This was a short SXM trip for us, because it was tacked on to the tail-end of a two-week sailing trip with our friends and neighbors, on their boat, in the BVI’s, USVI’s and Spanish Virgins Islands (which is ALWAYS nice :>). But, when we’re THAT close to SXM, we just can’t not go – even if it’s only for a few days.

We arrived in SXM on May 16 after a short WinAir flight from Tortola into PJ Airport. Not a bad flight at all – first time on WinAir for us. However, we were VERY fortunate that we arrived at the Tortola airport early since WinAir had moved the departure times UP over an hour (with no notice to us). We were supposed to depart at 1:25 PM but wound up departing at 12:15 PM instead. When we checked in, I mentioned to the ticket agent about the time difference in the flights and he just looked at me and smiled. But the flight was fine. This was the first time I got to see what an approach to the Princess Juliana Airport runway looks like “head on” through the cockpit window. Pretty interesting :>).

Even though we were an hour early, our old friend Marius, from St Louis Rental Car, was there to meet us. After a handshake and a hug from Joan, we were on our way to the car. A quick signing of the rental agreement and we were off. Can’t tell you how many times we’ve now rented from Marius but we highly recommend him. Good cars, good service and good pricing. We zipped through the lowlands and Sandy Ground and into Marigot without much traffic at all. Even though it had only been about seven months since our last visit, we couldn’t believe the construction progress at Cupecoy. Where else can they put any MORE new stuff? New speed bumps are popping up so be careful or you may get “launched” :>).

A quick stop at The Bounty in Grand Case for water, wine, cheese, crackers, pate’, etc. and we were off to Orient Beach and L’Hoste hotel. As usual, Kelly was there to greet us at the desk with her great smile and we were checked in, up to our room, out of our clothes and into our swimsuits pretty quickly. As I’ve mentioned in previous trip reports, L’Hoste remains HIGH on our list as a favorite place to stay on OB. The staff is exceptionally friendly, the rooms are sparkling clean EVERY day and, we think, the location is hard to beat. Tap Five grocery, pizza, etc are 50 yards away. The (included) breakfast under the cabana by the pool is a treat each morning and Celida and Nina (breakfast hostesses) are right on top of everything and always have a friendly “good morning” for you. The fresh French pastries, fruit, etc. and great, dark, rich French coffee are a welcome treat to get you going. Security is VERY visible, especially during the evening hours and we felt very secure at ALL times. It was Tap Five for pizza that first evening, and, as usual, it was great, accompanied by a nice glass of French red wine. From what I’ve read in a recent post, it appears that we may have eaten one of the last pizzas from Tap Five, since it looks like it’s now closed. Sorry to see it go – it sure was handy and the pizzas were always good.

Suffice it to say, the entire stay on SXM was wonderful. The weather was GREAT, although the island does need rain. This was a surprise, since the BVI’s (only 85 miles away) was lush, green and had been getting rain pretty regularly. It was a shock to see SXM so dry.

Some additional noteworthy points:

Morning beach walks, san clothes, didn’t seem to be a problem. No sight of the gendarmes and quite a few “morning walkers”. Did notice that there were NOT many nude walkers past Club O during the daytime.

[color:"red"]DUI CHECK POINTS[/color] – Yes, they ARE there. Upon leaving OB on Friday evening about 5:30 PM and heading into Grand Case for dinner, as we came around the curve near the Grand Case airport, I was pulled over by what looked like perhaps four (4) police cars and maybe 8 police officers. Usual stuff – driver’s license, rental car contract and then the big question – “have you had anything to drink this afternoon?” By the grace of God, I could really answer “no” because, for some unexplained reason, I really hadn’t had anything since lunch that day at Baywatch (which is pretty unusual :>). But, never-the-less, I was still invited to “blow in the bag”, which I did. They checked it and then told me I was “free to go”. Whew - really dodged a bullet there. I didn’t relish the thought of spending the night in a French jail somewhere :>). So be forewarned. First time it’s EVER happened to me. With hindsight being 20/20, just before getting to the DUI “trap”, and right near the Boo Boo Jam entrance on the highway, a motorcyclist, heading the other way, “flashed” his lights at me. I initially just blew it off as a quirk, but now I realize that he was warning me about the DUI trap just down the road. Be careful.

