Introduction

Our second trip to St. Martin began May 25 and concluded June 9, 2002 with time during two of those 16 days spent visiting Anguilla and Saba.  We found this trip to be even more enjoyable than the first one for a number of reasons not least of which was our ability to capitalize upon the prior experience gained.  In that respect it was definitely nice already to have firsthand knowledge of the terrain, the roads and where things were located, in addition to a sense of local custom and practice.

We will say that we are developing an understanding and appreciation of why so many visitors to St. Martin return year after year (and it's not because they all own timeshares).

We were surprised - perhaps "startled" is a better word - at the number of occasions we were recognized and how many people remembered us from our previous trip.  At several of the restaurants, which we had patronized only once, we were quickly greeted by name (even when the reservations were in another name) and there were specific recollections given of our visit including such things as where we were seated and particular dishes we had enjoyed.  The people at Rainbow Cafe were utterly remarkable in that respect.  We also found that a number of the restaurateurs were very familiar with our previous St. Martin trip report, but even more surprising was when we were approached by fellow travelers who recognized us because of their visits to our website (one needs be careful of what they publish!).

This trip was a radical change for us in terms of sharing it with other people.  We've always been "loners" when it comes to travel, until now.  A bit of explanation is appropriate at this juncture because it is relevant to a number of different things you subsequently will read and see in this trip report.  Last year as we were being seated for dinner at a perfect spot on the front porch at Sol' é Luna we realized the two couples at the table behind us had what sounded like New Jersey accents.  We cringed as we both simultaneously had flashbacks to a number of evenings in Aruba where we had endured people with similar accents who were loud, know-it-all, and supremely obnoxious with little in the way of civilized manners.  But we couldn't have been more wrong in our unintentional stereotyping.  Before the conclusion of dinner we were all introduced and happily engaged in conversation.  In fact, we found Chuck and Beth, and John and Donna to be truly delightful people.  We saw them a few more times on that trip and subsequently the friendship continued and grew through emails and occasional phone calls.  We actually were surprised when they kindly invited us to share for 8 days a villa they had selected at Orient.  We accepted and decided to add another 8 days beyond that for ourselves at the hotel we loved so much on our first visit - L'Esplanade.  Thus you now have the background for how our second trip to St. Martin came to be.  During this trip our friends from NJ introduced us to acquaintances of theirs from Texas, Louis and Lizette, who were staying at Club Orient.  They joined us a number of times for dinners and other activities, and we thoroughly enjoyed their company.  It was quite a fun crew and certainly a learning experience for us.

In terms of offering general perspectives about this visit, we would say the fare provided by the restaurants we patronized was, on average, better than what we experienced last year, with the exception of one abysmal meal we encountered.  We have what we believe will be a major surprise to some in terms of one restaurant we have ranked high alongside the best in haute cuisine.

It is worth noting that we continue to find the Friendly Island just that - very friendly.  In fact, on our latest excursion we didn't encounter even a single occurrence of French people displaying "le attitude" towards Americans.  Interestingly, we had a lot more opportunity for such occurrences since we spent so much more time in Marigot this year, but everyone was extremely nice and helpful.  Mind you, it probably became quickly obvious and the word spread that Sandra was single handedly trying to resuscitate the local economy and that, no doubt, helped ensure the exceptional treatment we received.

Probably our greatest disappointment was the manner in which we had to struggle at times to photograph various events and places.  On a number of days there was intermittent cloudiness and a persistent haze that defied any filtering for improvement.  In fact, retrospectively we think we made it worse in some cases trying to compensate.  Consequently, we feel the results we have to share with you are not totally up to our normal standards and apologize in advance for that.  For those not interested in producing high quality photography, the weather probably was just fine.  It was bright most days and there definitely was no consequential rain, although it was much needed at the time - the island did indeed look very brown.

Attire and Luggage

Before proceeding any further, we believe these issues need to be addressed so that we do not cause any erroneous impressions, particularly for those of you contemplating your first visit to St. Martin, and we don't wish for anyone to be uncertain of where we stand on these matters.

Everything you may have read or will read about the normal, accepted attire being "neat casual" is completely correct.  However, we particularly enjoy dressing well for dinner and normally make a point to do so.  In that respect we are pleased to report we have never been turned away from an establishment in St. Martin for being overdressed and have always been properly accommodated.  Hmmm, on second thought Marcel at the Pirate could prove to be a challenge (you'll understand the cognoscenti joke later).

Regarding luggage, we definitely travel with far too much by most reasonable standards.  But you don't need to tell us that - we already know it and it's a choice, as with our attire, that we've deliberately made.  Good for you, if you do it differently.  We respect that.  (You can read the preceding as a little touchiness at a few absurd comments we received in response to last year's report!).

Now, let's move along.

The Feature Presentation

OK, we're playing with words a bit here.  Wanting to offer something a bit different in terms of presentation in this trip report, we decided to prepare a chronological outline of the various activities we undertook accompanied by appropriate photos. Click on the rotating banner to discover what we've made available for you.

