TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Trip Report: April 13-24, 2016

SXM Trip: April 13 to April 24, 2016

I write this report so that I can remember what we did – may have little value to others.

Got the plane tickets in December first thing and then emailed Cecile for a room at her Orient Bay Lodge in the Palm Court Hotel; Michael at Unity for a car; and Jeannie for some food and drink in the room before we arrived. This was our first trip in about ten years when we did not get a phone from Sharon. I knew from prior experiences that the wifi at Palm Court was very good and I tried harder than usual to make sure I would have little or no need for voice communication. Had to handle a couple calls but I have a Global plan with Verizon and that worked fine. Not having a phone from Sharon did make me less likely to make local calls about excursions and things – which may not be the best thing.

Wednesday: up at 4:30 am for 7 am AA flight out of Richmond – through Charlotte to SXM. Had Business Class and everything went very well – excellent service. Arrived about 15 minutes early at SXM and – miraculously- we were able to go right to a jet way. Immigration went quickly with three lines moving smoothly – bags were out when we got there. Walked out of terminal and saw Unity car coming – over to lot quickly – Mike put us in a very new Corolla – very nice – and, I managed to avoid damaging it during our stay – not a scratch added. Drove over to Palm Court – to our third floor studio unit. Jeannie’s crew had delivered and there were lots of cold drinks in the refrigerator. I think Jeannie’s service is really worth it even if only because it means that they carry a week’s worth of drinks (including water) up the stairs for you. Cecile calls her units Orient Bay Lodge and gives a very good price. One maid visit during our 11 day stay . We have use of Palm Court pool, which is very nice. After getting settled into room, took a walk on the beach – saw the new carbets – they looked bigger than I had perceived them to be from online photos. Generally, everything seemed very quiet – people said that low season definitely had arrived. Ate dinner in room as we did most evenings.

Thursday: lazed around until time to drive over to Pinel ferry terminal. To our amazement, a boat actually left right at 10. Still 10 euros or 12 dollars per person round trip – an example of when you can get a cheaper deal if you get some euros – in any event, although I had euros, I forget to bring any with me this day. Got chairs at Yellow Beach - $25 for two chairs and umbrella. We brought a cooler as we usually do and had sandwiches and drinks of our own – Yellow Beach does not care. There is now a “National Geographic Snorkeling” business where Isabelle was before she gave up. They maintain buoy lines pretty far out and they enforce the rule that to be inside the buoy line you have to pay a fee and follow their rules. If you have your own equipment and do not want a tour, then the fee is 12 euros or 13 dollars per person. They require that you wear a life vest – at least they say it is required and I did not want to pay to snorkel inside the buoy line in any event, so I did not challenge that rule. We first swam around the point outside the buoy line where there are a couple good sections of reef – again, you can swim outside the buoy line without paying anything. Later in the afternoon, I hiked around the island while the wife paid the $13 and snorkeled inside the buoy line – where it was calmer. She did not like the vest they gave her to wear, but put up with it.

Friday: lazed around again – I do not know what happened to those morning walks on the beach every morning??? Had signed up with Aquamania for a “Flip Flop Snorkel Tour” that left from Divi to go to Pelican Point and Mullet – I really wondered how they would get enough people to sign up, especially on this day because there were no ships in port. Well – they didn’t. After arriving at Divi and getting settled in some chairs, the Aquamania Watersports lady told us that they were canceling the Flip Flop tour but that we could go on Sand Dollar to Creole Rock out of Simpson Bay, and they would run us over to Simpson Bay and get us back afterward. We said sure. They used a small motorboat to run us from Divi to Simpson Bay Resort where we boarded the Sand Dollar for a trip through the Lagoon and over to Creole Rock. The boat trips were interesting because they went very close to shore and gave us some views from the water that we do not often get. At Creole Rock, the guy said not to go to the other side because of boats – waves – whatever – so, of course, we immediately swam around to the other side and down to southside of rocks where snorkeling is best. It was a good excursion. They took everyone to Divi to drop us off and a couple others got off too because they needed a taxi and it was going to be a shorter trip from Divi back to where they wanted to go than from Simpson Bay Resort. We just hung out at Divi after getting back. Divi is looking good. Among other things, they have an activities guy who was really trying to get things going every afternoon we were there. Bingo, corn hole competition, other stuff – with real prizes like booze or jewelry. He really worked hard at it. The Bingo especially seemed to be very popular and they got a big group to play at Gizmo’s.

