TRIP REPORT: NOV 15 TO 25<br> The 911 attack forced us to change some flight plans since USAir cancelled some flights. All flights down thru Pittsburg and San Juan went off without a hitch. Marcus from Sanaco rentals met us at the airport (white Toyota, of course), and he drove us part way to Orient when we parted company for the night. We were supposed to get together in the morning to do the paperwork, but Island Time was in fourth gear, and we didn’t actually sign for our car until 5 days later! I was only uncomfortable during that time without having a signed contract which included insurance. We got to our room at L’Hoste exactly one hour after landing at 6:00 PM which I thought was unreal. A little nightcap at Bikini Beach bar while talking to Dave who had just helped crew a sailboat down from the East Coast for the season. Sounded like an interesting adventure. Off to bed after a long day.<br><br> Up at 7 AM for our daily Orient beach walk, breakfast at the L’Hoste cabbana of fresh fruits, juice, coffee, bread, and croussants included in the room rate. After a thorough application of #8 sun screen all over, we ventured down to the beach for several hours. During the week Eric and Victor from LaPlaya kept our libations coming as needed. We also used our collapsable cooler with water bottles and ice to keep refreshed during mid day. Beach sand is scarce down by KonTiki and Pedros, but not bad at all at Bikini or Club O. A few sand flea or misquito bites around the ankles during the week but not bad. We had brought repellent but didn’t always use it. Some days the waves brought in quite a bit of sea grass on Orient, and the waves were nicely active as were the constant beach breezes.<br><br> One of my disappointments was how we were treated when we walked to Club O to inquire about a Tiko Tiko boat trip. We were given the feeling that if we weren’t staying at Club O, then they were not going to be very accommodating. We put down 20% to hold our seats, but they still didn’t have enough people to support a trip. I understood this , and asked them to call L’Hoste by 5 PM to confirm if we would be sailing the next day, but they said that was not possible?? This during a low season with fewer tourists than normal!? Their attitude so turned me off that I asked for my money back, and never went back all week. (Even tho they had our names and knew we were at L’Hoste and had an interest, they never even took the initiative to contact us all week.)<br><br> Had our first and only exposure to local crime at a well known restaurant in Marigot. We were having a great meal, and had started up a warm conversation with another couple from the Midwest. Suddenly a local teenage (as described) reached in from a side door a grabbed the woman’s purse and took off. It happened so quickly I didn’t know what had occurred. Naturally they were quite distraught, but the host helped by calling the local police and refused to charge them for their dinner. They had taken a taxi to dinner, so we offered to drive them back to Esmeralda—it was the least we could do.<br><br> Went scuba diving twice during the week through Scuba Fun out of Anse Marcel. Antoine, and his divers Joel and Julian took good care of us. Diving around St. Martin is not the best in the Caribbean, but sure beats diving in our Midwest gravel pits. First time I had done a wreck dive.<br><br> On Saturday night we searched out Peg Leg’s and had dinner and met Neil Rooney for the first time. Food was great. From there we headed over to the Cheri’s for a couple of drinks and the floor show. It was alot of fun for a while, but a little too much “family-style” entertainment. We left half way through the 10 PM children’s game of musical chairs. We had used the Casino Royale valet parking, and in order to get our ticket validated, we got $20 worth of quarters to play the slots. After 15 minutes, we doubled our money and left! It was enough to pay for our drinks at Cheri’s. If you haven’t guessed, we’re not big gamblers.<br><br> Other dining experiences were at L’Auberge Gourmande, Bistro Nu, Mario’s Bistro (made reservations 3 days in advance), and Sebastiano’s. Other less “formal” meals were enjoyed at BooBooJam, Talk of the Town, le Bar de la Mer, Pedro’s (pass on the hamburger), and LaPlaya. Found the MaDouDou shack (I guess I expected at least a larger parking lot) and got three ½ liter bottles and two smaller ones for gifts. $5 each for the larger bottles seemed like a good deal.<br><br> The weather was quite clear when our 767 took off from Julianna airport at 3 PM and I got several great digital pics of various parts of the island. (Took about 100 total pics during the week) We had first class tickets for most of the trip back, and it really helped right off checking in our luggage having no line to wait in. We had arrived at the airport about 2 hours before take off, and got through security easily within ½ hour. The US traffic controllers routed our USAir flight about 500 miles our of the way going to Charlotte, and we missed our connection, so they put us up in a Sheraton with $10 each for dinner (yea, right) and $5 each for breakfast.. Finally got home about 18 hours late, but we were still mellow from our trip so it really didn’t bother us too much.<br><br> Had great weather for 10 days, with rain for only an hour one midday. Island is green and seems cleaner than before. Starting to think about planning our 3rd visit already.<br><br><br><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Administrator on 12/10/01 01:43 PM.</EM></FONT></P>
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