The remainder of this write-up follows the style of our traditional reports in which we attempt to share key observations and opinions grouped into appropriate topics.

USAirways Flights

We flew First Class Charlotte / St. Maarten and the flights in both directions were wonderful with attentive, cheerful service throughout.  Now, if they would just improve the food!  The selections of shrimp and chicken were quite edible, but that's the best we can say about it (hate to even contemplate what was being served back in the main cabin area).

While waiting to pull away from the gate in Charlotte we observed bizarre behavior by a cargo handler servicing the adjacent USAirways plane, which we frankly believe warrants his termination.  Apparently, a collapsible, wheeled baby stroller had been left at the entrance to the plane for storage in the baggage cargo area.  We saw the cargo handler pick up the carriage at the top of the extended service steps and literally kick it to the runway quite some distance below.  That was no accident - it was quite deliberate.  After sauntering down the steps looking quite pleased with himself, he picked up the stroller and threw it some distance onto a trailer which he then drove around for loading.  Totally ridiculous and despicable behavior.

Airports and Security

We left home with plenty of time to spare and had a leisurely drive to Charlotte on a beautiful Saturday morning.  Imagine our concern as we drove into the airport complex seeing parking lot after parking lot closed because they were completely full.  In the decades of experience we both have flying hundreds of times out of Charlotte we had never seen anything like this.  Ed deposited Sandra and the luggage at the terminal and optimistically announced he would be back soon.  Not!  It was a total nightmare.  An illegal spot finally was found at the far extreme of Satellite Lot #1 and the Mountaineer parked.  We were extremely glad we had elected to leave the Escalade safely ensconced at home.  When Ed at last had made his way back to the terminal via shuttle bus, Sandra, as usual, had matters well under control.  She already had us checked-in at the First Class counter, and she and the agent were waving at Ed as he entered the building.  A few questions were answered and the process was completed.  Then we proceeded to the Security area which we had been dreading because Ed, in particular, had visions of them wanting him to remove from the bag, assemble and operate all of the various cameras, lenses and related equipment we were carrying.  But, thankfully, that didn't happen.  The large camera bag was placed on the conveyor for the screening equipment and we could tell it got a good bit of scrutiny going through, but that was it.  The only thing we found odd was Ed being asked to lift each foot in turn so his shoes could be "wanded."  Clearly it was those sinister looking Florsheim tassel loafers that warranted such attention.  A nice perk we found in the Security area was the expedited access line for First Class and very frequent travelers.

The return through the Charlotte facility was the best of many such international trips we have taken.  The expanded Immigrations area, though still under construction, was a much welcomed improvement.  Even the initial luggage retrieval and Customs clearance were a snap compared to previous trips.  Of course, we volunteered that Sandra had outdone herself in aiding the local economy of St. Martin.  We have no idea how the Customs agent arrived at the amount of duty we owed, but it was so miniscule compared to what we had calculated that we were indeed happy campers.  And certainly worth noting is that after the long journey out to the satellite parking Ed found the Mountaineer just where he had placed it, none the worse for where it had been left.

On our USAirways arrival at Juliana we deplaned and had to walk around these curious perforated metal barriers to make our way to the terminal.  We were among the very first off the plane and it looked like a record setting dash through Immigration - that is until one of us who shall remain nameless (it wasn't Ed) decided they needed to stop and go potty first.  That little detour put us behind several hundred passengers in line and it took forever to get through (the obvious object lesson here is go potty before the plane lands!).

Our subsequent arrivals at Juliana (yes, you read that right) were basically non-events since we were on small planes, but the hassle of filling out the Immigration forms each time was aggravating.  We found two events that occurred with this fun activity to be curious.  On our return from Anguilla our private charter pilot was soundly chastised by the Immigration Officer because we used two of the forms generally available for arriving commercial passengers rather than him having his own supply of the very same form from Airport Administration.  Let's think about that for a moment.  The general supply in the Immigration arrival area for commercial passengers has to accommodate thousands of people daily and they were fussing because we used two of the forms?!  Give us a break - sounds like someone doesn't have enough to do.  The second oddity was when we returned from Saba via Winair and once again took the time to fill out the Immigration form.  The Immigration Officer proceeded to give us a lecture that we shouldn't have filled out the form because we had only been to Saba and therefore it wasn't necessary.  Hello, would someone like to post the rules somewhere so we could know what was expected?!  As we were getting our tongue lashing Sandra had that look about her that Ed knows means something interesting is going to happen.  The Officer finished and then Sandra politely asked how we were to have the appropriate departure stubs without completing the new forms since our previous ones were taken that morning by St. Maarten Immigrations Officers who knew we were going to Saba.  That seemed to stun them and after a bit of muttering amongst themselves they stamped our new forms and sent us on our way.