Saturday: one more slow start today – and a slow day. Went to Club O beach and got set up with chairs and umbrella. Good number of people on beach. Swam over to Green Cay - bit of current but nothing too strong – we spent 2.75 hours in the water, swimming over and back and snorkeling along Green Cay. Rest assured we were wearing rash guard long sleeve shirts and suits – otherwise that long in the water snorkeling and you would need better sunscreen than exists. Green Cay reef was looking good – I think it continues to get better – at least in part because few people snorkel there these days. After the snorkeling, snoozed on beach rest of day.

Sunday: lazed around and then drove over to Bay of Prunes, aka, Plum Bay. Good visibility but water was a little choppy and rough. Snorkeled about 1 hour and then went to Rib Shack in Grand Case for lunch. Spent some time at Club O and bought some groceries at Petite Casino on way back to room. Saw Bruno but he was so focused on the work he was doing hauling some things in and doing some kind of office work with an employee, that we did not interrupt him to say hi.

Monday: headed to Divi again. Divi is one of wife’s favorite places because the water is usually calmer than elsewhere and the snorkeling is pretty good. It is probably the most likely place for us to see an octopus for one thing - there is one place where you usually can see one. Late in afternoon, we headed back to room to shower and change before heading to Toppers for the big TTOL party hosted by ukdude – Jacky – whom I had assumed was a dude but clearly is not. Great party –great food supplied by Topper. Did not realize that the Janice we were talking with was the future Queen of Simpson Bay at the resort carnival on Tuesday – Janice’s picture was in the Daily Herald later in week – it apparently was quite the event at Simpson Bay Resort. On way back to Palm Court from Toppers stopped at Grand Marche for some groceries – forgot to bring the $5 off coupon (if you buy over $25 which we did). Hard rain overnight.

Tuesday: had to prepare a pleading and file it electronically with a court - pretty nice to be able to do that kind of thing while in SXM. Then, went to Philipsburg – parked in Bobby’s Marina just to make it easy – still $1 per hour - went to the Museum, which we always try to do once a trip to see what is happening there. Picked up a few items at Museum. Visited the Belgium Chocolate Shop and Kenny’s on Old Street – few more purchases there – and then spent a little money in two jewelry stores. DK Gems – our usual stop – and Kay’s which had a particular charm that DK Gems did not have and also something else which caught someone’s eye when we were in there. Oh well – nothing too expensive. Ate a late lunch at Lizzy’s on the Boardwalk which we thought was pretty good.

Wednesday: Scoobitoo out of GCBC. Schedule was for Prickly Pear but they said that the sea was too rough north of Anguilla and so we went to Tintamarre - then to Rez Bay for lunch and hanging out at Great House. Disappointing, but we always enjoy Scoobi. Lunch at Great House was a nice buffet – we ate too much and did not need much for supper.

Thursday: FunSeaker out of Anse Marcel Marina. Great day with Sebastien, Matt, and about 15 others. Went to Tintamarre, Rez Bay to eat at The Place (always good), and then to Creole Rock for some snorkeling – sea conditions were a little rough and the wife and I were the only ones who wanted to spend much time snorkeling there. Always a great day on FunSeaker.

Friday: back to Divi – yes, the wife’s favorite. Pier was looking all done and ready for use but no one was using it except for some kids running on it and diving off it. Saw a large Barracuda and our friend the octopus along with all the usual suspects while snorkeling. I made the big mistake of not wearing the rash guard shirt snorkeling – thought I would not be out too long and sunscreen would take care of it – but, we were in the water for two hours and I managed to get too much sun on my back – not real bad but annoying and a stupid mistake.

