Trip Report, June 12-17, 2021

Saturday, June 12

It was an absolutely beautiful morning in my neck of the woods. I had breakfast on my deck listening to the sounds of a teacher shouting instructions to children taking swimming lessons. Warm, sunny, light breeze: just a perfect morning.




Divi is building 90 new rooms. I understand about ten will be timeshares, and the remainder are hotel rooms. The tennis courts are not being rebuilt, and that area will be additional parking.



I spent several hours at the Infinity Pool, where it was mostly sunny. There was one hard rain, but we just hunkered down under the umbrellas, and it soon passed.

I had dinner at White Swan again with the group from IZI a few nights ago. The host was the jeweler I mentioned, and his wife joined us this time. They are vegan and introduced us to some dishes we otherwise would not have had. Tasty.

Sunday, June 13

My intent was to visit the beach at Grand Case Beach Club. In times past, despite the sign to park on the road, I’ve been able to drive to the gate and they have let me in. Not this time. I was told to park on the street and walk to the gate, at which time they would open the gate. I didn’t feel like doing that so drove to Orient.

Plan B was either Orange Fever or Coco Beach, both of which are highly recommended by friends. I couldn’t find Coco Beach at the time, and the friends who were joining me had been to Orange Fever the day before and wanted to try Le String so I set up there. While waiting for them, there was another heavy downpour. I took out my mini umbrella and sat under their umbrellas with mine open to wait out the rain. It passed quickly enough and it was back to lounging and looking at the water.

We went up to the restaurant to eat. All three of us had lamb chops with mashed sweet potatoes, which were very good. An appetizer of tuna tartare was less successful. The restaurant was packed, and all the beach chairs appeared in use as well. They were doing a very nice business. I was glad we weren’t too close to Sun Clubber as they had loud music; we could hear the booming bass thumping away.



We all agreed it was a perfect beach day, and I was sorry when it was time to leave.




As a result of COVID, housekeeping schedules at Divi have been curtailed, which I understand. I don’t understand that no one seems to know what the schedule is; or perhaps they know, but it isn’t being adhered to. I was told my room would be cleaned on Sunday. It had not been when I returned from the beach, but at least I was able to get fresh towels.

Monday, June 14

My kitchen is missing several items that I have been accustomed to using in prior years. I have requested replacements for a few items, but the requests seem to be falling on deaf ears. After breakfast at Réveil Matin again, I went to Ace Hardware to pick up some kitchen items. I haven’t been in that store for years but was impressed with its extensive inventory and helpful staff. They had everything on my list; I returned to Divi to find I still hadn’t had housekeeping. A housekeeper was working on the room next to me, and I was able to get her to at least change my sheets. Spent the afternoon on my deck, reading.

Then . . . a favorite SXM activity: sailing! A sunset sail on No1SXM, to be exact. This is always everything a sail should be: quiet with no music except the waves and flapping sails. The weather was a little overcast so we didn’t see much sun, but Pieter was good about sailing away from the rain clouds. I am intrigued by this shot; part of La Samanna is on the left, on the French side. On the right is Ocean Pointe, on the Dutch side.



We sailed up to this Windstar ship at anchor and waved to the crew on board.



And the famous staircase. Does it reach the ground?



Mullet at evening.



This was the extent of the sunset we were able to see.



Dinner was at The Palms with friends, where I had a few drunken ribs and brought the rest home for leftovers.

Tuesday, June 15

A quiet morning on the deck. Then I went to Georgina’s, where I had been able to get an appointment to have my nails done. I really appreciate that there’s someone on the island as good as my gal at home.

Due to the annoying curfew, I met friends for dinner at 4:30 p.m. at Barranco in Grand Case. This has been on my list ever since it opened a couple of years ago, prior to the pandemic. Coming from the airport entrance, it’s just after the lolos. I neglected to take pictures of the place, but it’s right on the water and nicely appointed.

Dinner was leisurely. I had the scallop skewer in vanilla sauce, which was wonderful. Others were equally pleased with their choices.



“The girls”




I left a little after 7:30 p.m. and was crossing the border at 7:50 p.m. I didn’t see any enforcement of the curfew, but perhaps that occurs after 8:00 p.m.

Wednesday, June 16

A beach day was in order. A part-time resident of the island highly recommended Coco Beach on Orient, saying she likes it better than Anse Marcel. Since I’m pretty fond of Anse Marcel, I had to check it out. OMG – what a fabulous place!! The pictures don’t really do it justice.




A chair and umbrella are 20 Euros but also come with a bottle of water and a towel, which is a nice touch. And they don’t charge for extra umbrellas. Three of us had four umbrellas.

For lunch, I had the fixed-price, three-course “menu of the day,” which was amazing. The appetizer was zucchini flowers stuffed with salmon, floating in a lobster bisque sauce.



My entrée was equally delicious: monkfish over mashed potatoes with a “little carrot.” That’s right: just one little carrot! Lemon cheesecake with berries completed the meal. This may be my best meal of the trip so far.

A drink I had was titled “Missionary Downfall” and included light rum, fresh pineapple, apricot and peach brandy, honey water, fresh mint, and citrus.



The water was beautiful but rough, and I didn’t see anyone getting into it. That’s the one thing Anse Marcel has over Coco Beach: calm water. In all other respects, Coco Beach is superior. Very friendly service and excellent food . . . which comes with a price tag. This is not an inexpensive day.

Thursday, June 17

Puttered around in the morning and then met friends for lunch at Da Watering Hole on Mullet Beach. It was nice to catch up, but neither the food nor the service were anything to write home about. The sign is a bit old.



