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Trip report, 6/15 to 6/23<br><br>Cheryl and I took our fifth trip to paradise from 6/15 to 6/23. It had been nearly six years since our previous visit during late August of 1995, at which time we just missed hurricane Luis’ fury! I know from this board and from other sources that Luis devastated St. Maarten, but I’m pleased to report that the island has recovered well and looks great. If only something could be done about Mullet Bay…<br><br>This was also the first time we made the trip by ourselves. We enjoy traveling with other couples/friends, but this trip was to be for us alone: a combination 15th wedding anniversary and 40th birthday celebration (for Cheryl). I had some worries going into the trip that St. Maarten might not be as much fun without a group. Was I ever wrong! We had an absolutely fantastic vacation that was over far too soon.<br><br>With the exception of some rain as we arrived on Saturday, the weather was nearly perfect. We did absolutely nothing but eat, drink, sunbathe, and snuggle for the entire week. We were total slugs and wouldn’t change a thing if we had to do it over again. As a matter of fact, I think we’ll go back next year for a repeat performance… <br><br>The rest of this report is fairly long and detailed, so here’s the summary if you want the condensed version: Our flights were fine, the weather was great, our accommodations (villa) were great, we got a pretty good deal on a (white) rental car and had no problems with the rental arrangements, we went to the beach every day, drank lots of beer, wine, and rum punch, ate plenty of ribs, and totally relaxed. Everyone was friendly and helpful. We shall return!<br><br>Friday, 6/15<br>The trip from Denver to St Maarten is a long one! Add the time change and the desire to use frequent flier miles (from United) and it gets longer. We decided to split the trip over two days, starting on Friday afternoon, so we could arrive in St Maarten at a decent hour on Saturday. The flight from Denver to Washington, DC was uneventful and we stayed overnight at the Airport Hyatt.<br><br>Saturday, 6/16<br>We got bumped up to first class for our flight to San Juan. So far, things were off to a good start! The flight was great and we enjoyed all the cheering when the plane landed in San Juan. We had forgotten about this fun custom. We checked in for our American Eagle flight to St Maarten and met a nice couple in line. They were on their way to St. Maarten for the first time and were so excited about their trip - it was infectious! We ended up sitting across from them on the plane, sharing ideas for things to do, restaurants to try, etc. We warned them that they would probably do about half of what they planned!<br><br>Our flight arrived right on time. We zipped through immigration, collected our luggage in record time, and snagged our standard issue white rental car. The car was arranged through Tropical Rental and we had no problems[img]/images/icons/thumbsup.gif[/img]. The car was in great shape with low miles and was ~$140 for the week.<br><br>For this trip, we rented a villa called Falaise des Oiseaux (Cliff of the Birds) in the French Lowlands. The villa (and the car) were arranged through Leslie’s Vacation Villas (now known as Jennifer’s Vacation Villas). All arrangements were made via email and everything was as advertised. This was our second rental from Jennifer’s. Jennifer is a terrific lady and runs an honest and trustworthy business[img]/images/icons/thumbsup.gif[/img]. <br><br>We were met at the airport by a representative from Jennifer’s and escorted to the Lowlands. After a quick tour of the villa, we took off for the market to load up on important provisions (Heinekens, Wine, and Gin, plus a little food). We bought salad fixings and a roasted chicken and headed back to the villa to enjoy a light dinner by the pool, against a phenomenal 180-degree view from Anguilla (west) to Baie Rouge and Marigot (east).<br><br>Sunday, 6/17<br>We got up fairly early, made breakfast at the house, and lounged around the pool for a while. I had read about SSBB on this board, so we decided to check it out. Met Heidi (gorgeous), had a few Caribs (delicious), sympathized with the poor souls that were heading to the airport to go home, and watched some planes land. It’s a fun place and our car would be magnetically attracted to SSBB on several other occasions during the week[img]/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]! After SSBB, we headed to what had been (and now continues to be) one of our favorite beaches on St. Maarten - Baie Rouge. First stop was Chez Raymond’s for ribs and drinks. The ribs were good, but not fantastic – the fries were excellent. Total bill for the two of us (lunch, drinks, and tip) was $23. While we were eating, the band started up – not the best band we ever heard, but what they lacked in talent was more than offset by their enthusiasm. Music, ribs, rum punch, and feet in the sand in St Maarten – it’s an awesome combination[img]/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]!<br><br>After lunch, we settled in on the beach and headed down to the water for a swim. It occurred to us that we had been on the island for nearly 24 hours and hadn’t been in the ocean yet - shameful[img]/images/icons/sad.gif[/img]! The water was nice and warm and relaxing. We spent the rest of the day at Baie Rouge – reading, sleeping, and swimming (but not all at the same time).