It's midday Tuesday and our trip is now on the short side and in reflecting the days and nights so far, I have to say it's been a great but different kind of trip this time.

I think we've seen more rain in this one trip than we have cumulatively from ALL our SXM vacations. It hasn't been debilitating and we've still managed to have a great trip but once again, yesterday morning, we awoke to dark clouds and heavy rains and you could clearly see there had been significant rain overnight, too. But I think by 9:00 in the morning you could readily see the skies were clearing and it was starting to look like another beautiful day was on tap.

We had some business matters to address in the morning so our friends headed out without us while we did what we had to do and about 1:00 we joined them at Zafiro for another great day there. A quiet beach with free chairs and cold wine - could it get any better than this? And the water was even calm enough to let short-legged me get in and out easily without too much effort so it truly was a lovely day. We headed home in the late afternoon before preparing for our much anticipated lobster at Skipjacks and they were wonderful. The price was $19.95 a pound for Caribbean with the smallest lobsters available starting at 3 3/4 pounds so needless to say, we shared a large one. Thank heavens we live in New England and didn't crave Maine lobster - $35.95 per pound for those who might be so inclined. The meals and the company were all good and by the time we were done we decided to call it an early evening since we knew we wanted to be up and out early to go to town and see some friends and do some Christmas shopping.

So Tuesday morning found us sipping our freshly squeezed orange juice at Barefoot Terrace while we awaited the delivery of our baguette style French toast. I have to tell you, there is nothing quite like dining outdoors for breakfast in the Caribbean in December to the sounds of Christmas carols played with an island beat. Deck the Halls reggae style is something you have to hear to appreciate it. Or not? There's a definite feeling in the air, though not one of sleigh bells and snowflakes.....We knew before coming in to town there were four ships already docked and it was kind of fun watching so many first-timers up and down Front Street looking for their island treats and treasures while we looked for a few of our own.

Needless to say, we visited our longtime friends at Caribbean Gems and we were delighted to see the next generation, Assan Budhrani, rejoining the family business and taking up some slack for his Dad, fresh from his GIA School and a year or two of living in NYC. What a nice young man - I know his Mom and Dad are incredibly proud of all their kids, but they are really happy to have at least one of them back at home on the island again. All caught up on family news and purchases made, we were about to move on and do some serious gift shopping when GEBE struck again......no power on Front Street and from the looks of things, across most of St. Maarten. For us it was time to beat feet out of town anyway so we headed back to the car and headed home feeling like we had accomplished a lot. The power was still off in Simpson Bay when we stopped at Zee Best on Airport Road, and then headed home where fortunately, we have our own generators at the Towers so I don't know what the utility status is at this point.

I cannot get over the traffic everywhere and I try to remind myself, it is the Christmas season and those who live here have lives to live, too, but it's such a hustle-bustle island these days. It's a far cry from the laid back sleepy little island we came to love so many years ago. We love it still just as much but as always, we marvel over the changes we see. At least the rain has aided in the beauty of the island, turning the grasses green once more and allowing all the numerous varieties of shrubs and bushes to bask in their beautiful bright island colors again, while cleansing the grey dust from their leaves. Gods plan is surely a good one.

Thanks Pat for your report. GEBE is definitely the grinch and playing his nasty power tricks again ! We also noticed a few more power outages than on previous trips.

Thanks for another update. Really enjoying the ride with you guys!

Enjoying your updates. We also visited Caribbean Gems - my wife got 2 bracelets. I got a t-shirt from Secret Spot, guess that evens things out. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for the note. Enjoy the rest of your stay!

Dearest Pat, You are soooo right! God's plan is a good one plus!
Thanks, BobD

I can't remember the traffic ever being this bad.