Trip to St. Martin 2011
Trip to SXM June/July 2011:
We flew Jet Blue to the island making a stop at JFK. There were no glitches and the extra leg room was great. The flights were on time or ahead of time and the people that we flew with friendly. We flew out on the Beantown Blue airplane. Bring a set of earphones for everyone in your party. They will sell you a cheap pair for $2.00, but it is nice to have your own if you want to hear the movies.
Arrival:
Landing and customs went quickly and we were met at the door by Louis Richard for transportation to our residence for the next 15 nights. He was very accommodating and we had interesting conversation as we travelled around the island. We headed out past the end of the airport and got stuck in traffic for 15 or 20 minutes. We then turned around and went the other way through Marigot and then to the Grande Marche grocery per our request. It was a large store with a lot of American labels on the products. There is something to be said about labels you can understand and knowing what is inside the container. We arrived at our destination at about 4:30 which gave us enough time to put things in our place and go to the beach for a little while to acclimate. The check in was seamless and we were in our suite in no time.
We were amazed at how green the island was! It was wonderful to see the lush vegetation whereas in the past trips it was sometimes brown.
Accommodations:
This year we stayed at Club O. Those checking us in were kind and helpful and the Deluxe Mini Suite was very clean. It was located the same distance from the front office and the beach. Loretta was our housekeeper and she did a thorough job along with being so friendly, even leaving flowers to decorate our table every day. Stefan at the front desk was very helpful when our phone did not work and we needed to make a call to the States. He did everything he could to get someone to fix the phone but we did not have that service for the whole 15 days. Other than the two calls to the States we didn’t need one anyway (we were on vacation). It was nice to just walk out the few steps to the beach and back again. It was also nice to be able to fix lunch just a couple of minutes from the beach. It helped us afford the trip with the savings on food. I locked the keys in the room the first day we were there (we don’t have to lock here at home) and they were very gracious when we had to ask them to let us in. The internet connection was acceptable, but sometimes we had a hard time getting our e-mail. Next time we will bring a splitter and another set of earphones so that we both will be able to hear the movie on the laptop. The rain is a little loud on that tin roof!
Beach:
We say beach because we stayed on Orient except for when we were on the Peggy and Paul snorkel trip (Happy Bay). It was nice to have reserved chairs so that we didn’t have to go early just to get a good spot. Around the 4th a lot of the chairs were tagged with the Club’s tags. The water was warm and very inviting. The wind was a little stronger than we remembered from last year at the same time and snorkeling was a little harder than last year on the windiest days. We saw three different Barracudas, some different larger fish and the scores of smaller fish. My wife and I were swimming together when I spotted a three foot Barracuda about 15 feet away. I tapped her for her to see it and she grabbed my arm tightly and pushed so that she could get away. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction and, needless to say, I was a little closer to the fish than I wanted to be. It was all good since I probably didn’t look very appetizing to him/her and the fish was just chillin’ out. I did accelerate a little when I was able to undo her vise grip and got turned around. I did snap a picture of it in all of the activity, but the water was a little cloudy from the wave activity. I can just imagine what the fish thought. “He doesn’t look too appetizing to me and he also must have quite a few pounds more than me. They also have two flippers to my one! What is their hurry, this ocean is big enough for all of us.” All of this time it never moved a fin and that is worrisome in itself. After a night of storm I dove down to find a couple of sea urchin shells. When we got back to our chairs we showed them to others and gave them to a couple that have a place on the island. One day while on the beach there was a boat that came in towards the beach at a high rate of speed and headed for the Palm Beach area. The boat was all black and looked like something out of a James Bond movie. A friend paddled a kayak near it and when he saw a person standing on the back with black pants and a white shirt next to the “stealth” craft, he said he got a feeling of foreboding and left there post haste. On a sad note we saw some coming back from “Happy Hour” that could not negotiate their way. One lady fell in the surf and after rolling around for a while others dragged her like a sack of potatoes out of the water. Even though we don’t drink (we did get a smoothie from the Perch) we are glad that the majority of people aren’t like that. She could not have felt very good the next morning.
