This was our 11th trip to St Martin, 9th one in March for the Regatta. It differed slightly from other trips in that I had injured my leg in Dec. and that limited some of our activities. We didn’t do anything on the water, like the Random Wind or any of the excursions cuz I just wasn’t stable enough plus I had trouble walking in the sand, so spent a couple of days at the Flamingo pool instead. We still had a marvelous time. I will do a restaurant review at another time; I have to find my notes first. I haven’t unpacked yet but I am doing the trip report!

TRAVEL – Flew Delta from BDL to SJU in first using FF miles overnighted at the Embassy Suites in Ilsa Verde, then use American Eagle’s 1st flight out in the morning, no problems on any flights. Trip home was a way different story. The American Eagle flight was late leaving SXM (ground hold out of SJU) and then we flew around the entire island of Puerto Rico before landing 40 minutes late. Flew thru Immigration and Customs, had to check in at Delta counter and discovered the security line for Terminal B was past the Delta counter and almost to the AA terminal. We were never going to make it thru the security line before our flight, so I cajoled an extremely nice Delta counter agent to get the approval to walk us to the front of the security line. I might have felt a bit guilty except the folks standing in the line around us were going out on a 4 PM flight and had plenty of time. Normally this wouldn’t have overly bothered me but I knew there were no hotel rooms in SJU cuz of the baseball games. Other than no one at BDL available to operate the jetway once we landed and the luggage taking 1 hour to come out, the rest of the trip was uneventful. Non weekend travel for us next year.

RENTAL CAR – Rented from Mickey at Tropicana who was NOT there to meet us. Said he was caught in traffic, but when he asked to see my confirmation email with the arrival time, I surmised the office screwed up big time and sure enough he did not have the right time on his list. We reserved a “used” Corolla, our usual, but he did not have one available so gave us a brand new Accent for the same price – no pressure to pay more. Car ran great.

FLAMINGO BEACH RESORT – We own a 2 bedroom lockout and rented out the second unit. Resort was in really good shape. For the first time cuz of my leg we stayed at the Flamingo for a couple of days, sitting on the beach and using the pool. I must say I was more impressed than I thought I would be. Beach boys did a great job, beach bar had some pretty good food, and the pool was really nice.

WEATHER – Only 1 really bad day with clouds and showers, several very windy days that made us avoid Orient, and not once did we get chased off the beach by an afternoon shower. Quite perfect.

PACKING – Someone needs to help me figure out why we can go for 12 days in Nov. and only bring carry on, but for 16 days in March I need to not only check luggage but have to pack 8 pairs of sandals!

BEACHES – Orient remains our favorite beach, with Mullet Bay a close second. Unfortunately, when we went to Mullet you couldn’t get into the water as the waves were so large. Orient was great; we sit down in the Club O area. I don’t care what anyone says about the chairs at Club O, I dislike their new system. Not that I disagree with the premise that if you stay at Club O you get first dibs on the chairs – that’s only right. What I didn’t like is that it was so difficult to see which chairs were taken by Club O people. The blue tags did not stand out so you would head for a chair only to discover it was taken. Plus the beach guys did not check the tags on the chairs routinely, so there were lots of chairs with blue tags and the guests were gone. We ended up sitting by or beyond the Perch almost every day, so parked at Pedros. Had to get there by 10 to get a chair most days. $3 lot was charging most days, but we were able to park by the wall. Notice my dislike for their new system did not stop me from sitting there. Pedro’s chairs are beyond the Club O sign and were full every day. Beach was slightly eroding when we left. Road to Club O and Pedros (off the main road) was still a disgusting mess – only got worse from last Nov.

SHOPPING – Did some major damage at DK Gems even though Deepti was off the island. For our 10th anniversary we upgraded my emerald wedding ring. I gotta tell you I was real nervous about significantly changing the size of the emerald (I kept the original setting and got a bigger and better emerald) thinking it would change the look of the setting but Jeff kept on telling me it would be fine – I finally just decided to trust him and go with it. I’m glad I did – it looks stunning. Jeff is going to take my old emerald and design it into a pendant. Did some minor shopping in Marigot. Brought home a wheel of Gouda cheese – I just love that stuff.

TTOL PARTIES – We had 2 this year, the first was at SMYC with a really good turnout. Second was on the Lady C with a smaller group (Augie and Sue we missed you!). Had a great time at both. I am not even going to try to name names as I will for sure forget someone.

MISC STUFF –
Etna ice cream is still the best – the coconut is to die for.

French side lost water for 1 ½ days – something about pumps and pressure – won’t be fixed for good till the summer. Dutch side lost electricity for an afternoon despite new equipment – something about circuits.

Traffic was a non issue for us, best it has been in 4 years except for peak times. The parking situation is ridiculous – there is none. Seems as if there are fewer cruise ships in port on a daily basis, only one day with 5 ships, mostly only 2.

Purse snatchings on the rise and there is a great deal of official concern. Almost daily reports in the paper. Their plan is to have the Volunteer police group (?VKS) beefed up and patrol P’burg.

Fewer goats running wild, but saw some loose horses in Cay Bay. They looked real emaciated, ribs sticking out etc.

Shopped at Le Grand Marche, Food Center in Cole Bay, and Food Express in Maho. Good stock, comparable prices, all 3 very clean. For those staying at the Pelican or Flamingo the Peli Deli still has a little bit of everything. Grand Marche parking lot is like a demolition derby, cars parked everywhere and in every direction.

Saw the new ambulance running lights and sirens multiple times, either the old ambulance didn’t have lights and sirens or it never ran cuz it seemed like every day they were out there.

Neil brought in a band for the Regatta “On the Beach” and they were just great. I felt like a groupie following them around but at least got to hear them play at SMYC, BBB and Rics.

Only used the Internet once, accessing it at Mailboxes in Simpson Bay, $5 for ½ hour with a really fast connection.

Rented a cell phone from Sharon Harris and it worked beautifully all over the island with crystal clear reception for a really good price.

Don’t see how the new airport is going to be finished anytime soon, Don and I figure by Oct - maybe. I have heard there will be either 4 or 6 jetways but it was not at all unusual to see 6 or 7 big jets on the ground at the same time.

Roads in good shape on both sides, but the prize goes to the French side as they had work crews out every day cleaning up the roadside and cutting back the overgrown bushes and weeds so you could see the stone walls once again. Looked really nice on the way to Orient Beach.

More to come when I get the food and restaurants all sorted out.