The departures from Juliana were indeed interesting, apart from the tax agents being constantly confused about what to charge us for our various "departures."  We have a number of observations which future travelers in the near term may find interesting and relevant.  First, we were amazed at the lack of traffic in the departure terminal in the mornings.  That includes the day we left on USAirways.  The place was basically deserted.  Prior to our trip we had read a great deal about intense hand searches of all checked luggage and we were dreading that.  In actuality, it just wasn't happening.  What we did observe was that all passengers checking in at Continental and other airlines in the center section of the terminal were indeed undergoing baggage searches, but it wasn't occurring in the USAirways lines.  The day we made our final departure the check-in was a breeze with locked luggage way over the allowed limit and no questions asked or searches performed.  We did notice two individuals standing against the wall wearing blazers and the ubiquitous rubber gloves, whom we assumed were not there to provide gratis prostate exams, but instead were prepared to do some sort of random searches of baggage.  We don't know if we were just lucky, but our check-in couldn't have been any faster and easier than it was.  In fact it went so well we subsequently were able to enjoy SunSet Beach Bar for about 1 1/2 hours until we saw our plane arrive.  Heidi at SSBB arranged a taxi for the short ride back to the terminal.

Villa Sun-Bird

We did a bit of preliminary checking on the Villa Sun-Bird http://www.jennifersvacationvillas.com/ when our NJ friends first invited us to share the place with them, but that was pretty much limited to reviewing various ads.  As time passed we wanted more specific, detailed information about the location in Orient Bay.  The rental agent was basically unresponsive and as we began more in-depth investigation on the internet we were surprised at the lack of information available.  We did eventually talk with two different property brokers who were familiar with the Sun-Bird and they did little to allay our increasing concerns.

So, let's get to the bottom line for the Sun-Bird based on our actual experience.  As you might expect, it has its pluses and minuses.  Once upon a time we think this was probably considered a very decent property with a good location.  But today it is well past its prime and parts of it are in need of substantial improvement.  Although not horrible, the kitchen needs to be gutted and completely redone - cabinets, counter tops, appliances - all of it, unless of course that early beach cottage rustic thing appeals to you.  We also suspect the wiring is in much need of modernization - it bothered us all the warnings posted in the kitchen about not trying to use more than "x" number or combinations of appliances at the same time.  We found it very strange and in our opinion unsafe that bathroom light fixtures were grounded to aluminum window frames which definitely were not in turn grounded.

We can say nothing but good things about the living room and veranda areas.  They were well maintained and quite pleasant.  Our bedroom was another matter.  We can't comment on the other two bedrooms - we had planned to study them a bit before the end of the planned stay, but never had the opportunity as you will read later.  In our case we had a queen bed and for storage a tiny dresser and a standalone wardrobe - no closets.  The wardrobe was a total joke because it was unbelievably small.  The private bath was marginally OK except for the commode leaking onto the floor and backing up periodically for no apparent reason.  You may be starting to get the picture now - it was impossible for us to unpack to any extent whatsoever and we were constantly operating out of luggage stacked upon itself.  The bedroom / bath might be suitable for two small children and their needs, assuming of course the commode is repaired and any electrical hazards removed.  Another major irritant was the lock on the sliding glass door to the room.  There seemed to be no rhyme nor reason as to when the lock would finally engage.  More than a few times after getting extremely frustrated, Ed would ask the other guys to try their hand at it, but usually they had no better luck.

One bright spot about the Sun-Bird is the pool and small deck area which are well maintained.  These were enjoyed a good bit.  The "lush foliage" (advertisement's words) was a mixed blessing.  From both aesthetic and practical landscape viewpoints, the place is horribly overgrown and the shrubs are in need of severe pruning.  This is particularly so along both sides of the driveway where it was always a challenge to get in and out of the cars.  While on the subject of the driveway, the gate by the street definitely needs attention.  It's a real "back breaker" when you try to lift it to keep it from dragging on the pavement when opening or closing it.  The plus side to the dense foliage around the perimeter of the property is that it affords a huge amount of privacy - no doubt, a rarity in this particular section of Orient.

The maid service was excellent - thank you, Bernadette - and Paul the gardener could be seen at work most mornings.

The last point we would make before getting to the serious problem is that all of the advertising for this villa is extremely misleading in terms of the photographs used to depict the "views."  They must be many years old because there is no view whatsoever.  Apart from the foliage, there are now buildings which completely obstruct what is shown as open area and Orient Beach below.  Whether it's intentional or not, we vigorously object to this type of deceptive representation - unless of course they would like to add a qualifier such as "Here is the view you could have enjoyed 15 years ago."

Now to the really disturbing aspect of the Villa Sun-Bird - the water.  It was not until the morning after we arrived that we discovered the unequivocal warnings that the water in the villa was not safe to drink.  What the hell was this?  Were we back in the lesser developed parts of the Dominican Republic?  Oh yeah, we had already consumed plenty of the water before we discovered the warning - that gave us some anxious moments.  We next began reading the guest instructions for the villa which went into great detail about how to manage (deal with?) the "water tank."  The following is a partial excerpt:

        If the water tank is almost empty

                - Turn off the faucet outside under the kitchen window

                - Turn on the faucet in the man-hole of water main on the
                        sidewalk situated left of the entrance gate

Yup, that did it - we had to be back in the Dominican Republic.  Guess what?  Even with a good bit of searching we couldn't find any damn water tank.  We could only surmise it was housed in a locked storage section of the villa and that poor Bernadette, the maid, was attending to its needs, though we never did see her out on the front sidewalk peering into a man-hole.  But, we still haven't gotten to the bad part yet!

