Originally I had planned to spend four weeks in SXM and made my airline reservations accordingly. Then I decided I really couldn’t be away from the office that long and rescheduled my air. Since I was using FF miles (via my Alaska Air VISA) and traveling first class, my preferred flights were long gone. So I had to stay one more night in SXM (which was not a problem!) and also overnight in DFW.

This was my first year of going solo, and I was a little concerned about how that would work out. A few evenings after returning to the room, I wished there was someone to talk with, but my Kindle is excellent company. Being solo also meant I stayed away from a couple of beaches such as LeGallion and Baie Rouge. I thoroughly enjoyed having my unit all to myself so will likely continue traveling solo, even though it’s a little more expensive to do so.

AIR

Traveled American PDX – DFW – MIA with an overnight; on to SXM on Saturday. AA had changed flight times numerous times since I booked, and I nearly missed my 40-minute connection in DFW. The plane diddled around on the tarmac for 15-20 minutes to allow other planes to leave gates so the 40 minutes was down to about 20 by the time I got off the plane. When I got to the gate after taking the sky train to another terminal, attendants were announcing my name and saying I should already be on the plane. Well, would have been if AA hadn’t messed around with departure times.

Return was SXM – MIA – DFW with an overnight; on to PDX on Monday. For the first time, I used the business lounge at PJIA and enjoyed it. “Free” snacks and liked the quiet while waiting for my flight. MIA was the usual madness, but I had plenty of time before the next leg. All in all, I had no complaints with AA.

LODGING

Miami International Hotel – The only thing this place has going for it is the convenience of being right in the airport. I thought my room last year was small; this year it was even smaller—so small, in fact, that there was room for only a twin bed. The room was right next to an elevator bank so I heard a constant sound like a chair rolling around on a linoleum floor; Internet on only one floor (not the one I was on); and the TV didn’t work. I had slept hardly at all the prior night so just went to bed instead of complaining or waiting for the TV to be fixed.

Divi – Stayed in my timeshare for 21 nights. Several things were missing or needed fixing when I checked in (soap, paper towels, kitchen towel and dish rag, light bulbs out) and it took until Sunday afternoon to get it all fixed. Once I made the acquaintance of my housekeeper and started tipping daily, I received everything I needed and more. See slideshow for “towel art” she left on bed and tables.

Divi often is short beach umbrellas, and this year was no exception. At one point, they were down to six working beach umbrellas for the entire property. On my last full day there, a new shipment arrived and umbrellas were being set up. They are smaller and look less sturdy than the prior umbrellas so I don’t hold out much hope they will still be there next June. On the plus side, there were ample umbrellas by the Infinity pool.

Otherwise, the property is in good condition. Gardeners are at work all the time weeding, trimming trees in preparation for hurricane season, mowing, and generally keeping things looking lovely. The pools (at least Infinity and Sea Breeze) could use a little more attention. I don’t think Infinity was anywhere near the “nasty” another poster called it, but the sides of the pool could use some cleaning/painting; pool guys said it would happen in slower season. And there was debris floating in SeaBreeze on the days of aqua aerobics classes; however, it had been fairly windy so that’s to be expected.

There is no beach/sand in front of the SeaBreeze pool, but I’m not sure there was much there before anyway. There is beach in front of the B and A buildings although not as wide as before last year’s hurricane, and it gets wider as you go toward Belair.

Security is excellent, roaming the property 24/7, plus checking you in and out by license plate number and parking pass number before the gate into and out of the property is lifted.

Despite receiving more raffle tickets if you attend an “owner update,” I didn’t attend. It’s just an opportunity for them to try to sell you an upgrade to your unit. I’m happy with my unit (studio), time of year (Weeks 23-25), location (steps from Infinity Pool), and contract (nonmandatory, meaning I don’t pay AMF if I’m not using the unit that year). So I’ll settle for fewer raffle opportunities because the trade-off is so favorable for me. In spite of that, I won twice. One I never used, and the other one I gave away.

The latest manager was introduced at the Manager Party on Monday, Cedric SomethingOrOther. I really had no contact with him, but he was very helpful to friends who visited me my second week (see “crime” paragraph).

I reported earlier that JewelMasters closed their store at Divi. Some of the sales personnel went to Kay’s Jewelers on Front Street and apparently the head guy went back to California. The space they occupied is empty. The grocery store run by Divi was also looking a little sparse, with one entire rack devoid of any products.

Internet connection is good and is $51.95/week. However, for 3 weeks, the price went down to $40/week, which I liked.

