[color:"blue"]Overview: [/color]
We were in Sint Maarten/St. Martin from June 9th until June 26th. We stayed at Club Orient. As in previous years, we sunned ourselves, read books, gluttonized, napped, and in general lived a life of extravagant sloth and idleness.


[color:"blue"]Observations: [/color]
Peg remarked on the palm trees at Club O. They are finally starting to look like trees, rather than like potted palms in a hotel lobby. In fact, the landscaping in general looks great.

As others have noted, the beach was back at Orient. We were told that it returned rather suddenly (i.e., over the course of a few days) last Christmas.

Marigot looks great! The waterfront has become quite attractive. We’ll grant you that the West Indies Mall that they built there looks about as un-West-Indian as you can imagine, but does provide a spectacular view of the bay when you go to the top floor. One warning: the floors are so highly polished (especially on the ground level) that it is almost impossible to walk on them without slipping and sliding. (Honest!) An entrepreneurially inclined orthopedic surgeon ought to open up shop in the vicinity: he/she would make a fortune, we’re sure.

Phillipsburg, on the other hand, is not nearly so nice. Up until a few years ago we used to go to some of the restaurants there. Now, we find the parking godawful. Worse yet, there is a kind of unsavory feeling about the place at night that makes us reluctant to go there after dark. There is talk of redevelopment, and we hope it succeeds.

Club O’s office has two computers. Lou hates thinking about home when we are on vacation, but from time to time it is necessary to check e-mail, and he had no problem logging on.


[color:"blue"]Gossip: [/color]
There was some talk about yet another confrontation between the disgruntled owners and the Brinks at Club Orient. Apparently, it has to do with whether they are receiving their fair share of the amount the Club earns when it rents their units. To anyone staying at Club O, however, the problems (whatever they are) are mostly invisible. (We continue to be impressed by the friendliness of the staff in the office, at Orientique, at Papagayo’s, at Dolphin Watersports, and onboard the Tiko Tiko. It really adds a lot to the quality of the vacation. Peg had two massages and has high praise for Ana, their masseuse.) In any event, there was supposed to be some sort of meeting on June 29th between the Brinks and the owners to see if some kind of resolution is possible. Has anyone heard anything about the outcome of this meeting (if, indeed, such a meeting occurred)?

There was also talk about the price increases at Club O. Interestingly, several beach chalets were vacant during the entire 17 days that we were at the resort. Club O is a great place, but they may be pricing themselves too high.

While we there, one of the sailboats that was anchored in the bay got loose and drifted in, where it was beached on its side not far from Pedros. The story was that its owner was in France and unreachable and that the boat has drifted to shore twice before. A rope was tied to the mast and several guys from Dophin sports using what we believe in nautical terms is referred to as “heave ho,” attempted to pull it up straight so that it could be towed back out to the bay. Unfortunately, the mast snapped. After that, it was on to “Plan B” – some jet skies tied to the hull and straining to pull it off the sand while a mixed group of clothed and naked people tried pushing it from the beach. Eventually, it got pulled free of the sand.

Finally, while there used to be three wooden rafts in the water on the Club O section of Orient Beach, now there are only two. The story is that while fireworks were being set off from one of them, it caught fire and burned. We hope that they replace it. The two remaining rafts are in rather poor repair, by the way. Could the management be encouraged to replace them, too (hint, hint)?


[color:"blue"]Food, Glorious Food:[/color]
The usual suspects: Alabama, Rainbow, Il Nettuno, Auberge Gourmande in Grand Case, Tropicana and Chanteclair in the Marigot Marina, Temptations at the Atlantis Casino (a great meal, with the added benefit that Lou earned back the cost of the meal at the blackjack table), a new restaurant at the Dolphin Casino (whose name escapes us – which is a pity, since it was pretty good, actually), Le Taitu in the French Cul de Sac (what a gem!), and Saratoga (on Simpson Bay Lagoon).

Also had a wonderful meal at Le Poulet D’Orleans in Orleans. (That’s the tiny restaurant at the top of the hill where the road takes a hairpin curve: there’s a church on one side of the street, and the restaurant on the other. If you have never been there, do yourself a favor and go: it’s French and creole (mostly creole), and the owner/chef will give you a tour of his house.

Alabama, Chanteclair, Tropicana, and Temptations were especially good this time.

We also ate at the Fish Pot for our anniversary. It was a good meal, but not worth the price we paid for it. In addition, along with the bill comes a yellow slip of paper with the following notice: “Due to French taxes regulations, no tips should be added in credit cards sales slips. Please if you wish to tip your waiter it must be cash or travelers. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.” They evidently were not adding on the extra 15% for service, so you need to carry some cash with you for tips. Other restaurants, however, continued to let us add the tips onto the credit card.

Baywatch at Orient Beach continues to be a joy – partly because the food is so good and mostly because Cheryl and Andy are such wonderful people.

We had several meals at Papagayo’s. It is, well, Papagayo’s . . . . (ok, but not something you’re likely to find memorable). One of their servers (Maryam) is a delight, and her friendliness and charm are good reasons for eating there.

You’ll find that some of the restaurants are offering one-for-one euros to dollars if you pay cash. You may want to bring more travelers checks, therefore, and rely less on credit cards.


[color:"blue"]People:[/color]
It was great seeing the “June group” again, including the redoubtable Carol and Eric Hill. What a bunch of friendly, warm-hearted people! We went to the TTOL gathering at the Peg Leg Pub, got to meet some more folks, and enjoyed ourselves. We didn’t eat dinner there, but we understand from those who did that it was very, very good.


So there you have it. We’ll be back in paradise next June . . . .

Your faithful correspondents,

[color:"blue"]Lou and Peg [/color]