Thursday morning, May 30, there was no water - not a trickle.  Bernadette was frantically summoning help and we saw various people come and go with no one bothering to tell us what was happening other than Bernadette saying repeatedly "No water, no water."  Trying to be good sports and flexible, we busied ourselves with activities away from the villa, but as the day wore on into the late afternoon with no progress, we were all getting more concerned.  Finally, Beth began calling Jennifer's Vacation Villas from whom the Sun-Bird had been rented (the maid had already been in touch with them).  After a second call, the agent offered another villa - Allamanda.  Chuck and John went to inspect it and returned with a very favorable report.  We then began what we all came to call the "evacuation."  Were we having fun yet?  In this particular case what had been a major adversity for us suddenly turned into a clear asset - we were already packed!  In all seriousness, the evacuation was a huge hassle and certainly not how any of us had envisioned spending our precious vacation time.

Overall, we did enjoy our time at the Sun-Bird, but it was not because of the property - it was because of the fun people staying there.  During one of the first mornings at the villa, Ed was up way early as usual and occupied himself reading the complete "Livre d' Or" for the Sun-Bird (though we've not seen the hyphenated form of the name used anywhere else, that's how the owners in their own handwriting present it).  Clearly over the years the villa had many happy visitors with quite a few making repeated trips.  But there was also a pattern where in the later years the comments made by guests became less enthusiastic and more infrequent.  It's a shame really because it could be made into a very nice place.

Villa Allamanda http://www.jennifersvacationvillas.com/4bed/Allamanda.htm  

This is like a night and day comparison to the Sun-Bird.  It's a beautiful property and we would quite happily stay there again without any hesitation whatsoever.  It has four spacious bedrooms, a multilevel great room with dining area and an adjoining good size kitchen that is well appointed.  And there were no warnings at all about the water being unfit to drink!  The villa is well furnished and well decorated throughout.  Multiple double doors open onto an expansive, covered veranda overlooking multilevel pools.  The panoramic views are stunning!  From a visual perspective, this villa must have one of the finest locations in all of Orient.

Our complaints about Allamanda are comparatively minor.  A definite safety hazard is the 1/2" metal rods protruding about 1" from the floor in the center of each of the doorways that the double veranda doors bolt against.  This is a totally stupid design and an accident waiting to happen.  Of course, Sandra managed to slice her foot on one of them in less than an hour after we arrived.  Subsequently, every time the doors were open we placed empty, inverted beer cans over the rods - tacky, but effective.  Another poor design feature is the surface of the steps leading down from the veranda to the pools.  They are very rough, sharp rocks - not what bare feet like.  We found these two deficiencies most curious since clearly so much good thought and planning had gone into the construction of this villa.

We will be forever grateful to the other couples who arrived at Allamanda ahead of us.  They insisted we take the master bedroom which not only was extremely spacious, but had lots of wonderful storage space!  We finally were able to unpack!  The master also has a spacious, well appointed bathroom with whirlpool and a separate, large open shower.  An annoying feature was the absence of a potty in the master suite.  No, we're not kidding.  It is in the hallway leading to the bedroom and is unbelievably small - we're talking tiny closet size.

The one bedroom which is downstairs we gather is not as pleasant as the other three.  Among other things, it gets a lot of rumbling noise and vibration when the jacuzzi is activated in the upper pool.

While we criticized the internet ads for Sun-Bird as being deceptive about the views, we can also say the ones for Allamanda don't do it justice.  The villa is much more attractive than the ads we've seen.

Perhaps most interesting of all is we discovered Allamanda and Sun-Bird are owned by the same people.  Bernadette, the maid, cares for both properties and lives in separate quarters at Allamanda.

A final personal note is in order about the transfer between the villas.  A short time prior to our trip Ed had injured his back, but was recovering very nicely and without any problems until the "evacuation."  The following morning he essentially was immobile and in a great deal of pain.  That passed after about half a day, but it continued to plague him from that point forward through the remainder of the trip.  Not nice.

Hotel L'Esplanade http://www.lesplanade.com/lesplanade.php 

We loved it last year and after this trip love it as much, if not more, if that's possible.  We really feel it's our home away from home in St. Martin.

This time we reserved the one bedroom suite which is all on one level.  The bedroom with a very comfortable king size bed is separate from the quite large living and dining area.  The bedroom has a fabulous, separate walk-in closet and there is plenty of drawer space both in the closet and in the bedroom furniture.  There is a good size bathroom with plenty of counter and storage space, a large mirrored vanity and an open shower.  The kitchen is spacious and well equipped.  The dining and living area is huge with dance floor size space between the two.  Large mahogany framed glass sliding doors in both the sitting room and bedroom lead onto a beautiful, large balcony surrounded by gorgeous flowers.  The view, simply put, is incredible.