Saturday: actually got up early and walked the entire beach for the first time this trip and then hung out at Club O for a while. We then decided to go over to Pinel. Both of us just snorkeled outside the buoy lines – it was pretty rough, visibility not all that good, and we did not stay out too long. Snoozed on beach. Ate at Le Piment this night and had a wonderful dinner – Crystal (is that her name?) did her usual great job and is always fun to talk with. They have tablets at all the tables that have the menu on them – Crystal still has all her boards with the multitude of specials and I think she likes holding them up or putting them up for a table to see. I had the beef tenderloin and the wife had the blackened ribeye, and both were excellent.

Sunday: got up early again – drove over to and parked at new parking area behind carbets (parking area is very large) - set up at Club O and then swam over to Green Cay for some more snorkeling. Visibility not as good as first time we went over there but it was OK. Got back to room, cleaned up, packed up, and drove over to Unity lot to return car. Airport was pretty crowded. Why they have three separate checkpoints, including the security check, is always an interesting question. The security line was pretty long but not terrible – took us about a half hour to get through it – which is not too bad. There did not appear to be any kind of slow down at any checkpoint arriving or departing – all of the officials seemed to be trying to process things as quickly as possible. Arriving we saw a good number of electronic kiosks covered with plastic that apparently will be up and running soon for people to enter information about who they are on arrival. Flight to CLT was great – our flight attendant – Kim – was exceptionally personable and hospitable – made the flight very nice – the fact that she mixed a mean rum punch might have some bearing on my view. If I were not so lazy I would write a letter to the airline about how great she was – maybe I still will.

I noted earlier post about a different “vibe” at Club O beach. I think there is a different feeling because of the lack of sand between Pedro’s and Perch, and in front of the Perch - and the fact that the groups of people who normally set up in those areas cannot do as they have before. The “vibe” on the beach still appeared very social to me in the area mid-way between the Perch and Papagayo where we usually go.

Great trip as always.

Thanks so much for the report! Boy, you really are a "snorkeller"! I got kind of tired reading about all your snorkelling excursions. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Smile.gif" alt="" /> Thanks for the info regarding various snorkel excursions around the island. How do you describe SXM reefs overall now, versus what they were 10 years ago or so? It's my perception that they are improving somewhat. Is that correct?

I note you went to Kenny's on Front Street. It has been posted here that they are an outlet now for Rima? What is their selection like? I haven't been to P'burg downtown for several years, as I don't care for the heat and the traffic, but if they have a good selection of Rima, I may go this trip.

Nice detailed report! Thanks for sharing. I would be interested in info on Kenny's as well. When travelling to different islands on our recent cruise, we noticed all the islands have lots of Rima merchandise to purchase. I was able to get a few different things on this trip.

Great trip report !....thanks ....what is the arrangement at Divi if you are not staying there ?....Dave

Thanks for your report. You do spend a lot of time in/under the water. More power to you.

Thanks for a nice, well-written report. When we were there in Nov., the area between Pedro's and the Perch seemed about normal, and between the Perch and Papagayo was considerably narrower, which makes for a slightly different, more cramped "vibe". I think Crystal is actually Christelle, at least that's how it's spelled on Dine SXM. Either way, we know who you mean. Enjoyed reading your report.

I think that the reefs at SXM have been improving for some years. The real wild card for the future is water temperatures, as well as damage from human activity. We do have memories of Green Cay in particular in the early nineties (pre-Luis) in which the reef there seemed much better - the corals much healthier - at least in our memories. And, back then there was the big sand bar and MUCH more sand (which continued into early 2000's I think) and we used to actually set up on Green Cay with at least a beach blanket and we would picnic over there - also we would use Club O Watersports sometimes and they would set you up with an umbrella. Now, we do not even get out of water at Green Cay.

