Booked a charter flight out of Boston through Filenes Basement Vacation outlet: Folks there are great to work with. Had to add my wife to the trip less that 1-week prior to departure, and it was “no problem! Felt like I was already on the island.<br>Flight was a little long, as it dropped of folks in Punta Cana first, but the plane and service (North American) was first rate. They let us get off the plane in Punta Cana, so we could get drinks, stretch our legs and hit the bathrooms. Flight was no problems and on time, got into SXM about 3:30. Small mix-up with the car, we had to wait a whole 10 minutes (LOL) for Michael from Unity to pick us up, paperwork consisted of running my card and doing an inspection. (He had most of our information from a previous rental.) Stopped for essentials (Corona and water) then checked into Palm Court. Elisa, as usual, got us in the room in no time, and updated us on what was going on at the beach. Quickly changed and was on the beach by 4:30. Headed straight for Pedro’s grilled chicken and my wife had salad with chicken. Did a beach walk, and went to Papagayo’s for happy hour and a light meal. Service a definite improvement over last year. One thing I have notice about French restaurants is that if you want the check, you have to ask for it. They do not want to rush your meal, and apparently feel it would be rude to present the bill before you request it, so if you want to leave, you need to ask for it.<br><br>Sunday: Early beach walk (6 AM), which we did ever morning, so I won’t bother to say that for each day. Noticed that there seen to be fewer early walkers than before, but last time I was down was in January. L’Hoste for breakfast. They’ve renamed it the Madras, and it’s open for breakfast and pizza in the evenings. The buffet is free for those that stay at L’Hoste, but well worth the money if you’re not. Went shopping for other food, and in the afternoon went to Sunset to watch the Air France land and take off. My wife and I are early risers, and so go to bed early (9 or so.)<br>Monday: Papagayo’s for a great breakfast. Caught the early ferry to Pinel Island, and spent the day on the beach. Supper at Sunset Beach Café in Grand case. Great view. Beer was expensive ($ 5.00 for a Caribe, same $ as the mudslide), but the steak was great.<br>Tuesday: Breakfast at Papagayo’s then to Dawn Beach (Ms B’s), great Hamburg’s, Chicken sandwich. Like an idiot, left snorkeling gear at hotel, but there’s always next time. Dinner at Sunset Beach (more great Hamburg’s, actually, cheeseburgers).<br>Wednesday: Off the Marigot for bargains! Stopped at Talk of the Town, but they don’t serve breakfast: graciously they directed us to a terrific bakery a few doors down. Shopped at the market, which is open every day. (I though that it was only Wed & Sat, but those are the days when they have the FARMER’s Market in addition to all the local stands.) ate lunch at one of the small shops there, then drove to Fort Louis. Not much left of the fort, but definitely worth the short walk for the great view of Marigot and the harbor. Then back to Orient for dinner at BooBoo Jams. Food was excellent, service was attentive, but felt a little deserted, only two other tables there for supper. Looks like I picked the wrong night. Did a full beach walk after supper. Club O’ for chocolate ice cream, ate on return to hotel. (Did this for the next 2 nights, it’s almost as good as Ben & Jerry’s)<br>Thursday: Breakfast at Surf Club South (Can’t bear to call it Baywatch), then spent the day at Orient. Supper at LaPlaya. You have to catch them early, they close about 6. <br>Friday: P’burg for shopping. No cruise ships, so things were kind of dead. My wife and I aren’t big shoppers, so we only spent a few hours there. Ate at ???, right by the pier, where we ate yet another hamburger while my wife ate her usual salad. Spent the afternoon hanging around the pool at L’Hoste, as we both had a little too much sun. Really strong at this time of the year.<br>Saturday: Breakfast at the Madras again. Packed then went to the beach. Bikini Sports has this big floating trampoline ($ 5.00 each per hour or $ 10.00 each all day.) While the trampoline was OK, just lying there and floating was great. Spent an hour there, then back to the hotel to finish packing. Checked out about 11, went to Sunset for lunch (another terrific cheeseburger) and watched some 757’s land. Stopped by the airport at 1:30, checked our bags and got seat assignments (on the charter, they ware the same as the seats that you had coming down.). Drove around a little, returned to SSBB, then returned the car to Michael, who drove us to the airport. We spent some time in the restaurant, where you can watch planes land and load, then went through security. Lobby in the airport is greatly improved with comfortable seating and air-conditioning. Then, that long walk back to the plane: funny how it doesn’t seem as long when you land! North American lived up to their high standards, and dinner was good. They are very attentive, and you get not only dinner, but also two rounds of drink service. There’s a pillow and blanket on every seat (you don’t have to search for them). No stop over on PR to refuel this time.<br><br><br><br>General notes: While the crowds are noticeably less at this time of year, the sun got so hot that we were generally done with the beach by 2 PM. I did not believe how rapidly I got hot, and how glad we were that we packed 50 SPF lotion. Next year, we’ll probably be going in March, to be able to spend longer days on the beach.<br>Not real big on restaurants, much prefer beach front lolo’s.<br><br><br><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Administrator on 5/31/01 02:03 PM.</EM></FONT></P>