<br><br>We headed into Marigot for dinner with no particular restaurant in mind and ended up at “le Bar de la Mer.” We didn’t really have high expectations, having done no planning and having never heard of this place, but it turned out great[img]/images/icons/thumbsup.gif[/img]. We had fish (Tuna for me, Salmon for Cheryl) with a wonderful side of perfectly cooked vegetables. The service was great and they gave us a free after dinner rum shot that was quite tasty. Apparently the rum shot is standard practice. Rum is cheap, but it was still a nice little touch. I had planned to pay the bill in FF using my credit card as a hedge against the local exchange rate, but paid in US$ cash when I noticed that they had nicely and honestly converted to US$ at just over 7FF/$[img]/images/icons/smile.gif[/img].<br><br>Monday, 6/18<br>We had a light breakfast at the house and headed to the Activity Center, where we rented a pair of sand chairs ($4/day) for the rest of our stay. Then it was off to Cupecoy to eliminate those darn tan lines[img]/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]. Cupecoy had much less sand than our previous visits, but it is still a beautiful beach with large, rolling waves. It’s secluded and private and the cliffs are stunning. We were there for several hours and the “crowd” peaked at maybe 6 couples[img]/images/icons/thumbsup.gif[/img].<br><br>After sufficient baking time, we headed toward Philipsburg for our one big grocery-shopping event at Rams and then headed back to the house for rum punch and pool-side relaxation. <br><br>Toward dusk, we headed off to Baie aux Prunes (Plum Bay) to enjoy the sunset, along with the requisite crackers, cheese, and wine. The sunset was terrific and we were the only people on the entire beach – very romantic[img]/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]. Here’s the slightly scary part: It was nearly dark as we headed back down the path toward our car. Coming toward us was a man with what I thought was a spear gun at first, until I realized it was a rifle (in a padded case). The gentleman’s English was as good as my French (bad), but we ultimately figured out that he was part of the security force for the Lowlands area and that the area is closed to non-residents after 6pm. I was able to explain to him that we were staying in the Lowlands and had a pass that presumably allowed us to be there. He said, “OK,” walked back to our car with us, and bid us adieu. We headed back to the house for dinner (grilled salmon with fruit salsa[img]/images/icons/thumbsup.gif[/img]) and a good night’s sleep.<br><br>Tuesday, 6/19<br>We got up fairly early and ate a big breakfast at the house. We had read about Ms. B’s on this board and decided that Dawn beach should be our destination for the day. Dawn is very pretty, but felt a little too touristy to us with the hotels/condos hovering nearby and the plethora of lounge chairs all lined up. Having said that, we thoroughly enjoyed our day. Lunch at Ms. B’s was awesome – the best ribs I ever ate[img]/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/images/icons/thumbsup.gif[/img] [img]/images/icons/thumbsup.gif[/img]! We spent some time talking with Ms. B herself and told her that we had seen her ad and read about her place on TTOL. She’s a delight and serves up a great lunch for a fair price – definitely recommended.<br><br>The waves at Dawn were pretty good and I was able to do a little body serving. I felt like a kid again[img]/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]! After a couple more hours of baking, reading, sleeping, and swimming, we loaded up the car and headed toward Banana’s for the TTOL party. On the way, we swung by Chesterfields at Bobby’s Marina to see if was still there. Chesterfields was still there and nicely fixed up. I’m assuming Mr. Luis forced the remodeling, but in any case we were glad to see it still there, as this was a favorite casual dining spot during previous visits. The TTOL party was great and it was fun to put faces to many of the regular BB members. Banana’s very nicely loaded us up on appetizers[img]/images/icons/thumbsup.gif[/img], which for us, turned out to be dinner[img]/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]. A quick stop at SSBB on the way home, late-night chatting and a quick dip in the pool, and then off to bed to await another day in paradise…<br><br>Wednesday, 6/20<br>For Wednesday’s beaching experience, we decided to try Happy Bay as recommended by Jeff Berger’s St. Maarten web site. We headed off fairly early and stopped for a very nice and inexpensive breakfast (eggs, toast, croissant, and strong coffee) on the way. Once again, we were pleasantly surprised to be offered over 7FF/$ for the exchange[img]/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]. <br><br>Happy Bay is a 5-10 minute hike from Friar’s Bay, via a path that starts from the far end of Friar’s (opposite end from parking area). The hike starts off fairly steep, but quickly levels off to a very pleasant walk through unspoiled goat country, and then drops down fairly gently to Happy Bay[img]/images/icons/thumbsup.gif[/img] [img]/images/icons/thumbsup.gif[/img]. Happy Bay is beautiful and very secluded – almost too secluded! For the first hour or so, we were the only people on the beach except for a local man that was climbing palm trees and collecting coconuts. This same gentleman approached us with a coconut in one hand and a rather large knife in the other, and to be honest, it made me quite nervous. It turned out that the man was just being nice. He cut the top off the coconut and encouraged us to try the milk inside, which was a little warm and sweet for my taste, but still a fun experience. After that, he wished us a happy vacation and headed off. I’m still feeling a little guilty about being so suspicious!