Needless to say Don and I had a marvelous time for the 2 weeks we were on St. Martin. This is my first trip report and I actually took notes during our vacation so I wouldn’t forget anything. Won’t do a day by day summary but instead focus on areas that generate lots of questions on this board. I may need to apologize up front for the length of this report so be forewarned.<br><br>TRAVEL – No problems to report. Don and I flew Delta on FF miles to SJU, overnighted at the Airport Hotel, then took the first American Eagle flight out in the morning. All flights on time. Hotel was in its usual seedy state but since we are only in there for 6 hours it’s tolerable.<br>CAR RENTAL – Rented a Sentra from Tropicana for $210/week. We have used Tropicana in the past and were quite surprised when Mikey was not there to meet us. Not able to use our cell phone to call (more on that later) but one of the guys from the airport brought me back inside and placed the call. Mikey was at the departure area picking up a car so hurried over to pick us up. Got stuck at the 1100 bridge opening due to the wait. When we got to the Tropicana office, they didn’t have any Sentra’s in and were going to charge us $240 for a new Toyota – white of course! Pulled out our reservation and got the car for the $210/week. Brand new car – 2000 KM – ran like a champ. <br>ECC COMMINICATIONS – What can I say – they were great last year and not so great this year. We signed up with ECC via fax (be aware the fax # on the Internet application form is not correct) prior to our departure so we could leave our contact # with families in case of an emergency. When we got to SXM we were not activated. No surprise, but it was very difficult to activate – when you dialed “0” no one answered and when you dialed ECC’s main # you got caught in a recorded loop. Finally after 10 attempts we reached an operator who activated the #. We had friends on the island that never were able to reach an operator to activate their service for 4 days – then they gave up. Phone worked great for 9 days – then for reason unknown to us, our # was deactivated. I tried to contact ECC but never was able to. Fortunately we had made all our dinner reservations before this happened.<br>ROADS – In the best condition I have seen them since Luis. Even the dirt road to Orient Beach had been graded! We saw very few potholes – no problems. Drivers were still crazy but polite. I never had a problem getting out into traffic. A fair # of reports in the Daily Herald about auto/auto or auto/ped accidents. Ambulances were very noticeable on the roads running sirens & lights.<br>BEACHES – The only beach we go to is Orient so that will limit my comments. We landed at 1045 and were on OB by 1230. We park ourselves halfway between the Perch and Papaguyo’s. OB is much narrower than last year, although the first week there they were able to put a row of chairs in front of Pedro’s. By the second week, due to the heavy swells OB narrowed again and the chairs were gone but you could still walk on sand across the rocks. OB was crowded the first week and quite empty the second week. The beach itself was much dirtier than in previous years. The sand was full of debris from when they knocked down the dunes. Plus, with the narrower beach there was less flat area so you were often laying on an incline. While we were there, they moved the trash and umbrella containers further back to give the illusion of more available sand. Fewer boat people than in previous years. There was at least 1 incident a week where security had to deal with cameras. It’s still our favorite beach – I love being able to walk and choose a restaurant for lunch not to mention all the people we see year after year. Takes us 20-25 minutes to drive from Simpson Bay. We were told the heavy swells really impacted all the beaches – one night the swells were so high sand from Maho Beach covered the road at the end of the airport and they had to use some heavy equipment to pile it back on the beach.<br>CASINOS – We do gamble every night and this year actually came out ahead by about $400. Dolphin was our favorite – we play Blackjack and they had lots of $5 tables open every night. Hollywood Casino at the Pelican has been cleaned up and re-decorated somewhat. I didn’t see a craps or roulette table however. Refused to go to the Princess after our first trip there. They had about 12 tables open with $10-25 minimums and very few people playing on them and one $5 table open. All the seats at the $5 table were taken and there was a crowd of people waiting to get a seat. 3 of us asked at different times for them to change one of the other tables to a $5 table but they refused and were not nice about it at all. In the long run they probably did us a favor since we were so lucky at the Dolphin. <br>TTOL PARTY – Got to SSBB at 1800. Immediately saw the TTOL flag Augie and Sue brought. Pete and Marcy were there also along with many others. The bar was crowded and people were all over so it was hard to keep track of everyone. We weren’t able to stay very long but it was fun putting names to faces.