We continue to be amazed at the flawless maintenance of Hotel L'Esplanade - it's probably better than new.

The grounds, including the fabulous multilevel pools, have become even more lush and beautiful.  They are exquisitely maintained and an absolute feast for the eyes.

After our arrival we soon noticed a nice CD/tape/tuner stereo in the suite which we greatly enjoyed.  We learned that because we had casually remarked at the end of our previous stay that it would be nice to have music, the hotel had immediately acquired these units for all the rooms.  Amazing.

We think it is worth sharing the reactions of our friends to Hotel L'Esplanade.  The ones from NJ wanted to see where we subsequently would be staying after departing the villa, so we all stopped by one day while out doing various things.  The on duty manager happily provided a tour of the deluxe oversize loft unit, the one bedroom suite and then the grounds.  To say they were impressed would be somewhat of an understatement.  One of the couple's reaction was that L'Esplanade was every bit as nice, if not better than, the accommodations they had at La Samanna where they had previously stayed.  In fact, they were so taken with the place they immediately began collecting information with the intention of recommending it to their son for his upcoming honeymoon.

We also invited our new friends from Texas to join us one evening at L'Esplanade for an expansive array of goodies from Bounty.  They too were extremely impressed and continued to enthuse about the suite all evening.  When they inquired as to the cost and heard the answer, they just looked at us for a moment with an expression of incredulous disbelief and then proceeded to announce that Club Orient had seen the last of them for future visits to St. Martin.  They would definitely be staying henceforth at Hotel L'Esplanade.

Kristin Petrelluzzi - Manager, Hotel L'Esplanade info@lesplanade.com 

Kristin is just remarkable!  We raved about her last year and feel even more strongly after this trip.  She is the absolute epitome of professionalism and customer service, and we can say we have never in our many years of both professional and personal travel ever encountered her peer.  She truly sets the standard for excellence.

Apart from ensuring that every aspect of the hotel is as it should be and providing exceptionally accurate advice for all manner of things, including current insight to restaurants, she is always happy to make special arrangements and do research if necessary.  Ed especially appreciates that because he loves to find things with which to surprise Sandra and Kristin has always risen to the challenge in assisting him to do so.  In fact, at times we wish she wouldn't devote so much energy to some of our inquiries, particularly when they are futile or not easily accomplished.

The following are some examples of the excellent assistance Kristin provided for this trip, some of which you will read more about later:

Finding the precise location of Villa Sun-Bird.  It was only after experiencing extreme frustration in trying to find the location beforehand so Hertz could be advised where to deliver the car that we prevailed upon Kristin.  Even with her many contacts and considerable knowledge, it took a good bit of effort for her to accomplish this for us.  But she did prevail!

Aerial photos of St. Martin.  Ed contacted Kristin well before the trip to inquire about chartering a helicopter to make aerial photos and perhaps to solve our previous problem of being constantly directionally challenged.  Nothing like a bird's eye view to get your perspective.  She spent a great deal of time and energy on this request before finally concluding, to her and Ed's surprise, that there were none available.  She even went to the extreme of trying to locate one on St. Barths that would fly over to provide the service.  Not to be daunted, she then proceeded to locate and offer us an interesting alternative in a fixed wing craft.

Limousine service.  Kristin determined there was a new service available on the island since our last visit and after personally interviewing the owner reported back her confidence in our satisfaction.  She was right.

Flowers.  She organized for Ed a beautiful arrangement to be delivered for all the ladies at Villa Sun-Bird when we arrived there - very late on a Saturday afternoon.  She also organized another arrangement to greet Sandra upon our arrival at Hotel L'Esplanade - it was perfect and she had prepared a beautifully done note containing the sentiment Ed wished to have expressed.

Restaurant arrangements.  At first glance, this may not seem unusual, except she put her staff at our disposal for anything that was needed in this respect prior to us arriving at Hotel L'Esplanade.  And we did prevail upon them.  Another comment worth making about Kristin's "A list" for restaurants is many of those listed are aware of it and clearly don't want to fall from grace.  Guests for whom she has made reservations do seem to receive special attention.  We will say that as a result of our one bad experience there is probably a restaurant which may now be in jeopardy from Kristin's perspective.  She'll certainly be watching closely the subsequent experiences of her customers there.

Clearly, most of the guests staying at Hotel L'Esplanade do not have such diverse requests and needs, and if they did, one person couldn't possibly cope with them all.  But it is good to know there is such an extraordinarily capable, caring person who is more than willing to assist and to look after her customers' needs.

Thank you, Kristin.

Limousine Service

Having just mentioned this, we'll move right into the subject.  Limos on vacation are just one of those fun, frivolous things Ed likes to do for Sandra.  In this case, we were extremely pleased with "Top Quality - Personal & Limousine Service."  The stretch was by far the nicest we have used anywhere in the Caribbean and Bahamas, and the owner/operator, Julio Rooi, is a consummate professional.  And we should add, he is an extraordinary driver!  You should have seen him back into the narrow driveway at the Sun-Bird - awesome display of driving skill!  Julio was totally reliable and took extremely good care of us.  He definitely understands the importance of punctuality.  We were impressed that he followed up in person with the hotel the day before our planned departure to be sure we would like to retain the original schedule.