Turquoise Shell Inn – Divi wanted to charge me $161-$181 (depending upon whom you spoke with and when) for staying my 22nd night, and I wouldn’t have been able to stay in my own unit so I checked in at TShell Inn for my last night, at a rate of $115. Marcus and Carter are wonderful hosts, and the rooms, though small in comparison to Divi, are quite clean; internet is free. They provide free coffee/tea and even had a couple of bottles of water in the refrigerator; nice touch. They feed (and have had neutered) quite a few stray cats, adding to the ambience of the place. It’s a very short walk to Simpson Bay Beach, across a street paralleling the beach. The beach is somewhat deserted in that spot, and there were some locals vrooming up and down the street on their motorcycles, so I opted to spend the afternoon at the Tshell’s pool. It’s small, but a nice setting. However, there was very loud rap music coming from somewhere nearby; whether it was a residence or one of the clubs on Airport Road, I don’t know. But the loud music went on all afternoon, evening, and until I went to sleep. For this reason only, I’m not sure I’d stay there again.

Grand Hyatt, DFW – Another very convenient hotel within an airport, living up to the Hyatt reputation. Large room, large bathroom, excellent amenities, very helpful staff. A little spendy even with AARP/AAA rates, but it’s a Hyatt after all.

CAR RENTAL

For the third year in a row, went with a gently dented Hyundai Getz from Tropical/Tropicana; Mickey’s service is fabulous! On one of the rain days, I drove around the island. Water was pooling in the roads so you couldn’t see if you were going into a pothole or just through water. Anyway, I got a flat tire and called Mickey; this was around 5 PM when, I assume, the office was closing. He and his girlfriend were there within 15 minutes to change the tire. Then Mickey drove me to get the spare fixed so I wouldn’t be without a spare. Everything was accomplished within one hour of my calling him. When I left the island, he met me at the departure area of PJIA so I didn’t have to haul my bags from the parking lot. I couldn’t be happier with his/their service and will use him/them again.

PHONE

Again rented from Sharon, Queen of SXM. The phone was worth its weight in gold for emergencies (see above and crime paragraph) and staying in touch with friends to make dinner arrangements.

WEATHER

On the evening following day of arrival, and for the next three full days, there was nonstop rain across the island: definitely not beach days! It finally started clearing up afternoon of the fourth day, just before the party that was supposed to be at Sky Beach. The following week had one rain day. Otherwise, the weather was spectacular for the three weeks I was there. There was a short downpour the day I went to the airport, which made it slightly easier to leave.

PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Bernadine Ali, Local Rums and Spices – Bernadine says business is very slow and it’s been a struggle. Gemma, who along with her sister runs 2-3 of the shops along the driveway, has had to lay off staff.

Luiz Gomes – The week before arriving on island, I emailed Luiz to tell him that I’d be there the following Sunday and asked what his Sunday hours are. He said 1-4 PM so I showed up at 2 PM. No Luiz, and one of the neighboring vendors said she hadn’t seen him all week. I purchased some things from a different vendor, who offered to call Luiz for me. Luiz asked him “is it Linda?” so he clearly remembered our email exchange. Luiz told the vendor to tell me to return the following day at 3 PM. I think not. Luiz lost some business and goodwill.

Party, June 8 – Plans were to have a party at Sky Beach, a rooftop bar in Maho run by Brother Jimmy’s BBQ. But it turned out to be a rainy day, and Brother Jimmy suggested having the party at Brother Jimmy’s BBQ instead. Unbeknownst to me, Jimmy had arranged for one free drink per person, plus his staff put out quite a nice spread of hors d’oeuvres. Although I made no promises, I think Jimmy was expecting folks to stay for dinner; however, the hors d’oeuvres spread he put out was plenty enough for dinner for me and for others as well, I suspect. I don’t know how many attendees were tipping the servers and bartender for the free food and drinks, and I thank DonLinda for chipping in a nice amount for the waitresses, which I matched. Brother Jimmy didn’t respond to my thank-you follow-up email, which makes me think he was anticipating more return than he received.

About the time the party was wrapping up, the rain had stopped. Brother Jimmy’s general manager invited those of us still left to see Sky Beach, which staff were wiping down in anticipation of opening later that evening. We weren’t able to order anything but did have an opportunity to see how absolutely gorgeous this bar is; see pictures in my slideshow. Unfortunately I didn’t make it back before I left so it’s definitely on my list for next trip. I think it’s a very hip, very attractive venue and well worth the trip.

Celine Sunset Cruise – This is free with a membership in Jeff Berger’s site. I don’t think I would have gone again (went last year), but friends from Oregon joined me for my second week and I thought it would be a nice thing for them. It was very pleasant and friends enjoyed it a lot. Had a nice conversation with Neil about various island restaurants, and I enjoyed hearing his perspective. He’s understandably biased toward The Stone since it’s run by his son.

