Through the years, I’ve asked a lot of questions and you have always all been so gracious with your advice. I hope that someone else can benefit from our trip report. Our now teens love the yearly trip but we’re always looking for new ideas as their interests are evolving. Again, many thanks. And please excuse any typos as its late
Saturday: we arrived on JFK-SXM direct flight at noon. First note: that lovely huge Qatar A345 sitting in the corner. Impressive. No delays ,no issues went through immigration (no checked bags) and met with Kenny’s with our chariot for the week. Always seamless. Thank you Leslie and Shirley!
By the time we were in the room it was about 13:00. Jeannie from SxmShopndrop had just taken care of the room and stocked us up chicken nuggets, eggs, Champagne, mango and passion fruit juices, peanut butter and jelly and breads. We took a walk by Driftwood and settled on our first rum punch of the week. I had the shrimp, the ladies had the schwarma and it was all good eating! We decided to take most of the afternoon pretty easily so we suited up and immediately jumped into the pool at La Terasse. We then took a walk throughout Maho village, seeing that was new or old. After Irma, Maho Market did a pretty nice expansion and they usually have everything we need….like Etna’s but they it appears they stopped stocking it so we drove to Carrefour in Cole Bay and loaded up on Etna’s for the week. Later on we drove over to Captain D’s Rib Shack and ordered in as it was a bit windy the first 2 nights on the island. Since our day began at 03:45, we were all in bed by 9pm.
Sunday: we got up early to head over to Cul de Sac. Rumor had it that is a small local PSG fan club at the American Tennis Academy. We wanted to expose the kids to as much French as possible so this was a fantastic real experience in conversational French. We arrived & the half dozen locals didn’t understand what these Americans were doing there at 8am. They were pleasantly surprised and very welcoming. The owner Oliver teaches tennis but plays PSG games on several screens and banter ensues. The bonus was that after being down 3-2, Messi and Neymar pulled off a win 4-3, and it was coffee and croissants all around.
After the match, since we were up near Hope Estate, we stopped by L’Express for scrumptious and flaky almond croissants. Then we meandered south to Mullet Bay and spent the afternoon at the beach. Upon arriving at Mullet day, Chester who works with Rosies Ribs gave us a chair and umbrellas for $30 but we later learned that Da Water Hole has a little bit of a better deal @ $20 for chairs, umbrellas & a few drinks. But we came for the ribs and waves and Mullet doesn’t disappoint.
It’s truly a toss up of who’s offering the better rib, but we think Rosie’s is a shade better in terms of taste compared with Captain Ds…..
My brother was joining us a few days on this trip so we relaxed in the sand until we saw his jet come in, then got ready to go to the airport to pick him up.
He’d recently been at the World Cup in Qatar, then Costa Rica last month but never to nearby SXM. From there, we went to Driftwood while the girls went to the pool, got some drinks and showed him around Maho and then later, after everyone was showered, we went to Three Amigos which still has a really good mushroom chicken dish which I was happy to say, was just as good first time. Fajitas, margaritas, and tacos and the crew as sated! The night ended with Etna’s while the adults went upstairs to Sublime for cocktails, She had something called a Mexican Afterburner, Very very good and nice lounge ambience. I don’t recall my drink but it was gin based and on point.
Monday: we all slowly awoke & headed to Pinel Island. We had planned to go but it was PACKED with local school kids and the parking lot was also packed so instead, we did a bit of a tour of the French side with my brother. We’d never been to Anse Marcel nor Oyster Pond, so we took meandering drive and drove through north, saw of destroyed cars 3 cars high & a family of goats.. and a different feel of the island altogether. We continued to Galion Beach & walked about a bit and showed him where the butterfly farm was and where we took the kids as infants. It’s still a beautiful calm quiet beach perfect for families but you have to bring everything with you.
Then southwest to Phillipsburg and had to do an obligatory stop at the Star Wars museum where my kids and brother went through the museum, which is always being updated and Nick Maley is such a positive influence on children. Even if you’re not a Star Wars fan but like behind the scenes looks at sci fi or art, we’d highly recommend it.
We found Juggies as well, which was a little bit of a letdown. Our teen daughter donated her bras and we had a few cocktails. But there was a bit of a racist profiling incident. To keep things simple, my brother and I are very different in terms of color. He was treated differently by both Juggie & the chef at Krave. I diffused the situation, Juggie was somewhat apologetic and shocked we were together but the mood shifted. Took the obligatory bra photo but again, a bit disappointed. Walked on toward the boardwalk and were considering the Rusty Parrot but it was closed on Mondays.
Headed back down toward Maho and we were getting hungry, so we stopped by Toppers restaurant. You guys all know this is the old Carousel. I was honestly not looking forward to it, assuming (wrongly profiling) that it was a bit commercialized. As in, this guy has his hands in everything, he can’t be good at everything, right? But I had a brisket, my wife had Red Snapper, my daughter had gnocchi and so damn good! Cooked well, seasoned well. And good portions! We all had an awesome dinner there. I was wrong to assume it wouldn’t be good.
The owner came by the table and he really took his time to come over and chat & endear himself to us and make us feel welcome. We were 3 adults with 2 young teen kids, not a bunch of high rollers but he treated us first class. It felt like old Vegas. I didn’t realize this until later in the evening, but he invited my brother and us to to come by Thursday night to come and see their Broadway-cabaret show. My brother said to expect 4 as he would be gone by then. Topper pointed to the bar and said to expect 4 seats waiting for us Thursday night. Same day, same clothes, we were the same people but different outcome that earlier that day…
We went back to the room and of course every night ended off with healthy heaping doses of Etna‘s ice cream, namely, rhum raisin, cookies and cream and butter pecan.
Tuesday: It’s Mardi Gras aka Fat Tuesday! Everyone slept in late then we headed out to Loterie farm. We did the zip lines together & was a lot busier than it was the year previous. My daughter was still 1 kg under the required weight for the extreme zip line and she was PISSED. She truly thought if we ate lunch, she’d gain a kilo. This zip lines are a good time & a great way to work up a little bit of a sweat because afterwords we headed out to Gutside for rum punch. I had the creole shrimp. Daughter had the ribs and wife had the chicken. It was some real savory home cooking.
We took the family up Fort Louis for the view. Found an iguana defending the fort. Also, the canons' wooden bases were not replaced with new wood. We then headed up into Marigot for REAL DEAL Mardi Gras. I’ve never been to Carnaval in Haiti and you won’t find me there now. Suffice to say, it was beautiful. Such a wonderful expression of culture, colors and music and they were different dance groups each representing a different country. It was really something else.
a pair of Mardi Gras clips
We found a nice balcony on Rue de la Republic with a really great view. They were men, women and school children all dancing, music blasting. Once the dust settled, traffic wasn’t too bad and we headed back toward Maho and again the kids attacked their ice cream while my wife and brother went out for dinner.
We went to the sushi place upstairs from the casino called Alina. Between us, we had four different sushi rolls and spicy edamame. I had a gin cocktail (they was an entire list of just GIN drinks. YES!!!). and it was really done quite well.
Wednesday: we had an early wake up. We hugged my brother goodbye as we was headed back home. We had once again chartered a boat to take us around the island for eight hours. This was a huge highlight for the kids last year. It’s a speedboat that seats 12. On the way there, we finally got caught at the Saint Martin Yacht Club bridge and watched five yachts pass before we were allowed to venture forward. The bridge came to close and we can continued to Oyster Pond. We did see a building with about 11 apartments for sale for about 5 1/2 million but we forgot the checkbook at home.
We met with our captain for the day & he asked what we wanted to do. The highlights of this trip were snorkeling and going from beach to beach.
We headed over to Little Bay and dropped anchor. I jumped in and once again found the submerged Heineken plane which was now broken into 2 pieces over the last year. Here's a clip of us heading toward the chopper.
From there we went across the south end of the island into Mullet Bay, dropped anchor once more and we dove off the roof of the boat.
We then continued up to Trou de David. We jumped out and swam through the hole but the water was a little rough when you got past the hole. While there, a couple had found a private spot and the gent was nude. Our captain quickly spotted the “moonfish” out of water…. The kids got a kick out of that. He covered up for a bit, I guess having seen the kids but as we headed out, they waved. All in fun. We continued onto Happy Bay.
Then onto Grand Case where we dropped anchor again for lunch. With this private charter, soda, beer, wine, soda, fruit salad, pasta salad, guacamole and chips and fresh baguette sandwich lunch are all included. Also rum punch and water.
From Grand Case, it was a short hop to Creole Rock where we did some more snorkeling and I saw huge bonus, a spotted eagle ray. We continued now over to Pinel Island, dropped anchor and walked ashore and hiked up to the top of the island and then back again to the boat.
Then off the Tintamarre, which was truly to ourselves. We dropped anchor around 330 and it was just us and one other boat so we went looking for hermit crabs and shells. Lovely and very private,
Got back having circumnavigated the island, and all a lot more bronzed and tired. But no burns. the last leg of the day trip
We made our back way back to Maho and we decided on Shawarma from Little Jerusalem with dinner. We took it to go and got back to the room where we also had some chicken nuggets and decided to stay in and close the night with another walk up and down Maho strip. It was our exercise each evening.
Thursday: we decided this is the day to really wake up late so mom and son stayed in the room & did laundry while my daughter and I headed over to Phillipsburg looking for the ever elusive Johnny Walker Island Green. I also did some price shopping just to see what I was up against. Went to Friendly Duty, only to learn there were ...4 of them? Also Gulmohars.
We got back and from there we headed over to Grand Case. We parked a little bit closer to Captain Frenchy and had a couple of cocktails. Being that we were really tired from the day on the boat, we weren’t looking to really go swimming, so we walked the entire shoreline of Grand Case and collected lots of beach glass which the kids were thrilled about. The walk from Cafe Frenchy was relaxing. Got to the dock, ascended the stairs and found Talk of the Town and sat for an early 430ish dinner. I think a rum punch a day keeps the sunburns away. We all had chicken and ribs and TOTT Lolo aways consistently does well. The potato salad is commendable.
Upon leaving, I headed north just to see where Hercule Resto was. I got there and briefly met the owners, asked when they’d be open tomorrow and said we’d see them the next day.
We arrived at Toppers for the evening show and it featured young local talent. We sat at our reserved seats at the bar, had cocktails and dessert. Topper came by to say hello. His entire staff was excellent. A lovely end to another fantastic day in St. Martin.
Friday: We went to Friars Bay (instead of Mullet) for the first time after having seen it from the boat several times. We sat in the beige middle section, just to the left of the swinging chairs if you’re looking at the beach. It was windy and a bit wavy but a perfectly sunny day with scattered clouds. I observed that through we were on island time from day 1, the service here was a much slower and it wasn’t busy. We had a few cocktails but saved our appetites for Hercule Resto Creole.
After a few hours of sun and waves, we headed into Bacchus in/behind Hope Estate for a pair of wines, then off to dinner.
Next stop, Hercule Resto Creole. (we love finding where the locals eat. Years ago, in Paris, it was about lunchtime and as everyone went in and to of cafes, we just watched where the local workers went and followed. Best thing ever! )
I didn’t realize but we’d been at the place across the street from Hercule…in 2016 when it was a pharmacy and we were on the way back from Pinel. It’s on one of the highest points on that street. Hercule Resto Creole faces the old pharmacy, now a Carribean store.
Oh, my G-d….the griot (fried pork) was the best I think I ever had. It was fried but tender. Im almost betting it was baked then maybe a light fry? It was AMAZING. The plantains were again, fried but not saturated in oil nor overdone. The food was so damn good, you’d kick your grandma out of the way for second helpings. And the ti rhum punch did just that…..it packed a wallop. Finally, the Clement rhum was a perfect digestif to follow. I can’t recommend this place enough.
Saturday: our last day, we awoke and we went to pick up café and croissants at Oh Paris! Love the decor inside as well as on the rooftop. The almond croissant there was HEAVY, laden in almond paste. Well done!
I thought we’d hit Mullet today but the family opted to hang by the pool. For a 4:54 departure, we left Maho by 1:30, showered, changed, then off to Oh Paris! again, for quiche to go. Then a stop at Carrefour in….Cole Bay near Port au Pleasance for sweatshirts. BTW, there was a Zee Best in Port au Pleasance years ago, right? I remember taking a pic of our :Dkids on a small….bridge there years ago?
At the airport, we were in the priority line by 2:45 for a 4:54 departure.
The flight home should have been SXM-JFK direct but our crew timed out. Thankfully, plan B was get to MIA, switch crews and continue to JFK. But in MIA, we all had to deplane, claim baggage, go through customs, then recheck baggage, clear TSA, then run back to the original gate/plane…. We got to JFK at 01:45 AM as opposed to 8:54 PM but we were home.
(Note: we bought a rhum in airport duty free. Thank G-d we remembered, because in this fiasco, we had to go through TSA again, not sure what would have happened had I not remembered to throw this in luggage between MIA and JFK.)
No JW Island Green all over the island. But I did grab JW Blue & JW Blue Ghost Rare Port Dundas. After I got home, I emailed the duty free shop I bought from and thanked them for their speedy delivery to our room. I then inquired about JW Island Green for next year. I may be able to order ahead.
Tried my best to make the pics and videos work. much love!
Last edited by the captain; 02/28/202310:49 PM. Reason: spelling
Oh ow last thing, my kids kept noticing a “gingerbread house” at the turn to Friars Bay. Looked like a home that must have a Christmas set up for the holidays. So next Christmas, look out for it?
Thanks for the great report. We were wondering if Etna was available at Maho but it looks like we will be going to Carrefour. You certainly managed to fit a lot into one week.
Great report and photos but tell me, please, how did you remember it all? Do you take notes or just have amazing recall? I often have a hard time recalling if I had my morning coffee. Thanks for sharing a very inclusive and informative trip.
Respectfully,
pat
"Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them."
Oh ow last thing, my kids kept noticing a “gingerbread house” at the turn to Friars Bay. Looked like a home that must have a Christmas set up for the holidays. So next Christmas, look out for it?
Not sure if we're talking about the same place, but a building or two before the turnoff to Friar's Bay is "the Christmas House." She starts decorating in September and has some amazing decorations. Both the outside and inside are decorated, and I enjoyed visiting very much a couple of years ago. But I think she's open for tours just in December.
Thanks for the great report. We were wondering if Etna was available at Maho but it looks like we will be going to Carrefour. You certainly managed to fit a lot into one week.
You can get scoops of Etna’s at …2 places in Maho strip but for cartons, Carrefour for sure.
Originally Posted by pat
Great report and photos but tell me, please, how did you remember it all? Do you take notes or just have amazing recall? I often have a hard time recalling if I had my morning coffee. Thanks for sharing a very inclusive and informative trip.
So I do write a simple page itinerary penciled in with ideas before we arrive but as our whim changes, we do whatever. That’s the basic guide as well as using our photos to guide us.
Originally Posted by jazzgal
Not sure if we're talking about the same place, but a building or two before the turnoffs to Friar's Bay is "the Christmas House." She starts decorating in September and has some amazing decorations. Both the outside and inside are decorated, and I enjoyed visiting very much a couple of years ago. But I think she's open for tours just in December.
Yes indeed. She kept saying gingerbread house and I kept driving past wondering what she was talking about. We eventually did stop by and took a few pics outside. The decor reminded me of the game, ….Candyland.
What an amazing job of posting!! Thanks for the videos and the pictures, especially with captions. Most people don't notice the ability to add captions. Thanks so much for the report!! Carnival looks like an amazing time. It surely looks like you packed a huge amount of stuff into a short time. Sounds like you are definitely one who can 'go with the flow', as I'm sure that was very disheartening for your non-stop flight to go to a connecting one.
This was a really enjoyable report. You were able to do so much, and have surely given me ideas for our upcoming trip. Having never been to Gutside or Hercule, can you tell me, are they similar? I always have 3x more restaurants on the list than we can ever make it to, when traveling. Please do more reports on future trips! well done.
Great report. Disappointing to hear about your visit to Juggie’s. That was in my list for my upcoming trip, but maybe we will skip that.
I wouldn't let this isolated experience discourage you from going there. That's the first bad report for Juggies or Krave that I've heard of and I'm on a lot of SXM Facebook sites.
What an amazing job of posting!! Thanks for the videos and the pictures, especially with captions. Most people don't notice the ability to add captions. Thanks so much for the report!! Carnival looks like an amazing time. It surely looks like you packed a huge amount of stuff into a short time. Sounds like you are definitely one who can 'go with the flow', as I'm sure that was very disheartening for your non-stop flight to go to a connecting one.
Carol, THANK YOU for providing this venue. I have to admit that after my first day back in the office, it was a bit onerous to do the vids and pics and I wasnt sure I was doing it right. At one point I had to re-upload the pics and would have thrown up a few more but not sure how to add.
Originally Posted by taraavo
This was a really enjoyable report. You were able to do so much, and have surely given me ideas for our upcoming trip. Having never been to Gutside or Hercule, can you tell me, are they similar? I always have 3x more restaurants on the list than we can ever make it to, when traveling. Please do more reports on future trips! well done.
Gutside is a bit more of a...global carribean flavor. Having grown up on Haitian French food, Id say the rice and plantains were the same as Haitian food but the proteins were different. Hercule was literally Haitian food, nearly the same as my mom's cooking (although my Mom can still NAIL rice and beans like no other.) Gong back, the family agreed Hercule will be our first and last stop next time. We just had dinner this evening and were talking; the family agrees there is a difference but you should experience them both.
Originally Posted by biffyclyro2
Great report. Disappointing to hear about your visit to Juggie’s. That was in my list for my upcoming trip, but maybe we will skip that.
It was a teachable moment, especially given how a few hours later, the experience at Toppers was 100% reverse. In reality, we are all judged, profiled, like it or not, 24/7/365. Juggie and Krave both singled him out but backed off upon seeing he was with our party. Not cool. But, it's how you REACT to these moments that define us. Im not sure if I heard this somewhere or conjured it myself, but 'my mere existence is offensive to someone.' I wholeheartedly agree with Scubaman, Go see Juggie. So long as you don't look 'out of place', should be fine.
I've have 3 logged dives from Barts and many dives close to Barts. All were very nice but all certified dives with DMs that know what they are doing. Would not advise non certified. Their regulators measured in bars and not psi.
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