Interestingly, his additional services include those of private-eye and bodyguard.  If we ever thought we had such needs, we wouldn't hesitate to consider utilizing his service.  Julio can be contacted at telephone / fax number 599 542 3835 or 24x7 on his cell phone 599 557 5804.

Rental Car

Because of the excellent experience we had making arrangements through sxmcars (Jack and John Rinaldi) for our last trip we had no hesitation in doing so again.  But we were disappointed with the service this time.  The first email confirmation we received didn't bear the least resemblance to the dates we had specified.  Retrospectively, we accidentally may have caused part of that problem, but we're not sure.  We had just begun using a new type wheel mouse with no wires attached and were having problems remembering that with entries in scrollable data fields it is necessary to "click" after making a selection before trying to move along in a form.  Otherwise, the data keeps scrolling.  So, indeed we may have caused some of the first bizarre results.  We quickly followed up with sxmcars in a way that we were certain was correct.  But it took about three more back and forths before they finally got the confirmation right.  John Rinaldi did call and offer an apology for all the problems; however, we felt the situation, regardless of the initial cause, should have been accurately resolved without so many attempts involved.  We also noticed in that same timeframe that there were a number of complaints on St. Martin bulletin boards about lack of timely response from sxmcars, though we have not seen any recurrences in recent months.

The actual rental experience with Hertz was just fine.  We again chose a Daihatsu Terios and were pleased with its power, four wheel drive and good maneuverability.  The same agent about whom we enthused so much last year, Pierre Richard, was waiting for us at the villa, as always with a huge smile and warm words of welcome.  He collected the car precisely on time the day of our departure from Hotel L'Esplanade.  The paperwork at the beginning and conclusion of the rental was handled very effectively.  We will definitely continue using Hertz.

Driving on St. Martin

It was much better this time mostly because now we had familiarity with the roads and directions.  We even managed to navigate Philipsburg and the roads to the airport (including unmarked detours because of street work) several times with a good degree of confidence - big change from last year!  We also thought, all things considered, the condition of the roads was pretty good.

There were two very disconcerting events involving driving by others.  One evening a group of eight of us was standing in front of Sexy Fruits in Grand Case.  Louis, a largish Texan, had his back to the street but was well off of it.  A few of us saw a gray sedan approaching recklessly and tried to warn Louis and move him at the same time.  Sandra took a huge tumble over a concrete planter which resulted in a massive bruise for the rest of the trip.  The car so barely missed Louis we thought at first he had been hit.  That was just totally insane!  The driver was a girl who looked to be about 12 years old.

The second event occurred late one night when we were sitting in Portofino.  Just outside there was a head on collision between a car and a motorcycle.  Though we didn't directly observe it happen, we did see vehicle parts flying high into the air (second story level of the buildings across the street) and then rain down everywhere.  Very scary.  Miraculously, no one was killed.  We of course assume the motorcyclist was probably at fault because of the consistently idiotic manner in which motorcycles are driven there.

Something the novice driver on St. Martin will find is that headlights are frequently badly misaligned and it's not unusual to be totally blinded by approaching cars at night.  That's always nice, especially if you're unfamiliar with the road on which you're driving.

The island really does need to get its act together in terms of licensing drivers, vehicle inspections and rigorously enforcing traffic rules.  We're surprised there aren't more injuries and fatalities than there are.

Restaurants for Dinner

Certainly we've received some criticism for previously stating that the restaurants on St. Martin are collectively not the gourmet heaven some people would lead you to think.  No doubt it's all in the eye of the beholder influenced by one's respective culinary experiences in life.  But, we stand by our original contention.  As suggested in our introductory comments, we found our dining experiences this year generally better than last, and they were quite good for the most part then.  We tried again some of last year's favorites and also definitely enjoyed some new experiences.

For the most part our descriptions of the food at restaurants are pretty straightforward itemizations of what we had.  We would like to say that when it comes to writing about food in St. Martin the master is Erich S. Kranz.  This gentleman's reviews of dining experiences are pure art - beautifully and exquisitely communicated.

Without further ado, let's plunge forth with this year's experiences and ratings.  Please note where restaurants earned, in our opinion, the same number of O's, the order in which they are presented has no significance.  Also, the ratings reflect only our views - the opinions of the other couples with us a number of the evenings would be different.

OOOOO Le Santal, Sandy Ground - Once again this wonderful restaurant tops our list.  A uniformed attendant took charge of our car for the parking lot and we entered the beautiful setting Le Santal provides.  We were warmly greeted by the head waiter extraordinaire, Mr. Samuel Audoux, who remembered us well.  He volunteered how much they appreciated the comments about Le Santal on our website.  A beautifully situated table awaited our party and we could palpably feel the anticipation of wonderful things to come.  We were not disappointed.