<br><br>The “crowd” at Happy Bay peaked at two couples, and then we left and it was back down to one. We decided to head to Orient for lunch and afternoon sunbathing, but first we had to find it[img]/images/icons/sad.gif[/img]! We had been to Orient many times during previous visits, but it had built up so much in six years that the roads in to the Orient area all looked “wrong” to us. We finally found a familiar road, drove past the “kiddie park,” parked the car, and headed for the beach. The beach is still very pretty, although as mentioned by many on this board, not nearly as deep as it used to be. I know that many of the regulars on this board love it, but for us, Orient has changed too much and we have no need to go there again. We had a great lunch at Baywatch South and enjoyed chatting with Andy and Cheryl[img]/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]. After a somewhat late lunch, we decided that we didn’t “need” to be at Orient any more and headed home. We spent a relaxing afternoon lounging by the pool and grilled a steak for dinner. It was yummy.<br><br>Thursday, 6/21<br>We had a light breakfast at the house and headed off for Baie Longue for our morning sunbathing session. While there, Cheryl finished reading the Blanchard’s book, A Trip the Beach[img]/images/icons/thumbsup.gif[/img], which I had finished a couple of days earlier. It’s a fun book and describes the trials and tribulations of an American couple that moved to Anguilla and opened a restaurant. We’ve made several days trips to Anguilla in the past, and also stayed there for three days in 1995. The book brought back many happy memories (Shoal Bay, Uncle Ernie’s, Scilly Cay, etc.) and we toyed with the idea of taking a day trip on Friday. The idea lasted for about 5 minutes, and then sand gravity set in[img]/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]! We headed back to the house for lunch, and then to Baie Rouge for an afternoon baking session.<br><br>We decided to head to Chesterfields for dinner. But first, we had to stop at SSBB (‘cause it was on the way) for the sunset and refreshments. It was a bit hazy, so the sunset wasn’t all that great; however, the refreshments were fine. <br><br>Dinner at Chesterfields was a disappointment[img]/images/icons/sad.gif[/img] [img]/images/icons/sad.gif[/img]. As mentioned earlier, we found Chesterfields to be a great casual dining spot during previous visits – decent food, good service, and decent value for money. Either our memories were wrong, they had a bad night, or they’ve gone down hill – who knows? The food was average at best and the service was flat – not bad, but not good either. The service charge was added to the bill, which is a practice that I don’t particularly care for. I don’t recall them doing previously, but again, my memory may be flawed. Chesterfields is no longer high on our list[img]/images/icons/sad.gif[/img] [img]/images/icons/thumbsdown.gif[/img] [img]/images/icons/thumbsdown.gif[/img].<br><br>Friday, 6/22<br>This was to be our last full day in St. Maarten[img]/images/icons/sad.gif[/img]. We got up early, had a light breakfast at the house, and headed off to Cupecoy. Once again, it was fairly quiet (~6 couples) and very relaxing[img]/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]. After sufficient baking time, we headed off to the Activity Center to return the sand chairs[img]/images/icons/sad.gif[/img], and then back to the house to lounge by the pool. We then headed off to Baie Rouge (again) for a late lunch of ribs and rum punch at Chez Raymond’s. We stayed at the beach until about 6:30pm and then headed back to the house for a light dinner and to begin packing[img]/images/icons/sad.gif[/img]. Maybe Santa will give us a winning lottery ticket for Christmas so we can stay in paradise forever next time [img]/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]/images/icons/smile.gif[/img].<br><br>Saturday, 6/23<br>Time to make our way back to Denver[img]/images/icons/sad.gif[/img]. We ate a light breakfast, finished packing, said goodbye to the house and the pool, and headed off to the airport to check in. The line at Liat was fairly short and we checked in quite quickly [img]/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]. We paid our departure tax and headed off to SSBB for one last Carib - we did not want to leave[img]/images/icons/sad.gif[/img]! We headed back to the airport, returned the car (very easy and convenient), and boarded the plane for a long but uneventful trip home. The trip home was Liat to San Juan, then United from San Juan to Denver (via Chicago). <br><br>Wrap up<br>We had a great trip and will of course be back to St. Maarten in the future[img]/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]. When you’re there, you can’t help dreaming about moving to St. Maarten. We could sell up everything, move to the island, go to the beach during the day, and tend bar at night. I’m sure Neil would give me a job, but then again, maybe I’m not the right gender[img]/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]. How about buying a villa and converting it to a B&B? Oh well, just dreaming…<br><br><br>Bob (and Cheryl)<br><br><br><br>Bob<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Administrator on 7/16/01 03:52 PM.</EM></FONT></P>