Sunset Dinner Cruise on Passaat – My guests and my neighbors at Divi went on this with me. In addition to the five of us, there were only two other couples on the cruise—a very nice, comfortable size of group. Coincidentally, the other two couples were both honeymooners and were quite impressed that my guests were celebrating their 42nd anniversary during their week on the island; my Divi neighbors have also been married the same number of years.

I just love the Passaat and sailing on it. I’ve posted before that this is a true sailing experience with no music and no motor. Just lazy sailing so how far we get depends on the wind; this trip, we didn’t make it as far as La Samanna. Since it was cloudy, we didn’t really see a sunset. After making it back to the bay, we were served a dinner cooked by first mate Mirian; choices were a beef dish or mahi mahi. I had the latter and it was delicious. We all really enjoyed ourselves and each other, and it was a special evening.

SXM Cooks – My girlfriend and I were scheduled for a cooking class with Luci Frye and my friend’s hubby was going to join us for lunch. Unfortunately, Luci’s assistant went in to the hospital unexpectedly, and Luci had to cancel.

Day trip to Anguilla – I hadn’t been to Anguilla before, nor had my friends, who actually hadn’t been anywhere in the Caribbean before. We took GB Express out of Simpson Bay and had a great beach day at Shoal Bay East. What a gorgeous beach! I do want to return and perhaps have an overnight on the island.

Friday Jazz at Karakter – I’m a jazz snob and not at all ashamed about it. This was one of the most pleasant evenings I enjoyed on the island, but I’ve just got to say, it’s not jazz (at least by my definition)! Connis seems to be a staple, but a waiter told me they never know who is going to show up. The night I was there, it was Connis and a male vocalist. They were playing and singing, respectively, to recorded instrumentals. I thought the singer wasn’t particularly good, and he was singing pop and soul. They started out their repertoire with a “real” jazz tune so I moved up from the beach to the deck, anticipating an evening of more of the same. After that and until nearly the end of the evening, it was other than jazz. Connis came over and thanked me for “putting up with them.” I told him I had expected more jazz, so the last 2-3 tunes of the evening were indeed jazz standards. I thought it was thoughtful of him to do that. But despite there not being much jazz, it’s still a delightful way to spend an evening: great ambience, wonderful servers, excellent food. What’s not to like?

AND SPEAKING OF FOOD

Toppers by the Sea – Had first night’s dinner here with Scuba1Deb and Jean. Free drink with Privilege Card. I had a Caribbean salad which was very good.

Buccaneer Beach Bar – Went here twice. I made the mistake of not having pizza the first time, which I corrected on the second trip. The second visit was on a fireball night, which was another new experience for me. Very pretty but a little warm on an already warm evening!

La Bamba – Just drinks here, where we met SXMNorm and Betty on their last night on the island. Norm had invited John and Cyndi from Tijon, and it was nice saying hello to them. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it to their store this year to either replenish supplies or take the second perfume class, which I regret.

Greenhouse in Pburg – Don’t remember what I ordered. Food and service were okay.

Hidden Forest Café at Loterie Farm – Went twice, and food was excellent both times. The first time, service was absolutely awful: the waitress forgot to turn in my order! I returned because I wanted my visitors to experience the beauty of the place. Fortunately, service was acceptable if not good on the second visit.

Toucan’s at Divi – Had one dinner in the restaurant, and it was not at all to my liking. I actually wrote in my diary when will I learn to not eat there! The only other time I ate at Toucan’s was the BBQ night. Food wasn’t bad at all, and the prime rib was quite tasty. Cost of the BBQ was $27.95 with tax and service charge added.

Sea Breeze Café at Divi – Ate lunch here several times and always ordered a salad. All of them were very tasty.

Dinghy Dock – Went here twice to meet up with Scuba1Deb and the Club O gang; had chicken salad and seafood pasta. Good food and service.

Karakter – Twice here as well. Tapas the first time on Friday night; 4 for $20. Extremely tasty. Had lunch there a week later as I was taking my friends to the airport (they were flying to SJU and getting on a ship for a week’s cruise of the Caribbean). Quiche the second time. Excellent food and service both times. Karakter was very accommodating and stored my friends’ bags while we ate.

Antoine’s – Went here the first night my friends were on island; it was her birthday. I always have the duck, which I thought was slightly overcooked this time. Friends thought their fish entrees were delicious; service very good.

The Stone – Went here after the Celine cruise. Friends thought their entrees were fabulous; for me, the novelty of stone cooking is wearing off. We had a very green waiter who told us it was only his third night on the job. He tried to tell us that a salsa that came with an appetizer was pineapple, when it clearly was mango. Johan gave us a complimentary bananas flambé dessert, which was very kind and quite unnecessary, but we ate it anyway. Neil had asked for feedback if we went to The Stone so I emailed him with our thoughts. He told me said waiter showed up drunk a couple of nights later and was fired on the spot.