Kenny's has two locations - one on Old Street and the original one on Front Street (next door actually to original original spot). He does have Rima stuff - but we were a little disappointed in the selection as it (of course, because the stores are so much smaller than the Rima retail outlet was) was so much less than the Rima retail store. Just one example, the sleeved cotton coverups that the wife used to get at Rima's were not at Kenny's nor anywhere else. We did not think that Kenny's selection was really that different from other stores in terms of Rima products, but that is just kind of an impression - we did not study the issue. I hear you about the heat if it is July or August but we had some relatively cool days in April (and you may in May) and we do like to wander Philipsburg at least once - and I am unlikely to be able to avoid at least one trip to the "City" any time we are there because of Deepti - whom I blame for easing the wife into comfortable dealing with island jewelry stores. Hey Deepti, but for you I might be able to retire! (BTW: Deepti apparently is in Hong Kong now.)

Anyone can just go to Divi and get chairs and umbrellas from the Aquamania beach guys, eat at the restaurants, shop in the shops, use the restrooms, etc. This trip, we even talked with the activities guy who stopped as he was waking the beach trying to get people involved in sutff to ask us about our tuna stuff we were having for lunch and inviting us to participate in the activities - we did not have the green towels and I think he knew we were not guests at the resort, but I do not think he cared. We do not go into pools or do other things that clearly are for guests only, but we have been there so many times, we are very comfortable there even though we have never stayed there. I suppose some folks there might even remember us.

OK, thanks for the (somewhat disappointing) info on Kenny's. I may not bother going downtown after all. I really don't buy jewelry much any more, have a lot of stuff that I don't wear now.

Glad you had a great vacation but we did miss seeing you...You can always stop by & say hello!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

The ladies on Mullet have a lot of cover-ups hung up, under the trees, between both food bars.
I noticed some different items, if anyone is interested. There are not many walking along the beach.
I think they want you to visit their "under the trees store."

Thanks. I'll check that out next time. I usually just sit and wait for someone to come by. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" />

Snorkeller,

It was nice meeting you at Toppers, if only briefly, and like you I also assumed the 'dude' was a guy. But it was very nice meeting both Jackie and her daughter, Mickey, and I was so happy she had a good turnout.

What a great and detailed report. Don't know how you managed to keep track of everything. I have a hard time remembering at the end of the day what I did in any given day and find myself making notes for future recap.

I was interested in your comments about the reefs around St. Martin. We don't snorkel but there was a gentleman on a boat trip we took and he was very into the sport and had all kinds of his own personal snorkel gear. He emerged out of the water after only a few minutes at Creole Rock and told us how very disappointed he was in the condition of the reef - technical terms that I didn't get but in the end he said it was very bleached out and not worth the time spent to swim there, so I'm guessing he wasn't very happy. He talked about snorkeling trips in Bonaire and other places and I guess that was his personal basis of comparison.

In any event, thank you for the very detailed and beautifully written trip report. I truly appreciate the effort. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Thanks for taking time to post an enjoyable report.

Pat's report - which had a comment about the dump fire - has prompted me to post a supplemental rant to my report.

On Friday, April 15 -we had gotten back to Divi from the snorkel excursion. The wife (of course) wanted to snorkel more at Divi - I walked up to Fort Amsterdam. When I got up there, what attracted my attention was the fact that the dump was blazing - real blazing flames shooting into the sky - heavy black smoke pouring into the air. A little smoke - sure - that is a very frequent and common thing to see. But this was a rather spectacular fire. The fact that the dump is situated right in Philipsburg - an incredibly ugly eyesore - spewing out heavy metals and God knows what else into the air - is absolutely unbelievable. At least it is unbelievable if you believe that the government of Sint Maarten has any sense whatever. The people of Sint Maarten who live and work downwind of this horror have been incredibly patient - resigned to another situation for which they feel completely helpless. I wonder how long that can last. I wonder what the effects on tourism would be if there were accurate reports of air quality downwind of the dump when a fire of this nature occurs.