For appetizers, Sandra ordered the pan fried duck fresh foie gras deglazed with honey and white rum, complemented with mango chutney.  Ed did the crispy rolls stuffed with lobster meat and sweet peppers with coconut milk and flavored with light curry.  Both were excellent and the crispy rolls were so large they could easily be an entrée for someone not wanting to overindulge.  After much deliberation (just too many scrumptious offerings from which to choose) we both decided on the beef tenderloin with pan fried duck foie gras, horn mushrooms sauté and black truffle oil sauce.  Clearly, Sandra (a.k.a. Ms. Foie Gras) was continuing her pursuit of indulging in the best foie gras St. Martin has to offer at every opportunity.  The entrées were superb with the portions of beef being much too generous, but perfectly cooked.  At the beginning of the meal we had ordered two soufflés to be shared by the group - one was chocolate and the other Grand Marnier.  They were divine.

For wine to accompany the meal, Ed ordered a good vintage Chateaunuef du Pape and was toying with ordering his favorite Pouilly Fuissé for those in the group that would prefer a white.  Samuel discretely recommended a different selection - a Meursault.  It turned out to be quite wonderful - so much so, we consumed several bottles of it.

The service throughout once again was impeccable - truly flawless.  Very, very impressive.

Our single complaint was that the restaurant was a bit on the warm side.  Consequently, the men did remove their jackets during the evening as the meal progressed.

Although it was a marvelously enjoyable evening and we were quite happy, we found ourselves a bit sad as we bade Samuel goodbye, knowing it probably would be at least another year before we would have this opportunity again.  We found the attendant had brought our car around to the front entrance and had it waiting for us with the air conditioning just right.

We did learn that Le Santal has a new chef and the menu offerings appeared changed from our prior visit.  But we would say there certainly has been no diminishment whatsoever in the exceptional fare this very fine restaurant provides.

OOOO Citrus, Lowlands - This restaurant is very attractive and "trendy" in a positive sense.  We loved the decor which some might characterize as a South Beach look.  Also well worth noting are the exceptionally attractive and nicely kept restrooms.

Our hostess and waitress was Laetitia, a feisty little French girl, who we thought for a brief period was going to do that "le attitude" thing, but she quickly warmed up, particularly as Ed made little jokes with her.  The additional wait person (we regret we didn't get his name) was a huge black fellow who had excellent manners, was very well spoken and definitely knew proper methods of table service.  We enjoyed him very much.  He also was a pretty darn good photographer!

Still remembering our experience at Le Santal, we spotted a '97 Meursault on the wine list and promptly ordered it.  Excellent.  The Amuse Gueule with which we were presented was very nice but it defied our ability to discern the ingredients.  The taste actually had what seemed a hint of cornbread flour - surely not?  But it was good.  For appetizers, Sandra had the escalloped foie gras topped with sautéed apples, rosemary and black pepper "gastrique," while Ed indulged in red wine poached pear accented with balsamic and blue cheese.  Both were very unusual and very, very good.  These were followed by mango sorbet which was perfect.  For an entrée Sandra had the pan roasted duck breast served with artichoke, fingerling potatoes and lola rossa.  The duck was unusually lean, tender and sliced into medallions.  Ed had the olive oil poached lobster tail which was also very good.

All of the dishes were quite creative and splendidly presented.  We thought with both entrées the taste of the principals, the duck and the lobster, was slightly too muted and perhaps needed just a bit more prominence.  But they were indeed good.

For dessert, Sandra had the macadamia crusted hot chocolate truffles with fresh strawberries and a strawberry coulis.  Ed had the crème brulée flavored with rum and bourbon vanilla bean, with crispy coconut tuile and a passion fruit coulis.  Retrospectively, it was the best brulée experienced on St. Martin.

The only misstep we encountered was when Laetitia juxtaposed the implements between us for our respective entrées.  More amused than anything else, as our linebacker waiter was pouring the flat water, Ed said "Hmmm, wonder if anything could be amiss with the setting?"  He instantly saw the problem and did a rearrangement that was nicely and unobtrusively executed.  Well done.

Afterwards we were presented drinks which were very cold and unusual tasting with a decidedly citric flavor.  We sat there unsuccessfully guessing what the concoction might be.  When we adjourned to the very attractive bar in the restaurant, we inquired about these drinks and were shown the bottle - "Limoncello" from Italy.  The bottle is kept extremely cold and a bit of sugar is added when the drink is served.  Very interesting.  We ordered Warre's tawny port which was the perfect ending to an exceptionally nice dining experience.

While at the bar, our waitress showered Sandra with compliments (she really did warm up) about the dress she was wearing and assumed we had purchased it in Paris.  She seemed shocked when we told her it was from Marigot and wanted to know specifically which store.  Ed surprised both himself and Sandra when, without a moment's hesitation, he responded "Coco Island, # 14 Rue du General de Gaulle."  Must have been the nice nap earlier that afternoon that resurrected a few brain cells.

OOOO Le Tropicana, Marigot Marina - Our reserved table at the balcony with its excellent vantage point awaited us and indeed we were glad that was the case.  Practically all of the restaurants we patronized easily could have accommodated more guests, but that was not the case with Le Tropicana - they were turning people away in droves.