<br>WEATHER – Sunny and 80’s with a fair to stiff breeze. No rain till 3/13 – from then on morning rain or showers every day. Usually cleared by 1000. Never missed a beach day cuz of the rain. <br>CHARTERED SAIL – 10 of us chartered the Random Wind (47’ Vagabond) for a day of sailing and snorkeling. Cost was $150 per couple with snacks, drinks and an excellent lunch for 8 hours - left at 0900 back at 1700. Bob was the captain and Katrina his first mate and they treated us very well. Left from Simpson Bay and sailed up to Friars Bay Beach. There is a coral reef just off to the right but snorkeling was not good as the water was so churned up by the swells. The sailing was exhilarating but not for the faint of heart. The seas were heavy and the winds brisk. We all had done a lot of sailing so Bob kept the sails tight and we had quite the ride. If you were not a seasoned sailor he would have managed the sails differently to give you a different experience. We had such a great time 4 of us have already reserved the Random Wind for next year to follow the Regatta on Sunday.<br>SHOPPING – Really did very little in terms of time, but major damage in terms of dollars. Spent 4 hours in Touch of Gold buying baubles from Heeru and Sanjay. In Marigot, I went crazy again this year for the Italian leather in Desmo and Don did quite well at Vie Privee buying their custom belts. Venissimo, also in Marigot was a great place to buy wine. They were very helpful and we got some excellent bottles very inexpensively.<br>RESTAURANTS – Won’t bore you with all the details of the meals – I will try to post on the Go Beach site more of the specifics. Our goal this year was not to eat at any restaurant we had eaten at in previous years – and we were successful except for our night at L’Alabama, which has been our very favorite restaurant on the island. Le Pressoir however, gave Karen and Pascal a run for their money this year. Don’t know why there aren’t more comments about Le Pressoir. Our meals were outstanding and service very attentive. Sebastiano’s (Christine a delight to chat with) and Bistrot Caraibes are not to be missed Grand Case restaurants. Met Bob at Banana’s our first night and had an enjoyable meal. La Rosa II, Tutta Pasta (loved this place!), Boathouse, and Mark’s Place should not be missed either. Forgettable meals were at le Charolais, Seafood Gallery, and Les Petite Auberge des Isles. We enjoyed La Belle Epoque, Baywatch (on OB with Andy and Cheryl) and Ric’s Place for lighter fare. Never ate at Pedro’s this year. Call me old but the steel band was way too loud for my eardrums.<br>MISC STUFF – Island was the cleanest we have seen it in many years. Road crews were out every day on the Dutch side picking up trash and cutting back the roadside weeds. Very impressive. Bougainvillea really perked up with the rain showers. Tour buses are a real pain. They are too big for the roads, they think nothing of driving real slow or stopping in the middle of the road for the view, especially on the hill with the S shape curve overlooking P’burg and the cruise ships. Almost lost our life on that one. View from Fort Louis is not to be missed. The climb from town is not for those with a weak heart. Sunset cruise out of the Pelican Marina is forgettable. This is the 4the year we have gone on it and it keeps on getting shorter and shorter – about 1 hour total with drinks only this year – they bagged the snacks. Oh well, more room for dinner. Island seemed not to be as busy as in previous years. There was an article in the Daily Herald that casino workers were going to be laid off due to the lack of visitors – read that overnight visitors were down 30%. They really seem to be focusing on the cruise boat industry. New wharf was impressive. We avoided P’burg except for Saturday. Never made it to the Butterfly Farm or Anguilla, which were 2 things on our list to do. Next year I guess. We loved every minute we spent on the SXM. I think they are really trying to make it more attactive to the visitors. People were as friendly as ever. We love the beach, the food and the night life. We travel to many other places over the year but always look forward to coming back to SXM. My first visit was in 1978 but we didn't start coming regularly till the early 90's. Lots of changes - some good, some not so good - reflection of life I guess. Spoke to several friends who were not aware of this board and will be sending them the address. they were very impressed with all the info I had learned from all the postings so thanks to you all for all your info.<br><br>I think I covered everything I took notes on – hope it wasn’t too long for you all. Only 345 days till our next trip and we can hardly wait!<br><br><br>MB<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Administrator on 3/22/01 03:47 PM.</EM></FONT></P>