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Trip Report Nov 15 – Dec 1

I guess better late than never and rather than starting with transportation I am starting with what I consider the most important, people.

This is with out a doubt the number one reason we return to SXM. We look forward to seeing our friends on the island. On Front Street our friends at Gulmohar’s and the warmth that they show us to the always welcoming, Norman at Sona Gift Shop as well as the staff at DK Gems (Deepti was in India this trip). We visited with in Maho where we have many friends. We were then off to places like Lal’s where we spent many evenings as well as seeing Augustus at Tequila’s and the trips to Baywatch with the kiss from Cheryl and the laughing along with Andy. Then each trip we meet new people such as Andrew and Curtis at BBB, as well as their kids. This is part of what makes the trip worth it.

I would go on that we then get to see TTOL people that we have previously met such as Sugarae and John as well as Sharon “The Queen of SXM”, Bob1P and his lovely wife and then the new people we meet. This trip I would mention that meeting Bill and Elaine was a highlight. In past trips we have had the luxury of meeting people like Contessa, Bruce and Kim, Ray Mann and Vlasta, Carol and Eric Hill, and many others that all are worthy of being mentioned but the post can only go so long.

All these people mentioned are great in their own way, and all different including MJ and I, but all have a passion for this island that while sometimes causes conflict I have come to realize that it is because all of these people care and that should not be forgotten. I have yet to meet Dan and Pam, AXARob, Peonic or Wayne as well as many others but hope to some day, even Terry from DTW. The emotions of all of us is what makes this forum spicy at times, and there are issues that drive this but in closing I just want to thank all of you on this forum because it helps MJ and I make it through the year until we can make our pilgrimage to the place we think of as our second home.

One final add in the People portion, many of you read the Olive post. A person from the East Coast responded to the post and in a PM I gave her my address and with out any request for money I was sent a gift of Olives. The cost including shipping as well as the effort this took was with out any request for repayment, all from a person I met once who welcomed MJ and I like we were family members, this several years ago at the Perch. Contessa, we thought of you many times this trip when hoisting Martini’s and Bloody Mary’s. With the Martini glasses we got on a quest in Philipsburg, Cheers!



This is a trip we booked in March but realistically planned before we finished the previous years Thanksgiving trip, noting we now begin to plan our next Thanksgiving trip.. We booked air using Alaska Airlines miles and then traded two weeks for Pelican weeks and then over time booked the first night as well as the last two nights. For the Flights we used enough miles to fly First Class and I would note that it cost us the same amount of miles to fly First Class as it does for most of you East Coast people that do not have as far to travel so the bargain for us is greater, and considering that from the time we get to the Portland Oregon airport until we get our luggage at the SXM airport usually runs between 17 and 20 hours so the big seats have added value to us. Our flights went well, we went PDX to LAX, then LAX to MIA on the redeye and then from MIA to SXM. The return was just the opposite. We had long layovers in MIA both ways which worked out well when we had a mechanical in LAX so we ended up 3 hours late into MIA. Tough to complain but First Class is not what it used to be, still beats sold out coach. For the second time ever, we were able to make it back to PDX in a single day from SXM. It makes for a long day but nice to not have to spend the night in a hotel planned or caused by airline issues.

While on Transportation, I will go onto Michael at Unity. We understand why people like the beat up cars so they do not have to worry about scratches etc but I like the newer cars and the lack of worry when renting from a company like Unity. Yes I am sure the other sponsors are great but Unity seems to fit us. We got a fairly new Yaris and left it unlocked the entire trip with nothing inside, no issues as far as theft. We did get a piece of a Coconut Shell/Husk or something like that stuck in the front wheel area that started to make a sound like the warning sensors on your brakes so we stopped back by Unity and he ran us down to Karakters and dropped us off while he figured out what it was, and then he brought the car back to us laughing at what was causing the noise. He is a class act and he is our number one rental company on the island. When we arrived I left MJ to claim the luggage while I went and got the car. I timed it and it took me 17 minutes from the moment I left the baggage area to meet Unity and go get our car and then make it back to the airport. I arrived just as MJ walked out with the luggage to look for me.

Onto Lodging – We spent the first night a few doors down from Bill and Elaine at Rainbow Beach Club in the Cupecoy area. Simply fantastic, if we had the money we would have never left. It was a very nice place, very comfortable bed, and we felt very secure. We can see why Bill and Elaine as well as Vicki have purchased at this location. We would stay there again in a heartbeat. Our next 13 nights were at the Pelican in two different rooms in the “B” buildings. Both had a nice view, that was the positive. The front desk was not a problem for us but also was not exactly welcoming either. The units are tired and things like utensils are less than what they should be and the units we had only had AC in the bedroom which when leaving the bedroom doors open helped cool the rest of the place it was still less than ideal. I will note that the beds were not comfortable in either room either. I will get into the value of this place in a separate post since I feel it warrants it. We finished our stay with two nights at L’Hoste which turned out to be a pleasant surprise. For the $125 per night or so including tax and breakfast per night was well worth it to be on Orient also including chairs at La Playa, thanks here goes to Jim Ruos for helping guide us again. We have not spent that many nights on Orient so we are far from experts but we enjoyed the character of the place vs. Cap Caraibes where we have previously spent a night. After looking at Alamanda I think that is where we would want to spent our next few extra nights but would not hesitate to go back to L’Hoste which by the way had more US TV Channels than we had at the Pelican, not that we used the TV that much.

