Monday, May 9th
Got up early & left at 5AM for JFK. Flight was on time, leaving at 8AM & arriving in SXM 11:55. Went through Immigration/Customs & proceeded to the luggage carousel, where our flight's luggage was starting to come out. Ours was third -this NEVER hapens. Picked it up, out to the street where we were asked if we needed a cab -only a few minutes in SXM & we were already on the road to Club Orient.
Check-in was uneventful & we proceeded to Ppagyo for lunch. Lisa had a swordish sandwich, I the Supreme sandwich (chicken with peppers, onions & cheese). Food was fine (as it would be all week at Papagayo) -didn't notice any decline in quality that had been spoken of, and the service was a bit slow, but if anything better than on past visits.
Off to the beach for a short while, then back to our garden chalet to get ready for the Wine & Cheese Party (or Manager's Cocktail Party, as they now like to call it -same thing w/different name). Ran into Lane & Terry from FL, with whom we had taken the Tiko Tiko <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Tikotiko.gif" alt="" /> cruise 2 years ago & they introduced us to Toby & Carol, who they had been on Tiko Tiko with just the day before we got there. Lisa & I stayed aound for dinner at Papagayo (our friends were going to eat in -which is something we've never done on vacation). Lisa had the Shrimp Papagayo (with Pernod sauce) & I had the pasta with shrimp.

Tuesday, May 10th
Got up early & had breakfast at Papagayo (which is what we did most days), pineapple & cereal with a muffin for Lisa, French Toast & the rest of the pineapple for me. Spent the rest of the morning relaxing on the beach & headed to Baywatch for lunch, where Cheryl & Andy <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/chef.gif" alt="" /> make the best lunches & treat you like family. Sat at a table with Dennis (the Menace) & Pat who live on their boat (& sometimes in CT) and Tom & Becky from San Diego,CA via Ohio & Long Island,NY. Cheryl had some fun with Dennis & Pat's "split" order, giving Dennis a half portion on half a plate with half a pickle and one onion ring split in half, and a fork with two of the four tines missing -of course, she did provide a full plate to rest the cut one on, along with the rest of the onion rings, but with food many times it's about the presentation <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Rofl.gif" alt="" />. Enjoyed the conversation & the food -Lisa had eggplant parmagiana & I had the beer battered scallops.
Back to the beach for the afternoon & then to Le Tastevin in Grand Case (where we have a tradition of having our first dinner out each time we stay in SXM). Lisa had the rack of lamb, which must have been excellent because she finished it (which she often doesn't) & I had the shrimp & scallop duo in lobster sauce, which was wonderful. For dessert we had the profiterolles (to share) -which are IMHO the best anywhere we've been (the chocolate sauce/raspberry coulis is the secret). Had our picture taken by Scott -who along with his wife, Rebecca had come from AZ. Left my e-mail address, so will hopefully get a copy of the photo in our e-mail.

Wednesday, May 11th
Got up early & had breakfast at Papagayo, then out to the beach to let sand gravity take over for the morning. Then to Baywatch again for lunch. Noticed Zach & Renee, Paul & Julie at the next table and introduced ourselves (we were at an advantage of knowing who they were from earlier trip reports with photos). Nice to chat with such brave young people (Yankee fans from near Boston) -discussed visiting of islands other than SXM <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" />. From those who know -go ahead, check out the other islands they're nice (but still, you'll be back -SXM is the best). Lisa's turn to try the beer battered scallops & I had the ribs -falling off the bone (once or twice literally as I attempted to pick them up by the bone) and the taste is just wonderful.
Back to the beach for a while before heading out again to Grand Case for dinner at Le Cottage. Very hot night & even though we ordered a large bottle of water, Lisa thought I might have lost more via sweating than I was able to drink in. The food, however was very good -Lisa had the mixed salad & shrimp on a bed of mashed sweet potato and spinach, I had the lobster bisque & fettucine with lobster. Dessert was a chocolate tart with vanilla ice cream (to share).

