papgayo has never quite <br>decided what it wants to be. <br><br>We went to our first TTOL party at Calmos. It was good to meet Dick and Bev and many other people. We hope the parties continue on the French side, since we are among those who rarely venture far from Orient Beach.<br><br>While the locals say tourism is better this year than last, we found many shops and some restaurants closed. This is of little concern to us personally, as we find it hard to tear ourselves away from the beach and camaraderie at good old Club O. But we do worry about the island and its economy.<br><br>Yes, we are booked for next year, same time, same place. And we're looking forward to seeing all our friends and making new ones. In the meantime, we'll be sunning our buns at a couple of naturist resorts in Tennessee and Georgia. <br><br>Parks and Suzanne <br>Chattanooga, Tennessee
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