Peggy and Paul Trip:
What can I say that hasn’t been said? It was wonderful! A couple that we met through this board picked us up and took us to Oyster Pond for the trip. There were 12 of us on the trip and we knew all but two couples. We went out from the marina and to Tintamarre to see the former “Peggy and Paul boat” on the beach out back. We went around the island and anchored on the sandy beach where some of us chose to snorkel and see the spiny urchins. There was a cat anchored there that had all guys on it. Paul said it was Gendarmes out on an excursion. We did the “wave” and later they all lined up and mooned us with their own version of the wave! It was fun for all! After a trip to wave to the people on Orient Beach we headed around the island stopping to see planes at Moho and of course we can’t forget our time at Happy Bay with Danny’s ribs and chicken along with other things that Peggy and Paul made. As usual it was delicious! The trip was very smooth as far as the ocean is concerned (no more than five foot waves). We snorkeled at Baie Rouge and got to swim through the hole in the rock and see many fish. A quick stop at turtle rock did yield a sighting of a turtle.
Food:
Since we brought a lot of food and purchased some at Grande Marche, we didn’t eat out much. We did go to Paradise View for Crepes one morning. They were delicious! T and B took us there and warned us not to order a meal for ourselves, but split it. That was good advice since the crepe was quite large and just lying on the beach for the day doesn’t work off too many calories. We went to the lolos in Grand Case to Talk of the Town. A couple that we met on the beach, J and S, took us there one evening after meeting them on the beach. The service was bad. The waitress acted like she didn’t have time for us even though we were across from where they served the food. All she had to do was pick it up and turn 180 degrees and put it down. But, all was not lost since the food was good. Last, but not least, we went to Papagayo several times and each time we had a great meal! Aurelien was our server the three times we were there. We took the advice of some of the ones on this board and split the meal each time. I feel like some of the people think we are cheap, but on vacation we don’t need as much fuel as when we are working at home. Even if that were not the case I don’t feel like getting a “doggie bag”.
People:
( I use just letters for names to protect the people flying under the radar)
We don’t go out much so this is limited to the ones that we meet on the beach and go out to eat with. We were looking forward to seeing J & E and their friends E & J who had never been to the island, but were celebrating their 20th anniversary while there. We had planned to be in the Peggy and Paul trip with them and we really enjoyed their company. We set up our chairs with them for the remainder of their stay. We saw T &B who were there this year after skipping a year due to medical reasons. They were kind enough to invite us to supper even after their place was flooded in the storm we had. We also played a few games of Farkle with them. M & S were two people that we “met” on this board and we were fortunate to have them give us a ride to the Peggy and Paul trip and back. They went to eat with us at Papa’s one time as well as enjoyed the P&P trip. They visited with us one evening and a good time was had by all. Scubadeb set up next to us with her friend a couple of days. She has such a positive attitude! We also saw M & G and E & S from North Carolina. Their accent reminded us of when we lived in that wonderful state. We saw others that have been there in the past, but cannot remember their names.
Misc.
There were more lizards than we remembered. It was nice seeing the lines in the sand knowing that creatures are about. We photocopied our passports to use while on the island (keeping the original in the room safe). When leaving we put one each in our check in luggage so if it got lost there would be no excuse to not get them to us. We took noodles in our check in luggage which served as padding going both ways and to keep my head above water ($1 each in the states). We took food and filled the space with gifts on the way back (the grandchildren loved them – they actually asked for t-shirts). A soft-sided cooler worked wonders for padding as well as keeping beverages cold while on the beach. I’m looking into the Polar Bear coolers for next year. Ear plugs make the airplane ride nicer if you can sleep on the plane. We both will have a Kindle for the beach next year (we had to juggle our luggage to not go over our 40 lbs. We rented a car for two days and that was enough worry. We might rent for longer if sand gravity was not so weighty. We did bring a clock so that we didn’t stay in the sun for too long. Time is not the same on the island. It goes much sloooooower.
Crime:
I guess you would have to leave Club O to see that. Security on the property was wonderful and you could walk anywhere day or night and feel safe. The few times we left Club O we felt safe, but also kept an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.
Trip from SXM:
The trip home is always a sad one. We were looking forward to coming home but we had such a good time on the island! Our trip back on the Rhythym and Blues was smooth and on time, but going through JFK was a nightmare! It took us two and a half hours from the time we got off the airplane to the time we got back through security. We had to take a shuttle bus from where we got off the plane to the terminal where we were to leave. Then the lines going through security were long and slow – too many passengers, not enough workers. They even checked my bag because I had a shaver in it! You don’t see those every day! Duh!
Thank you all for enduring my ramblings. We had a great time and from other trip reports it is a wonderful place to go to enjoy the warmth and water.
Jim C and D
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