Boy does time FLY!!!! Well, not fast enough or we’d be back in SXM already!! This is a VERY late trip report, prompted by a recent post asking for some positive posts. Well our trip was definitely positive. We were enjoying the sun, sand, surf, and suds 4/29-5/6.
I have only one negative thing to say, so I’ll get it out FIRST, then onto a great trip.
Our last couple trips to SXM have been kind of rainy . . . I mean whole days of rain instead of the traditional lie on your towel and wait for it to pass kind of sprinkle. We leave our home in the Northeast to travel to SXM once in early spring to prematurely begin our way-too-short warm season, and then once again in the fall to extend the season and soak up as many of the suns rays to hold us over until our next trip. Arriving to and spending several days each trip in tropical rain storms was a bit depressing, and we had even thought of looking for a new destination.
Okay – that’s the END of the dreary story!!!!
This trip we arrived to GREAT weather. We had an early flight BOS-CLT-SXM and arrived just before noon. We were to meet our landlord at 2 p.m., so that gave us plenty of time to get our car from Mike at Unity, grocery shop at Maho Food Express, eat the lunch I had packed in our cooler along the way, and start to unwind. We met Jerome Rivaud in Sandy Ground at his salon, from which he led us to our AWESOME apartment that would become home for the week. We literally dropped out suitcases, changed out of our warm-weather clothes, and were lying on Baie Longue by about 2:30! What a great start to our vacation.
We have rented some villas but we always have felt compelled to “get our money’s worth” and found ourselves spending lots of time at the villa just lounging. This time we went a much cheaper route and had one of the best times ever! We had no pool, which interprets into spending the WHOLE DAY on the beach until sundown. We were up early, ate breakfast in, packed a cooler with sandwiches, water & PLENTY of drinks, and would be off to explore whatever beach struck our fancy for the day.
Beaches: During the week we went to Baie Longue, Happy Bay, Orient, and Simpson Bay. Baie Longue is kind of a tradition for us as we usually stay in the lowlands and it is just SO convenient. We got rained out at Happy Bay but started driving and eventually found a peek of sun at Simpson Bay. This trip, instead of renting chairs at Baywatch we opted to camp out on an area down near Boo Boo Jam, a strip of beach with no amenities. It was GREAT! It was like having a section of beach to ourselves, but still having the liveliness of water sports and people around us. Each trip we find a favorite beach, and each trip it is usually a different one. This trip our favorite would have to be Simpson Bay.
Restaurants: We decided this trip to try some different restaurants, some of which have been getting great reviews here on TTOL. These included Shrimpy’s, Pineapple Pete’s, Buccaneer Beach Bar (had only had drinks there in the past), Rancho, and Uncle Harry’s. We also went to Tex Mex and our NEVER MISS restaurant Mark’s Place. WOW! Five new restaurants in ONE trip!! Weren’t we just walking on the WILD side! Can’t say we had a bad meal all week. LOVED Shrimpy’s atmosphere – great bartenders. Also have to give Neil credit for AWESOME burgers and a hefty pile of fries. BBB was our last stop before our flight. Washed it down with a beer for him and a Guavaberry Colada for me. Made the airport experience all that much easier to swallow.
Watering Holes: Buccaneer is always a favorite and keeps drawing us back. Neil just has a great spot and atmosphere. We could also be found a few nights at Shrimpy’s bar. This was a nice new spot to hang out after dinner, and you couldn’t beat the prices for frozen drinks. Our favorite this trip, however, would have to be the Driftwood bar – a little wooden boat right by the roundabout in Maho. There was just something about this place that had a certain kind of fun charm. We’d walk the wall back to our car near Bamboo Bernies – kind of our little sobriety test.
One Rainy Day: Now I promised earlier that my one negative thing had been said, and I’m not one to go back on my word so read on. I awoke on Tuesday night with anticipation of the following day, when we would pick up my sister and brother-in-law who were coming in a cruise ship. My excitement was quickly SQUASHED by the sound of tropical rains (not to mention the thought of the clothes we had out on the patio “drying”). I was SURE the rain would pass and we would awaken to another glorious day . . NOT! We wrung out our clothes and, regardless of the weather, were off to the Boardwalk to find my sister. Our glum mood was quickly washed away by the looks on their faces as they saw SXM for the very first time. They didn’t seem to care that it was raining at all. We drove around the island sightseeing between the raindrops, and stopped and bought some clothing from a very charming vendor at Boo Boo Jam. The traffic was horrible since many parts of the island (especially Mullet Bay and some of the lowlands) were flooded, so we ended up back in Philipsburg for some shopping. I stopped into DK Gems and Deepti helped me to choose a beautiful right-hand diamond ring, just what I had in mind and a much better price than I had anticipated. So my sister and her husband were back on the water taxi after a dreary but never dull, fun-filled day in SXM. Now they are hooked and maybe will join us in the future for a one-week stay.
We went on no day trips, no excursions, and did no watersports. We soaked up every last drop of sunshine and relaxation SXM could offer us in our 7-night stay, and found ourselves back on a plane to Rhode Island anticipating our next trip to paradise.
I did post pics in a different post but was a little delinquent in getting my trip report posted. Here’s the link again. Some of the thumbnails are not showing, but if you double-click on the icon the picture will display.
http://groups.msn.com/sxmphotos2/sherrieampstevemay2006.msnwHope you enjoyed our trip report as much as we enjoyed our trip, always made sweeter by great information and tips traded along with way on TTOL.