Food - Dining

Tried the new restaurant “Spicy” in Grand Case (open for only the past 2 ½ months). Absolutely delightful! It is run by a husband and wife combo (Sophie and Oliver). Sophie greets you at the door and handles the table service and Oliver is the chef. Sophie is absolutely charming. She is Yugoslav and he is Belgian. The inside is lovely – nice décor with fresh, crisp table linen. Shared the foie gras as an appetizer and it was excellent (homemade by Oliver). Joan had the beef filet and I had the sea bass as an entrée and they were both outstanding. The food presentations were both exceptional. A warm chocolate “something” for dessert was also outstanding. A nice glass of house Pinot Noir paired nicely with all of the offerings. We highly recommend this restaurant.

Since we’re pretty big NASCAR fans, we were looking for a place to watch the Saturday night “all star” race. We stumbled onto the Sports Bar across from Tap Five (the place that looks like it was supposed to be a church on the corner of the little square where the kids play). The bartender was very gracious and said, “of course we can get the race for you”. So we sat there and watched the race and decided to just have dinner right there. I had the salmon pasta which was excellent and Joan had the seafood pasta which she said was also excellent. Glad we found this place.

Went back to La Fregate in Oyster Pond one night (and, yes, Fregate is the correct spelling – not Frigate). We both had the rack of lamb and it was one of the best we’ve EVER had. La Fregate continues to impress us. Martienne, the proprietor and hostess was there to greet us and we chatted with her. For those of you who haven’t tried La Fregate yet, we recommend it highly.

Lunches were mostly at Baywatch (no surprise there :>). It’s ALWAYS a pleasure to see Andy, Cheryl, Ross, Adrian and the entire group. Joan did have ribs at Pedro’s one day and they were good.

Other

As usual, we hung out at Club O every day. However, one day, we headed into Marigot to do a little shopping. Joan had been looking for a watch for a while and she hadn’t found one that really said to her – “this is the one”. So we thought, let’s try a couple of the stores in Marigot before fighting the traffic and heading to Front Street in Phillipsburg. As luck would have it, she found exactly what she wanted in one of the shops in Marigot. That saved some driving for me :>). Take note if you’re looking for a “bauble” and don’t want to drive to Phillipsburg. Perhaps we paid slightly more that we would have in Phillipsburg but, NOT having to fight the traffic in P’burg was more than worth it to me.

And yes, the traffic is bad most of the time. Same old “suicide motor scooters” flying past you, etc. But just take your time and remember, “you’re on ilon time Mon”. We decided to give ourselves plenty of time heading back to the airport for our return flight since we left OB right at 7 AM – the morning rush hour. Traffic was pretty bad from Grand Case to Marigot but, once past the traffic circle and around by the Marina, it was clear sailing through Sandy Ground and into the airport. Took us about 40 minutes (and remember, that was during “rush hour”). That route is by far my favorite for getting from the airport to OB and back.

Overall, the weather was really good. Kind of warm, a couple of rain showers, but we never had to leave the beach. A good breeze the entire time we were there.
One morning I counted 29 sailboats at anchor in Orient Bay – by far the most I’ve EVER seen moored there. However, that was only for one night. I think it was a holdover from the sailing regatta at Oyster Pond the weekend before. They were gone the next day.

It was nice to bump into some old TTOL “friends”. Dave & Delores and Gitter to name a few. Also met some new friends that we plan to stay in touch with. Some other TTOL’ers saw our flag and stopped by to say hello.

Oyster Pond seems to be suffering the same fate as Cupecoy. Couldn’t believe the amount of building going on there. New stuff all over the place. Scavengers, we miss you!

Tuesday came (5/21) – our last day - and we spent it on the beach, just “chillin”. Floating in the water, that afternoon, we both had serious thoughts about changing our flight reservations so that we could stay longer. As usual, we just weren’t ready to leave – serious sand gravity had set in. Our friends and neighbors from the sailboat returned home to Colorado from the BVI’s on Wednesday, May 23. The next morning, a temperature of 21 degrees greeted their return and some “white stuff” covered the ground. Kind of makes one appreciate “The lslands”, doesn’t it?

All in all, another GREAT trip to SXM. Good friends, good food, great weather, plenty of Carib’s – what more can one ask?

Jerry & Joan <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />