TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Wrapping Up

Day 10, Wednesday: The End Is Near

For our last full day on the island we chose to take it easy (again). We spent the morning on the beach at GCBC. Then we headed out for what we hoped would be a nice lunch at Lottery Farm. Surprise … only open Friday – Sunday during this lowest of the low season. So we continued on the Marigot where we dropped into one of the lolos there – Caroline’s – for some creole food. It’s at the very end of the line of lolos approaching the market. We both had grilled Red Snapper. The fish was nice and fresh and came with an interesting assortment of side items, including green plantains which had c nice texture and flavor. We were entertained by a young man from Mexico who was playing Andean music on pan pipes and quatro. Talk about a mix of cultures!
Dinner was at Bistro Caribe. My wife had rack of lamb and I had veal, both very tasty.

Day 11, Thursday: Going home and final observations

Packing to come home never feels as good as packing to start the trip. But we got everything back into one checked bag, a carry-on and a backpack. Settle up with the Sunset Café (Including a 10% discount for the Magic of the Caribbean card given to us a “Encore” members at GCBC. The drive to the airport had one small twist, a detour on Marigot due to road work at the traffic circle leading into Marigot. It took us through the Galisbay area then back to the main road. When we arrived 10 days earlier Leslie noticed that we weren’t as mobile as we used to be and told us to meet him at the departures entrance to the terminal so save us a long walk from the parking lot. I had called him as we were leaving GCBC and there he was waiting for us as we drove up. The check-in procedure was a breeze with all the fancy new electronics. The departure hall is done and looks great (we left from an A gate so I didn’t check out the B gate area. Dominos and Johnny Burger are there as is a sandwich show run by Baccus. And I noticed one other place to get food. Two bars operate in the main hall as well. On-time departure, smooth flight and quick trip through immigration and customs are it was back to the reality of New York traffic.

Some final thoughts:

The island was nice and green, despite what seemed like higher than normal temperatures. We had one cloudy day and occasional brief showers. A layer of clouds on the horizon blocked really spectacular sunsets but a couple were pretty good. All in all the weather was very good. Because of all of the construction at GCBC they area offering discounts on most rooms. Right now it is a 25% discount. And we were not bothered by the construction at all. Some areas are blocked but it is still possible to walk the boardwalk that circles between the two beaches. The new manager, Alexandra Chirlias, is very pleasant and has smoothly transitioned into the position, at least from a guest’s perspective. The addition of the evening shuttle into town was a life saver (or at least a leg saver) for us. And I have to single out Leslie Bruce and Kenny’s Car Rental. His service is superb and we very much appreciated his consideration in meeting us at the departures entrance. The Dutch side is still coping with power issues and I’m glad the airport didn’t go down when we were leaving. Power went out on the French side as well – once for a couple of hours as noted in The First Three days – a couple of other times for very brief (a minute or two) during the day. All in all, it was a very pleasant, if slow, visit.

Was the shuttle to the restaurants just put on by GCBC, or a general shuttle that one can take, for a fee, if staying in that area? I know there used to be a shuttle like that in that area.

Thanks for all your reports. It seems like many of us here are in that same situation--not as mobile as we used to be. Glad the trip home was uneventful.

So, when is the next trip?

Hi, Carol. The shuttle was just for GCBC. There used to be a guy with a golf cart and I think he was available at other places. But the hurricane put him out of business.

Next trip? Who knows. We've been to the island 25 times in the last 28 years.

The dinner time golf cart around GC was wonderful but I’m not so sure it was the hurricane that did him in. The timing was pretty close but there were a lot of rumors as to its demise. I hope you are correct and the ‘rumors’ we heard were wrong……

And as an added ps. Sorry to see you’re leaving as your updates have been a pleasure to read.

About the shuttle at GCBC; when we were last there the shuttle was free for Encore Members. Others paid a fee. I think it was $5 per person, I'm not sure. GCBC also offers trip to Super U on one day.

The current shuttle is not the same as the golf cart operation. It's a van that probably holds 9 or more people. Because of it, I get even less exercise on my trips.

Thanks, everyone, for the info re the shuttle.

Great full and detailed report .
Do have a nice rest of the year .

Thanks for the report. No suprise Leslie with Kenny's treated you well. Were there long lines for food at the airport? When we were there last February, the lines were pretty long and the food offerings were pretty slim. ( Domino's did not have pizza )

Thanks Barry .

No long lines but we were on a pretty early flight (1 pm departure).