After lunch I went to Bar Code for some dessert and told Ivan I likely would do another “meet and greet” this fall; this was fine with him as they are usually pretty well attended and many stay for dinner. After trying to find a baby gift for a friend and grocery shopping, it was back to the room, where I watched the sun set over Cay Hill.



Tonight I heard from the woman who is caring for my two cats, one of whom is terminal. She thinks it’s time to pull the plug, and I agree based on her assessment. Euthanasia is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. While not unexpected, I am very sad tonight that I won’t see him again.

Not to end on a “down” note, I have back-to-back sails scheduled for the next two days on Spellbound and Enigma/Celine 3, respectively.

Wow. One busy woman. Thanks for this posting.

Thanks for all the details Linda. I’m sorry about your cat.

Very nice...... thanks for sharing.😊😊

Your report makes me want to check out some other beaches, but sand gravity here is just too powerful

Wow, that was a great trip report!!! Love the photo's!! IMHO, Kontiki is in the middle of the road for your Orient beach venture. We had two lovely days there, food was amazing same with the service on the beach and at the restaurant. Can't wait to see your photo's of your sailing trips!! My condolences for the lose of your kitty-cat!!

Can I has how much the pre-fix lunch menu at coco beach was (didnt see anything online)? The prices on their regular menu on the website are very high, although it does look very nice!

Wow, great report and pictures! And Coco Beach does look amazing!! It was nice seeing you, but Da Watering Hole was not good...

erb - It was 37 Euros.

Carol - Agreed. I have no interest in returning.

Wow, nice price compared to regular menu, will have to check out, thx!

Forgot to say condolences on your cat. Our puppies are our kids.

Nice report and pictures. Well done, thank you.

And, condolences on your cat. Our animals are never with us long enough.

Another stellar report, thanks Linda ! I was saddened to read the news about your cat, and while you were expecting it, it still hurts your heart ...

Linda,

So very sorry about your kitty. I don’t know how I missed it on my first read.

The hardest thing about owning a beloved pet is the letting go and I can’t imagine how difficult it is to do this from afar but knowing it will bring peace in place of pain has got to be a blessing.

Nice report. Do you remember any of the interesting things you had at White Swan? Usually go there for dim sum. Also do you know if Sophie and Fred are still in charge at Coco Beach? Nice to hear they are back in action and the food is good.

Now that's a trip report complete with beautiful photographs. So sorry about your furry friend. We too find it hard when one of our friends pass away. Not sure how my wife would take not being home when it was necessary. Perhaps you will need another one!

We'll have to try Coco Beach in November. While the food at Anse Marcel was excellent and the beach beautiful, we were less than impressed with the attitude there. Having seen in a recent post here that a person's reservation was lost, and they were only able to get in when their friend spoke some French, it seems that hasn't changed. We don't mind paying for a great experience, but choose to go where we are made to feel welcome.

Nice pictures! I noticed the healthy palm trees.Are those new plants,or some that survived the storm?

Sorry about your cat. I missed that also in your post. We have a FBL that just turned 13 while we were in SXM this last May. I know her time will be coming but we all must legalize we sign up for this when we take on a pet in our life.

Thanks Linda, for the report and pics. Sad about your cat.

Wonderful report!

I am so sorry about your kitty--very sad.

Tim - my favorite thing at White Swan was the Peking Duck. Highly recommend.

I don't know who the owners are at Coco Beach, sorry.

Georgia - I was really disappointed in the attitude at Anse Marcel. The last time I was on island, I think I went there five times and was treated wonderfully every time. It was Ana (think that's her name) who was reluctant to let me in. A beach boy waved her off and sat us. We did get a cabana for lunch, and Ana did much of the serving. That went better because someone else in the party practiced her French, which Ana liked. I will say I felt extremely welcome at Coco Beach from beginning to end, and the food was spectacular. I didn't think AM's menu was as appealing as it has been in the past. If possible, Coco Beach is even spendier than AM.

Kenny - I am not sure which palm trees you are referring to, but I have no idea what's new or an Irma survivor. Sorry.

We felt the same about AMs menu. Wasn't as appealing but what we had was very good.

A spectacular report, Linda. I am glad to hear all is going well there but sad to hear about your cat. Not being at home at this time makes it even more difficult. Enjoy your sailing adventures for the next two days which hopefully will take your mind off things at home.

For many years we would go to Coco Beach every day during our vacation. They had some great chefs including Franck from Ocean82.

White Swan Owners are our personal friends way back and great food. Plus their Son and our Son went to C.i.A and are both studying Visual Arts and Graffic Design. Our Son in Toronto and their Son in Holland .

Linda, I didn't remember that you were the person who had made the reservation that was "lost". That gives me even more pause, as I know you've been a regular there for several years now. We haven't gone since before Irma, and doubt we'll go back now.

That was a wonderful report. You take fantastic photos! Sorry about your kitty cat. I look forward to week 3. .

Based on this we will have to try Coco, not sure I had ever heard a review of the place regarding food. With Bruno gone from La Playa this may be a new stop on Orient.

There is no statement that is more true than we like to go where we are welcome and appreciated, SXM has this in spades all over which is a key reason we go there, so when we don't get that lovin' feelin' we move on.

As for Da Watering Hole, we don't go there for the quality of food if we even eat, but it is a nice place for a cocktail at sunset and if doing a beach day there it is nice to have a clean bathroom when at Mullet. I laugh but the key reason that we don't go to Mullet or some other places is because we are spoiled and like having nice lounge pads, I blame Bruno and Dreams!

Keep on living and enjoying your trip!

I'm with you on those lounge pads. Got to have them.