Beach, beach, beach. We really only spent time on three beaches, which we find as we go to the island more we struggle to do as much as we had on the previous trip. We get narrower and narrower on each trip, we make an effort to try new things but in the end we do less and less each trip. Not sure if this is good or bad, after a few more trips it may be possible to decide this, and if not we will take a few more trips for further research. In hindsight I think I would prefer to start on Orient rather than end with Orient. I struggled with Orient after spending days at Happy Bay and at Karakters on Simpson Bay where both were very peaceful and relaxing. Orient as normal is busy, active and the winds were blowing. We spent one day our first week not far from the Perch and then the two days at La Playa at the end of our trip. We love Orient and the social part of it, but for relaxing it does not compare to Happy Bay or Karakters. We were not going to go back to Happy Bay because of the walk and the reality of crime and the hike, but we changed our mind in part because of the report that Danny opened up a place and has chairs to rent. The idea that somebody was there servicing the beach may have given us a false sense of security but it got us there and with the $10 for lunch and a chair it got us to go back a couple of times. We will go back, had a wonderful time when just us as well as when Bill, Elaine, Elizabeth (Islandgem) and a few others that made the trip with us. The final beach we spent time at was Simpson Bay near Marys Boon at a place called Karakters which we enjoyed very much. It is on a very nice stretch of beach and seems to always be uncrowded. The beach there is easy to get in and out of the water from and there are no rocks that impede access to the water. We also found that with the free beach chairs as long as you drank or ate lunch there a value, and the lunch was very good with nice presentation of the food. That and they served wine in glass which if you have not heard yet MJ really likes. Karakters opens at 10am and stays open until 8pm, I think they are closed on Tuesday’s.

We are not people that seek out CO, MJ prefers to be topless and I personally do not care that much. The benefit I find on going CO is that I do not end up with a wet bathing suit, other than that I just do not care that much one way or the other. I find it refreshing the comfort and preference by people that we meet that are suitless because that is what they like, and find it admirable to meet the people that are trying it out to see if they are comfortable. I also find it humorous the people that seem to care more about strutting like an exhibitionist rather than being nude because of the freedom of it. This is another subject that I am far from an expert on but this is my observational story and for the next hour I am sticking to it. Lol I will add that I feel that visitors should respect the privacy of the area around Club O as the Club O people should respect the others along the rest of the beach. I do not get the need to push the limits, to me it seems a respect issue but note that I have not been going to the island since the Nixon Administration.

We did this trip on a budget, not that we ever go and live like rich people this trip we did more to save money. Part of this is because of the uncertain economy and part of this is because it bothers us that we know the hardship of others at home and their job loss. We did things like eat breakfast in our room most mornings, which was nice after we would go out and walk the hills. Note that last Thanksgiving trip I gained 10 lbs, was not going to allow that to happen again. We also did many of our own cocktails, from Bloody Marys in the morning to Martini’s at night. We did not eat any big dinners out and I will admit that I missed going to places like Hidden Forest Café and some of our other favorite spots but that just goes with the times. We did go to a few of our normal places like Pineapple Pete’s, Baywatch, BBB, and our favorite Lal’s which we went to 6 times. We also tried Hilma’s Windsor Castle and Suriname which were new to us and we enjoyed both. I have mentioned Karakters already and I would once again state that the food is good and the presentation is above the normal beach bar. We happened to arrive at Lal’s this trip on what was Lal’s Birthday which was fun since we had shirts made for him. We really like his Chicken Tikka, Spinach Chicken, Spice Chicken, Curry Chicken, Garlic Nan and the Meat Samosa’s. This trip we tried and really liked the Chicken Frankie’s and a few of the other items on the menu. We met the Governor and his wife at Lal’s, both were very nice, and we met several others at the bar which makes for a fun evening while chatting with Lal and listening to good music.

We did minimal shopping this trip, brought back some rum from Gulmohar’s and a few other misc items from Sona but not much more.

We did adjust and think about crime while on the island, and it makes you think more but we never did feel unsafe on this trip. Times are tough all over and with that crime will increase all over, home and SXM included.

We had another great trip, relaxed and at least tried a couple of new things. We hope to get back before Thanksgiving again but will have to see how the economy goes. I am sure there are items I meant to mention but this is long enough already.

Cheers,
Todd