SXM Trip Report October 27, 2006 to November 11, 2006
The party started when we arrived from Chicago in CLT where we saw Curt, Carrie, Bob and Mitzi for the ride to SXM. Customs was fast in SXM, but the luggage came slowly. Mohamed of Panoramic met us at the new airport with a nice Sonata. The drive to Oyster Bay Beach Resort took 1-½ hours. I was warned, but didn’t figure it would be this bad. Oyster Bay had no record of my reservation, but Bernice of OBBR took care of everything for us. She has helped us in the past and does a great job. We stayed here for one week in a very nice 1BR. We met PeteK and Pam along with Curt and Carrie at Dinghy Dock that first night for happy hour. What a way to start a vacation.
The next day we met Brian and Judy, who I had met via the magic of the Internet. They joined us on the Pelos later in the week, which was the TikoTiko replacement. I agree with their report 100%. It wasn’t as good as the trip 2 years ago with Philippe, but still fun. Next time Brian can ride up front on the way out instead of Curt or me and get soaked with zero Gs.
Most days we drove to Orient Beach. Thanks to some previous posts, (I think from Philipe at Tabba Khady) we frequented the grocery store in Orleans plus two bakeries. Both bakeries had great sandwiches for our beach lunches. The bakery on the south side of the road has some of the best morning pastries you could imagine. Most of their patrons are locals, which is a good sign. The next week when we didn’t drive by, PeteK and Curt/Carrie offered to bring us bakery goodies. Isn’t it nice to have good friends?
We had a few lunches at Baywatch, which is our favorite. Ann loves the Scallop Caesar Salad. I try whatever sounds good that day.
Our November 3rd TTOL party at Baywatch was a HUGE success. My personal thanks to Louise and of course to Andy and Cheryl. I did a quick count of people about 8 pm and stopped counting at 80.
Our last eight days we stayed at Alamanda. We like the rooms, the staff, and the location.
We made the mandatory stops at Rima’s and DK Gems with purchases at both. (Rima’s is less expensive but they don’t have complimentary drinks)
EATS:
We don’t generally eat more than one large meal a day, so we are pretty selective. (even with this plan we added weight) We usually have cereal in the room for breakfast, but maybe add a croissant. We pack our cooler with liquids and head to the beach by 8:30 am. Lunch is either a sandwich from a local bakery or Baywatch.
Some restaurant notes:
Grain Du Sel – Good food and plenty of it. We ordered way too much. Curt ate so much he broke his chair.
The Bridge in Marigot – Our third and probably last time here. Most people liked it, but I have never had a better than average meal and service is always slow. Our good friends Ed and Donna along with other friend attended so it was still a nice evening.
Calmos Café – Good food, drinks, and your feet are in the sand on the beach.
Italian Restaurant above Captain Olivers – I can’t remember it’s name, but it’s a good local family restaurant. A little slow, but a nice family run place with mostly local customers.
Tabba Khady – Great international food and service. A very positive and memorable dining experience. Don’t miss it.
Tap 5 Deli– I know they serve pizza, but one night we bought some prepared spaghetti, meat sauce, salad, and heated it in our microwave. Add a bottle of red wine and some bread and for less than $25(including the wine) we had a great meal in our room.
Mitzi and Bob’s room at Flamingo – Bob and Clem cooked some great burgers while we drank with our friends. Bob was in charge of the hot tub too. One of only two trips we made to Simpson Bay.
Le Piment – An Italian/Pizza place in Orient Village. Our small group got 3 delicious take out pizzas one night. Janet of Jim/Janet, who were sitting with the owner, recognized our group, and the owner gave us a nice discount on the pizzas. Thanks!
Positive Stuff:
· Baywatch Party and their food, along with free coffee during our 6:30 am beach walks. We also ate at Baywatch before the Club O Halloween party.
· Curt and Carries prize winning costumes at the Club O party
· OBBR and Alamanda
· Bakeries and the Food store in Orleans
· Panoramic Car rental (note: buy gas on the French side – 90 cents a liter)
· Tabba Khady
· Super weather
· 13 of 15 days on Orient Beach – 1 shopping/moving day and 1 day on the Pelos
· And most important: Seeing all of our old friends and making some new ones (we finally met Pam - who is Mrs. PeteK)
Negatives:
· A car missed a curve and I ran into it between Orleans and Oyster Pond. No one was hurt and Mohamed of Panoramic helped me thru the problem. The woman driving the other driver was a cop on the Dutch side. She admitted it was her fault. FYI: The Gendarmes won’t write up a report unless someone is hurt.
· Minor reservation problems at both hotels and a major problem for Ann’s flight back to Chicago – somehow her reservation was cancelled by UAL. (she volunteered to stay, but I got her on the plane anyway)
· TRAFFIC
· We heard La Petit Auberge was closed so we didn’t go there, but now it appears it is open and we missed our favorite restaurant. Wait ‘til next year. (I know this phrase very well as a Cub fan)
In the past we’ve enjoyed staying at Orient beach so much, we decided to return there for our second week and avoid the stress of driving to Orient Beach from the Dutch side. I had no idea the traffic would be as bad as it was in Simpson Bay. Early in our trip we decided to drive as little as possible. We hope to be back next year about the same time. Several of our friends may not make it back in 2007, but hope that if not we’ll see them in 2008.
Despite some minor problems like the car accident, this was probably our most relaxing vacation and we can't wait to return.
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