Maybe it is about time to do our trip report (from June 2010 ). We hit the ground running as soon as we got home from this vacation and only now have a little time to breathe and start thinking about this coming year in the sun! A result of owning your own business and more! I just saw another TTOLer that was late and I know how I enjoy other reports. I hope ours is not too boring or long.

Trip down: Our trip to SXM was uneventful with a stop in Philly and an on time arrival. Continental did ok.

Car Rental: We rented from Michael at Unity (a sponsor on this board) and were very pleased with his promptness and how he handled the transfer of the vehicle (Hyundai Getz that we asked for). He told us to keep the vehicle unlocked for the duration of our stay. He picked us up at the airport when we arrived and drove us back to the airport after our stay.

Accommodations: We stayed at Club Fantastico for 12 days (our second stay there) and were very pleased with Mike and Peggy as hosts. Mike and Bonheur (their little dog) greeted us in the morning as we took our morning walk on Orient beach and Peggy was ever active with games to be played and fun to be had. The rooms were mostly full while we were there with us being the last to leave before summer vacation.

Beaches: I said beaches (plural) because we did stop at Happy Bay on a cruise and enjoyed that beach, if briefly. We savored Danny’s ribs along with other delicious island fare. Some in our group did some body surfing there. Otherwise we spent most of our time on the south end of Orient succumbing to sand gravity and I, more than D, snorkeled. I saw more fish and aquatic life on this trip than in the past. Rtitek had a photo of the same stingray with the fish above it that I saw and took pictures of when we were there. I saw it multiple times over the days we spent along with another one ray that had no escort. We ventured down to Pedro’s reef and saw and photographed quite a variety of colorful aquatic life. The water is bathtub warm at that time of year and it was very comfortable. The people on the beach were very friendly and the walkers/gawkers were for the most part respectful. There was the traditional beads for bikinis and beer for baring it. A pirate ship kite was flying overhead some of the time. We bought chairs and umbrella from the Sports Shack for $100. The width of the beach was disappearing while we were there and the water reached out and touched Papagayo even though the rest of the beach was ok. We spent time reading and watching others have fun - even staying late to see the return of the Tiko with the weary but happy travelers.

Eating out: We did more “eating in” than eating out. We got Rancho Del Sol to deliver a few nights. Their food was wonderful as always. I had chicken and pizza and my wife had salads and fish or something like that. A couple of nights all of us at the villa shared a meal from the kitchen (fun for those who love to cook!)
We were taken to the Sunset Beach Club by some dear friends , Michael and Marilyn. We had a great time enjoying a wonderful meal while serenaded by the waves. The onion soup, the chicken and the chocolate dessert were great! My wife and I had to split the dessert since we were almost stuffed from the great dinner!
Spiga was another stop that was enjoyed by us with our friends Mike and Mary. The security guard was leaning on the rental car when we got out and was there for the duration of our meal. How was that for service?
We ate another night at the LOLO’s. We picked one on the water and tried to see the green flash, but we enjoyed the people arriving with their boats instead (the sunset was nice).
Our last night out was enjoyed at Papagayo hosted by the previous M & M as a farewell party for Mike and Peggy for the season as they were going stateside for a couple of months (they are back now). There were 22 of us and the waiter was magnificent. I don’t remember his name, but we were never in need of ice, drinks or anything else. All that with a smile! The food was great as it had been everywhere we ate at the island! And this time I had … you guessed it … chicken! Some had escargot. I couldn’t bring myself to try something that looked like that and you get rid of from your garden as a pest! John and his lovely wife honored us with a couple of dances for our entertainment. Not bad for a southern gentleman that likes pirates.