Thursday, May 12th
Had breakfast in our room (cereal & fruit bought at Orientique), but by the time we got over to Papagayo our planned trip on Tiko Tiko had been postponed due to rain (the first we'd seen). After about an hour the rain stopped & we took a short drive to the Butterfly Farm. The tour is always fun & informative and a butterfly landed on Lisa. WEnt back to Club O & set up on the beach before heading to Baywatch for lunch. Had lunch with Tom & Becky, who we'd met a couple of days earlier & enjoyed talking with them again. While we were eating the skies darkened & it began to pour (and didn't let up for quite a while). Tom got a bright idea & got a plastic bag from Cheryl. He & Becky took off their clothes (yes, ALL of them), put them into the bag & left to go back to Club O's beach to get the stuff they'd left there. After a few minutes, I decided that wasn't a bad idea, so I stripped (Lisa removed only her pareo, deciding she could leave her bathing suit on) & put my clothes into another bag. By this time, Carol (who was sitting at the next table with Toby, Lane & Terry) had noticed that I was naked in the restaurant -so she figured I must be someone she knew! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/busted.gif" alt="" /> We made it back, got our stuff from the lounge chairs & back to our chalet, only to find that the door wouldn't open (fortunately the rain was much lighter by this time). Had maintenance sent to the chalet & they had to take the lock apart, clean it and oil it -after that it worked perfectly.
Drove to Grand Case in the rain for dinner at Sebastiano (a favorite of ours for years). Lisa had the black ravioli stuffed with lobster & I had the papardelle with mushrooms (a dish Lisa had 2 years ago & had given me a taste which I had remembered as being very good -the full dish didn't disappoint). Dessert was Vesuvio (chocolate lava cake) with glazed banana (to share). Drove back as the rain continued.

Friday, May 13th
Not triskadecaphobic, we had rescheduled our trip on Tiko Tiko for today. Had breakfast in the room again & then to Papagayo, where we met Mark & Melissa from WV and Bob & Heidi from upstate NY and Hawaii (who somehow despite this location distance had managed to travel together). The trip to Tintamarre & the camraderie with people we'd never met before is what makes this the best day of the trip. Philippe & Melanie are a wonderful crew & prepared a terrific lunch. We each had the fish (ocean perch with onion & tomato) with corn on the cob & cheesecake with mango sauce for dessert. After lunch we went back to Tintamarre for the infamous mud baths and some exploration of the island. At around 4:00 we headed back to Papagayo, where we exchanged e-mail addresses -Mark promised to e-mail us the mud bath photos ("...either that, or put them on the internet someplace").
Headed back to Grand Case for dinner & ended up at Il Nettuno (as Lisa wasn't in the mood for fish or meat). She had the fusilli with eggplant, I had homemade tagliatelle with chicken, spinach & sundried tomato. We skipped dessert, as we had some at lunch and didn't want to be <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/Oink.gif" alt="" />. After we got back, there was heavy rain overnight -but we didn't mind, as it had been a wonderful day.

Saturday, May 14th
Had breakfast at Papagayo again, then headed to Marigot for some shopping. Don't know why, but we went on a bit of a yellow kick -got yellow tablecloths at O Soleil, a yellow shirt at Lacoste, etc. Had lunch at Belle Epoque on the marina, shrimp pizza for both -we took a few slices back to Club O where we spent the afternoon on the beach.
Drove into Grand Case again for dinner at Spiga (which had been recommended to us by Cheryl at Baywatch) . We split a mixed salad & Lisa had gnocchi with spinach in a gorgonzola cheese sauce, while I had tagliatelle with braised pork & mushrooms in a red sauce with a dash of cream. Wonderful -glad we acted on the recommendation.

Sunday, May 15th
Rain in the morning, had breakfast in our room (included leftover shrimp pizza). At lunchtime, we went to Baywatch, but they were closed <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" /> -we had really wanted to have one more meal there & say goodbye to Cheryl and Andy, and we know they're closed on Monday. Had lunch at Papagayo -Lisa had a ham & cheese sandwich and I had the Supreme sandwich again. Spent the afternoon on the beach, despite the fact that it was overcast.
Dinner at Papagayo -Lisa had the Shrimp Papagayo with pernod sauce again & I had the spaghetti carbonara. For dessert we each had a scoop of ice cream with whipped
cream & syrup.

Monday, May 16th
Last day <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" />, had breakfast at Papagayo & closed out our accounts. Taxi arrived at 10:00 to take us to the airport. Another nice flight & we got back to JFK on time at 5:20PM. Picked up by our limo at JFK & brought back home where we arrived to a couple of excited dogs who covered our faces with kisses. As great as it is to visit SXM, it's always nice to be home again. We look forward to the next time & thank all those who made our trip enjoyable.