Kakao at Orient Beach – Love this place; went twice and had Kakao Fromage pizza both times. What I don’t like is that they don’t give you a check; they just read off what you ordered and, if correct, tell you the total. So the first time, I asked if service was compris or non compris. A fairly spirited discussion followed in which the server (who had not been our waiter during the day) flat out told us he expected a tip. He wanted to tell me how things are done in France and on the Dutch side, which I kept telling him I knew, and that all I wanted to know was if service was included in this check. He kept saying tip was not included but didn’t really answer my question. I ended out leaving a bigger tip than I had planned on and am somewhat sorry I did because his attitude left a bad taste in our mouths. Later he came to tell us that he asked his manager, who said service was included but tip was not.

Chesterfield’s – Had baked shrimp which was good but not wonderful. Good service.

Madeariman, Anguilla – Fisherman’s salad for lunch. Excellent food and good service.

Café on the Bay – Went twice; just love this place! First time was my friends’ last night on the island. Two of us had prawns stuffed with crab, wrapped with bacon. OMG – fabulous. No tax or service charge. Also didn’t accept traveler’s checks; only restaurant for entire three weeks that didn’t. Very pleasant ambience, nice view of lagoon, attentive service. Had a stuffed fish dish the second time which was also superb. I hope this place makes it; it will be on my “must” list for future visits.

Fusion – As reported earlier, they have closed their locations in Maho and now have one in Simpson Bay in the Paradise Plaza just behind/above Izi. Not much in the way of ambience if you eat outside, which I did. They are looking for a second location. Pretty dead when I was there but food and service were both excellent. I had duck breast with snap peas and jasmine rice.

Ethnic at Orient Beach – Went twice. First time had goat cheese salad, which was to die for. Second time had a burger (don’t remember which one) which was quite good, but heavy. The second time was a cruise day and they were busy busy busy. The wash basin outside their rest room wasn’t dispensing water. When I asked where I could wash my hands, they acted like they couldn’t figure out why I’d want to but ultimately let me wash them in the bar sink. I’m trying to not think about what that says about food preparation. Regardless, this is a terrific place; Fred is trying very hard to make sure customers are satisfied.

3 Palms – This has been one of my favorite places but it has slipped a bit in my estimation. Seven of us went for dinner and service was incredibly slow. Neil brought the Celine pub-crawl passengers in for dessert while we were there so perhaps they were busy making a bunch of crepes. I also didn’t think my entrée (pork tenderloin) was as good as the duck I’d had on previous visits.

Kangaroo Court – Had a tomato, mozzarella, and prosciutto salad. Excellent food and service. I really like this place.

Rare – Dinner here my last night on the island. Ordered from the Temptation menu. Food and service were excellent, and Jack couldn’t be a more solicitous, gracious, accommodating host. A memorable last night.

CRIME

None experienced personally, however….. My guests did not rent a car so anywhere we went that required transportation, I drove. One of their days was their anniversary, and I left them alone that day. They decided to walk into Pburg. After making some purchases at Rima’s, they were walking back toward the center of town on a side street. They were tired and dehydrated, and not really paying attention. My girlfriend had her purse in her hand on the street side and was kind of swinging it back and forth. Two thugs on a motorcycle came by and ripped her purse out of her hand. She says it’s her fault for not being more aware, but that doesn’t excuse the thieves. Her husband took off running after them, to no avail. They weren’t far from the police station so went there. The police referred hubby to a close-by location where he could pay for some time to call credit card companies; she stayed at the station giving a report. Needless to say, time on the phone calls ran out and hubby wasn’t able to report the card thefts.

When they returned to Divi, they had to stop at the front desk as their room key was in the purse that was stolen. The new manager was very kind to them—gave them a bottle of wine and a free dinner for two at Toucan’s. When they returned to their room, I heard their story (we had adjoining decks) and invited them over to use my cell phone from Sharon to call the card companies; they were successful this time around. They were understandably down in the dumps as they needed the credit cards for their cruise the next week; fortunately there wasn’t much money in the purse. I encouraged them to still have their anniversary dinner as planned; they chose Rare and had a fabulous time. Jack treated them very well also, giving them a complimentary dessert in celebration of their anniversary.

A most unfortunate event for anyone, but I felt really bad as they were first-time visitors and my guests.


SUMMARY

Overall, it was another grand time in paradise, and I can’t wait to return. I look forward to retirement in a couple of years, when I plan to stay longer than three weeks.

If you have slogged through this report, you now deserve to see some pictures. My slideshow is here.