TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Just returned to our favorite Island

We landed today on Jet Blue . The terminal facility is not being used so we deplaned via a ramp and bussed to a tent/building to clear customs and claim our baggage. It all worked fine. We picked up our rental car and went to get some groceries at CareFour (sp) near Cupecoy. We then made the trek to Orient Bay to our rental. The apartment is very clean and efficient and is 60 meters from Orient Beach. Valerie and her husband greeted us. The Unit is called Birdie 2 and can be rented through VRBO. Prior to getting you our destination we recognized Mimi from the Club O Boutique walking. We stopped and had a nice conversation. We then toured the beach. It was after 4 pm so it was deserted. Until you reach the Club O property I would recommend sandals. Perhaps not if you are walking shoreline but if you are up above there is still debris including tile and glass pieces. The devastation to the Island cannot be underestimated. These people need help in restoration. If you have ever been to Orient Village the water surge went up to the second roundabout. We went to the unit that we normally stay in at Club O. It is a concrete building. It is still standing but nothing is left in the interior. Club O has a huge job to restore the entire property to the way we all knew it. We walked to the village from Club O and had a couple of beers and ordered pizza to go from Bo’s Pizza. Very Good and very reasonably priced. I will update more observations tomorrow once we have spent a full day.
My thought is if you can make the trip please do. They will only recover through tourism dollars and they so appreciate every patron who deplanes to visit the Island we all love.
The posted pictures are great but really don’t reflect the enormity of the devastation.
carib cheers from St. Martin
doctorj
Festivities in full swing by Sunday!

Thanks for the report. Enjoy the rest of your trip!!!

Thank you,
It was very windy yesterday and a Carnival ship was in port. Several people visited Orient Beach. We had lunch at Perch Lite. We walked around a bit more and Club O has a massive undertaking to have rooms ready for winter.
It was nice to see familiar “May” faces on our favorite beach. Our flight was packed and our friends took a flight from Pensacola yesterday and that was completely booked. Let’s see what today brings.
carib cheers from Orient Bay
doctorj

Our experience earlier this month is that the airlines are downsizing the planes so that they are full. I can't say that I blame them, but it does make it more difficult for travelers.

Were you on 737's?

The cat carrier we have, we have been told is too large for that type of plane.

Hello all,
Does anyone know if Francine's is in or out of business? Been renting cars from her from when she was a Budget office. If she is indeed out of business she will be missed.
Thanks!

Jim,

Please have a cold one for me. I wish so much we could be there for a bead line & beach ball competition. Enjoy your time, Hopefully things will be better there soon & we can all talk about them good old days.

Cheers,
Mike & Sue

Mike,
The beadline and all signage were lost in the Hurricane. I brought 25 beach balls with me. We have the rum and are ready to race. The wind needs to calm down a bit. The Naked Lobsters Love Club O replacement sign traveled with us. That is the official notice we on the island. With no place to leave all the gear I had in storage it will take time to build up inventory after Club O returns. They will because they have the support of a dedicated following.
Can’t wait to reconnect with you guys.
carib cheers from Orient Village,
doctorj

Yes, we were on 737's. Very small planes.

Amen Jim!!!!! Now all you need is the Lobster suit... :-)

briandenise,
I received an email from Tara, Francine's daughter in law, in September, saying that Francine was ok. In my reply, I asked her to let me know if and when the business would reopen, as we have been renting cars from her since 1999 when it was budget. I have not heard anything more. I'll try to reach out to her again.

Another fabulous day on Orient Beach. We ran into Patou and had a nice conversation with her.
There must have been 100 chairs filled yesterday. 1 cruise ship in with maybe a dozen people trekking to Orient.
Great dinner at Sao last night.
Bright Blue sky’s today and we are ready to see what the day brings.
carib cheers,
doctorj

Most all beaches were packed yesterday. French holiday.

Fortunate enough to run int Carlos. We had a very nice conversation. We later said hello to Stephen who was looking at one of the Club O units with a vendor. We are so glad we made the trip back this year. It is heart breaking to see the devastation at Club O but the island needs our help and support.
We will stop at the Club O office today for a quick hello to Florence.
carib cheers,
doctorj

We'll be there in eight days. Is the Club O office accessible? From the road or the beach? Would love to stop in if it's not an intrusion.

Will let know about the office. We still haven’t been there. I think we were a little misdirected. They are now closed until Tuesday. We met some great people on the beach. Beach balls from Maine to California challenged the windy conditions today. It was a wet track with Snowballs winning the inaugural. A sixtieth celebration for the mare Cappy yielded rum shots for the entire field. Another fabulous day in St. Martin.
The odds are it will be a repeat tomorrow.
carib cheers,
doctorj