We just returned from 8 days on Orient Beach at Cap Caraibes. Jim Ruos, CITS - a TTOL advertiser - assisted us and we heartily recommend his service. We feel he definitely provides value to his customers. Traveled USAirways using FF points; just seemed like excellent time to use them! Trip through CLT went well; no delays or problems (other than arising at 3:30 a.m. and the now typical airport security hassles).

ODDS & ENDS
1.Island was green and beautiful but it was HOT, HOT, HOT! Only trip to SXM where locals complained about the weather before we even mentioned it. Highs in the low 90s with high humidity. Ugh
On about 4 days, dark clouds began forming before noon and it rained for short time during day but never really cooled off.
2.On road between Orleans & P'berg, kid on bike INTENTIONALLY veered in front of us as though he was losing his balance. Seeing us panic & swerve, he laughed and pointed his index finger at us; boy did he get us.
3.Saw in P'berg the Chippie's Cafe; didn't try but sure wonder about it.
4.Signs in P'berg: "Hungry's Towing Service" Don't know about you, but I'm not parking anywhere close to a place patrolled by a tow truck operator that's Hungry.
5.They still ride their motorcycles in their special designated lanes (right down the centerline). We saw cars & motorcycles at night without lights on; guess they didn't think they needed them.
6.Watch out for drivers coming out of the side roads. They stop.. kinda, then do what I call The Jump. They quickly pull their car forward for a few feet and if you slow down, they jump out in front of you. (The kid on the bike must be in training.)
7.The so-called boardwalk in P'berg is really a beautiful brick and concrete walkway. Front Street is a mess at best; a hazard actually. Unfortunately, Passangrahan's quiet beach shaded by seagrape trees was destroyed to enable boardwalk construction.
8. We actually drove on Front Street (9:30 on Sun.) but it quickly became congested and we left.
9. New speed bumps installed on south side of Esperance Airport road. Apparently there have been several fatal accidents there. We saw drivers using the speed-bump slowed traffic as opportunity to pass others!

FOOD & RESTAURANTS
We ate most breakfasts in: Santo Domingo coffee, French butter and cheeses, guava jelly from Guadaloupe and mixed nuts and fruits. Always had local baguettes or brioches. Restaurants & bars were quiet; no reservations needed.

1. Sol et Luna. Our first meal there was excellent: chiapino (like boullabaise) for me and lobster ravioli for her. Two glasses of wine, one bottle of water and a scrumptious chocolate caramel desert was $94. No salads and pricy, but ambience excellent.
2. Bistro Caribes. A never miss place for us. She had grilled salmon & I had medallions of veal. Both very good; presentation and service excellent. $80 We were only ones there at 7 but by 8 there were 4 other tables filled. Next time we get the lobsters!
3. Coco's for breakfast. Another must do - their french roast coffee keeps us coming back. Watched the nudies go by while we munched out on vegetable omelet, fruit compote, wonderful baguettes.
4. LOLO's - Talk of the Town. How can you beat $4 slab of ribs, even if they're very tiny? Even the missus tried them; sides were OK and Caribs excellente. Don't remember being fought over as we walked in like this time; they really try to talk you into their area as you walk in. Hey that's business.
5. Tap Five. Taking Carol's advice we tried the roti poulet at 8 Euro or $10. Got them early & put in the fridge; we ate that night after microwaving it; tender & quite good if not special. Also got pizza to go ($9-12) for homemade to order; ~10 choices. We got ham and artichoke with mushrooms. Really very good with our homemade salads and red wine.
6. LaParisienne is a small sidewalk bistro in Marigot next to court house & across from Methodist Church. Their paninis are good and their sidewalk cool & shady. A bakery next door provides great desserts. I could go on about this place but the real reason we will return there is that on two separate occasions a French girl winked at me there. I am not making this up.
7. Ric's - to watch the FSU games; we almost got beat by Syracuse. Met the new owner and had a congenial crowd of sports fans there. The nacho grande is a great snack for two and the banana chocolate cake is a don't miss. Attentive service.
8. Le Fish Bar. Located at Orient Village it was close to our hotel at Cap Caraibes. Not sure why we return there except for its convenience. Food choice is diverse and attractive but portion size is small and not great cuisine. Had evening meal there as well as American breakfast. Not bad, but not worth describing.
9. Konrad's Kitchen. We know why we return there. Konrad's meals are cheap. He apparently fancies himself as some kind of French chef, what with all that garlic, red wine, butter, and herbs d'provence. His pan-fried steaks were pretty good and even his bottle marinara sauce over simple pasta were perked up with garlic and champignons. His salads & baguettes were accompanied by an excellent bordeaux. Inexplicably, his wife said she could do without his wearing that big toque.

SNORKELING
At Mullet Beach visibility was good but variety of fish was slim: mostly small tropicals and mid-size jacks and parrotfish. I saw a moray, surprisingly, swimming along the bottom. He ducked in a hole when he saw me. Mo saw a flounder on bottom. We like having shade of sea grape trees to leave our stuff.
Went to Pinel Island and snorkeled on the rocks on right side of ferry landing. Was a cloudy morning but visibility was very good and around several large coral rocks there was a nice variety of small and medium tropicals. It began raining about 11:00 and at first we ignored it, but then we got out; it rained for an hour or more. We went to bar on Yellow Beach (directly at ferry landing) and had drinks and dried off then returned to snorkel some more. Private tour operators have placed buoys as markers of outer edge of good snorkeling area. They bring busloads of cruisers to Pinel to snorkel and we fortunately missed them.

On our last day, Jim Ruos left us a cordial note but we were unable to get up with them. That was unfortunate because we would have loved to have met them.

Loved the early morning and late evening walks on Orient Beach; it's the greatest. Too bad the beach bars all close up so early during the fall. I think next time we'd prefer to go another time of year: not Oct. or Nov. but not the busy season either.

Konrad <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/chef.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Groovin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Groovin.gif" alt="" />