I just got back from SXM. Usually I fly direct, but was trying to get rid of US Air miles and had to fly through CLT. No major problems going down but we arrived 30 minutes late. Alain from AAA met me at the airport with my car. This was the first time that I ever met Alain – I was beginning to doubt that he existed since I always get Myra. We sat in traffic for a bit going back to his office and chatted – what a really nice gentleman! I had planned on just using my work Verizon Blackberry instead of renting a phone since my sister was late with her first child. Odd thing – my Verizon phone worked fine on the Dutch side but the BB didn’t (but worked on the French side - weird!). So I ran by Sharon’s and quickly rented a phone so that I could stay in touch (and am glad I did since my niece was in N-ICU briefly – all’s good now). Then I was on my way to GCBC. Check-in was smooth and I got my usual room. Everyone was friendly as always.
I had sent Soontobenube an email to meet at Calmos Café at 7pm. After checking in at GCBC it was 5:30 and I realized that my BB was finally working and that he sent an email to meet between 5/5:30 so I dropped my bags and ran down Calmos. Turns out he arrived at 7 – oh well! He arrived with his lovely wife. We had drinks and then headed to the lolos. We went to the one on the water behind Sky’s the Limit. Excellent ribs with garlic! Yummy. After dinner we parted ways and I went to bed.
Friday: Woke up to an ok day. Had breakfast at Sunset Café (same routine every day of my trip). My first and last beach of every trip is Pinel – so I got dressed and headed over. But by 12 – the clouds came. By 1 it looked like bad rain – so I took the ferry back and am glad I did – the rains arrived while on the boat. So I decided to go change then head into P’burg to see Deepti at DK Gems. I was shopping for a ruby, but found that the prices were out of my range for what I wanted. I did fall in love with some blue diamonds and bought a ring/earrings. After shopping, I came back to Grand Case and went to dinner at il Nettuno. I had an excellent salmon and pasta dish which quickly filled me up so no dessert.
Saturday: same breakfast. It was still crappy weather but Anguilla looked lovely across the water so I moved my day out from Sunday to Saturday. I went to Marigot and grabbed the ferry ($15 ferry + $5 departure tax). The boat ride was lovely and I sat on top. After a quick trip through immigration I grabbed a taxi and headed off to Shoal Bay. My driver, Ulridge, pointed things out to me on the way and dropped me off at Gwen’s. I walked along the beach for awhile – it is stunning! I was the only person all day on the beach and only saw people as they walked by to eat at Gwen’s. I grabbed a quick late lunch at Gwen’s before Ulridge came back. It wasn’t that quick since a party of about 30 arrived at the same time that I did, but it was good. Ulridge took me back another way and pointed out more things on the island (taxi - $22 each way). Anguilla departure tax is $5 plus the $15 ferry ride back. I really enjoyed the trip but the boat ride back was a bit much. It was enclosed with no outdoor area so I did get a tad queasy. Luckily it wasn’t a long trip.
When I got back – I showered and then headed out to dinner. I decided to go to Spicy in Grand Case. I saw Sophie outside and was thrilled that she remembered me from last year and even remembered specific conversations. She must have an amazing memory. I was treated like family and enjoyed every moment. Also, Spicy is still 1:1 if you pay cash – I had read on TA that it wasn’t – but someone is putting out false information. I had the salmon with spinach and then the homemade ice cream with hot chocolate – yummy. My bill was somewhere around $40. The food/atmosphere/hospitality was excellent!
Sunday: same breakfast. Soontobenude and his wife invited me to Club O today. This was my first time. I have to be honest – I’ve never liked Orient Beach because it was too crowded/crazy. Club O was a totally different experience and I enjoyed it. No one even noticed that I kept my bottoms on. We had a lovely day outside Perch and quickly lined up for happy hour. I also had lunch there. After a long day at the beach – I went back to GCBC to clean up and head to dinner. Soontobenude had raved about Spiga’s veal ragu so I headed there. Good thing too because as I entered – the rains came! Dinner was excellent and I also had the tiramisu (but that wasn’t as good as it had been in the past). I think it was around $50 before tip.
Monday: same breakfast with good news. Work emailed me on my BB and asked that I called. I was offered a new job/promotion! This was turning out to be an excellent holiday! I then headed to Pinel again and ran into some new friends from GCBC (who will be joining TTOL when they get back). We had a lovely day except we noticed that the service was horrible on the blue side. They totally ignored us. After a long day – we came back to the hotel and attended the manager’s cocktail party where I met more people including some owners. I decided on a full dinner at Spicy since I was craving the French Onion Soup. They have a special – appetizer/entrée/dessert for $49 – can’t beat that. So I had the soup, Chilean Sea Bass and a fondue cake. All very yummy.
Tuesday: same breakfast and then off to Club O with soontobenude and his lovely wife. We spent the day in the same spot, attended happy hour and then went to Baywatch for lunch. We split a very yummy plate of buffalo shrimp. Service was friendly and quick. I left the beach early to change for the TTOL party at BBB. I’ll let out host describe it, if he hasn’t already.
Wednesday: so sad, last full day which means Pinel. Ugh – worst day ever. The serive was worse – asked for a beer for 2 hours until I got up and got it myself. Then a family with 8 kids sat right next to me and the kids kept climbing over me. No manners or apology. That same family pulled up in their boat and dropped anchor right at the edge by the beach which meant that I couldn’t swim in front of my chair which I like to do so I can watch my stuff. Finally I gave up and came back to GCBC to swim. Final dinner was again at Spicy. Another great meal of crab cakes, salmon/spinach and ice cream/hot chocolate sauce.
Thursday: I arranged to stay later at my hotel – 12:30 was the latest check out time so I headed over to Club O for the morning. My new friends from GCBC also arrived so I introduced them to soontobenude and his wife. I spent a few hours chatting and then had to pack up and go check-out. I dropped off the phone/car and checked-in at the airport. I still had time to kill so I went to the bar at the end of the runway and had a few beers on the beach. Eventually going back to the airport with sand on my feet! Flights back were uneventful and now I am back here and sad!
Only 11.5 months to go until I return! This time I am doing at least 10 days.
.