Parties: We aren’t the partying type, but that didn’t stop us from going to Karakters for the TTOL party organized by Islandgem. We met and talked to some interesting people there even though we got lost and got there late. We were close and had to ask for directions from a nice young lady who was a resident next to the airport. She told us where to drive and to watch for Bada Bing and it was past that. We had no idea what Bada Bing was but soon identified it! When we told others back at the villa we got a lot of kidding for “going” there. The people at the TTOL party were a great bunch of folks and we met Scubadeb as well as SXMnorm and his wife. Scubadeb showed my wife a St. Martin bead for her troll bead bracelet that we had to have. We tried to plan a trip to pick one up, but she was nice enough to buy one and we got it from her when she was on Orient beach. Thank you for saving us the trip Scubadeb! My wife wears it often with her other purchased beads. I also wonder what the story is about the bus at Karakters. Did it run out of gas or break down there and they decided to make a restaurant out of it? By the way, the food was good!

Peggy and Paul Cruise: What can I say about this that hasn’t already been said on this board? We had a full house and Peggy and Paul were great hosts! We went clockwise around the island and Paul pointed out all of the highlights of the island including the nicest place to stay (the penitentiary)! At least when you get thrown in the brig on the island they give you an ocean view! We stopped at Maho beach to entertain the pilots coming in to the airport. We were then off to Happy bay for fun, food and games that included the mud bath. We snorkeled at Baie Rouge and at Green Cay on the way back and it was all good! After a swing by Orient Beach we were back to Oyster Pond to transport ourselves back to our humble abode. This is a must do trip for any time we are on the island! Best day ever!!!!!(as Peggy would say)

People: As we have said we met a lot of nice people while on the island. Along with the ones mentioned already we met Aleeper and his wife and enjoyed their company with word games and P&P trip (your name fit the way you leaped off the boat to get that perfect picture). John and Ellen graced us with their presence on the beach as well as the P&P trip (also cold mint drinks when needed them most). George and Irena were an inspiration to us with their seemingly endless energy swimming in the ocean. Lovesbeaches and family were there to greet us later in our trip. John, his wife and their entourage at the villa kept us entertained. Fireman John was there with his wife as well. There was a couple from Penn. beside most of the time on the beach that we had conversations with (sorry, we tried the e-mail but it didn’t work, but your relative found us at the festival in the states). We can’t forget Carol, Paul’s wife and conversations had. I know there are others we have forgotten and I apologize for that, but we enjoyed everyone’s company.

Trip Home: Our trip home was a “never do this again experience”. We had a 12 hour layover in Philly and that was a nightmare! We decided to tough it out in the airport in order not to miss our plane in the morning we arrived after 9 at night. After being in the 80 degree weather for two weeks we were given 55 to 60 degree weather in the airport! We took anything out of our carryons that might have warmth and put them over us. There wasn’t enough so one of us would walk to keep warm while the other tried to rest with putting shorts and t-shirts over us to keep warm. It might have been comical with mulit-colored coverings if we hadn’t been so cold. About 3:00 AM a kind airport person brought blankets and pillows that they have on the airplanes. We probably were both asleep since neither of us can remember who brought them. It might have been the cleaning people since they were the only people around. When the sun came up in the morning I found a sunbeam to sit in for a while and it felt heavenly! I went back to guard the carryons and sent my wife up there for some relief. We came back on Thursday instead of the weekend because we had a commitment for Saturday and needed to make sure we were there. They don’t call them redeye flights for nothing! Next time we will not choose flights with over a couple of hours of layover! In writing this I can sympathize with Crazycunux and others that have missed, delayed or cancelled flights. I guess we deserved this because we chose it, but the others did not. Lesson learned.

Final thoughts: We liked the birds on the island. The pelicans on the rocks, the egrets that are stark white in contrast to the greenery, sugar birds that keep us entertained and others including long legged ones in Phillipsburg were a treat. The little lizards are fun to watch as well.
We will have other accommodations when we return, probably Club O. There you know what to expect. Car rental will be Unity if we rent. This trip was about people mostly. We met some very nice people while there and enjoyed the company of all of them. It seems when busy folks are put in a warm island restful setting it brings out the best in everyone. We will take the shortest trip down and back to avoid airport sleeping accommodations. We will do like this trip and enjoy every minute. Even though we are ice fishing and snowmobiling now, we can’t wait until June!!!!

Jim C and D