Sandra started with the lobster bisque while Ed had the foie gras and sea scallops pan fried with apples and calvados which was delectable.  For the entrée Sandra had a very excellent rack of lamb au gratin with goat cheese, and Ed the chicken breast stuffed with lobster in a mild Jamaican pepper sauce accompanied by several large sautéed shrimp.  As we consumed these wonderful entrées we quickly agreed that Le Tropicana was among the very best dining experiences of the trip.  Adding to our delight was the lovely ambiance of the Marina and a cooling breeze from across the water.  Our maitre de was Christophe who was a perpetual bundle of energy and most entertaining - he clearly had a quick wit about him.

The only minor distraction was the bottle of Pouilly Fuissé which was just slightly too tart - it was the same as we had at Rainbow and with the same reaction - aggravating that we can't remember the exact brand so we could avoid it going forward.

Much to our surprise the meal at Le Tropicana including the slightly too tart Pouilly Fuissé was under $100 - certainly one of the less expensive dinners of the trip.

OOO½O Rainbow Cafe, Grand Case - The people at Rainbow instantly recognized us and were extremely cordial and unbelievably entertaining.  We still marvel over the minutiae they remembered from our previous visit including wanting us to be aware of a change they had made to the wonderful chutney we had enjoyed so much.  There's now pineapple instead of pears - it's still superb!

Sandra had the escargot with the top covered by puff pastry followed by the crispy roast duck.  Ed had the Caribbean crab cakes which were outstanding and then the shrimp and scallops which were even better than last year.  As already noted, the Pouilly Fuissé had a slight "edge" to it, but it was still acceptable.

Afterwards we adjourned to the upstairs lounge and enjoyed the view along with drinks on the upper deck.  It was a very pleasant evening with excellent food.  We continue to believe Rainbow is the best of the Grand Case restaurants we've experienced.

OOO½O Peg Leg Pub, Simpson Bay area http://www.peglegpub.com/ - Hello, what's PLP doing here listed among the best haute cuisine restaurants?  Simply because it deserves to be.

There's an interesting story behind how we unintentionally discovered the fine food at this establishment.  Earlier in the evening we had been to Bliss for a planned dinner, but left because we found the food so awful.  Hungry and frankly not sure what to do after that unexpected turn of events, we headed to PLP to collect our thoughts and perhaps stuff ourselves with some of the excellent appetizers we had found there on an earlier visit.  Upon arrival we were greeted by big Shawn wearing a gold chain that would have been adequate to anchor the Swaliga II and we proceeded to share with him our tale of woe.  He encouraged us to have a proper dinner with them and especially recommended the filet mignon upon which he said he would stake his considerable reputation.

We don't know how Neil Rooney manages to find such cuts of beef, but we will state unequivocally that we were served some of the finest filet we've had in our lives.  It was simply prepared - seared to perfection - accompanied by a béarnaise sauce - and served with delicious stir fried vegetables.  Unbelievably good!  And the cold Coors Light that was selected was the perfect complement!

Retrospectively, we have to chuckle a bit at the wide eyed stares of disbelief we received from the other patrons when we first entered Peg Leg.  Understandably, it's a very casual, relaxed bar/restaurant and there we were dressed to the 9's.  But any momentary awkwardness there might have been quickly passed.  Shawn and Neil made us feel extremely welcome and comfortable.  We later retired to the bar and enjoyed chatting with Amie, the bartender, and the other customers.

We highly recommend you partake of the exceptional dinner fare at PLP even though it is very tempting to concentrate on the also excellent appetizers.

OOO½O Sol' é Luna, Mount Vernon http://www.solelunarestaurant.com/ - We had very much enjoyed this restaurant on our previous trip, but had concerns because of reading recent comments about the service being erratic at times.  We were not disappointed - the service and the food were excellent.  Because we had the good fortune of first meeting our new friends from NJ at Sol' é Luna we thought it fitting that it was where we shared our last dining experience together on this trip.  We had a lovely table positioned on the right corner of the porch.

Ed selected bottles of Nuits St. George and Meursault which were totally excellent and greatly enjoyed by all.  Sandra ordered for an appetizer the terrine of eggplant, red bell pepper, goat cheese, dried tomatoes and mozzarella.  She asked that the anchovies which did not appear on the menu, but were heard in the waiter's description, be omitted and her request was honored.  Ed had the lobster "bisk" topped with puff pastry.  Both appetizers were very good.  For an entrée Sandra enjoyed the large open ravioli with lobster medallions, spinach, basil and saffron cream sauce.  Ed had the lamb shoulder cooked with cumin and rosemary, and served in a stew with saffroned vegetables.  These were the same entrées we had enjoyed on our previous visit and were every bit as good as before.  For dessert Sandra had the crispy banana with chocolate mousse and a chocolate sauce.  Ed had the crème brulée which was good, but not perfect - the caramelization was too thick and had a slightly gritty quality.

Talking with the owners afterwards we learned they were revising the menu which will have occurred by the time you read this.  We trust it will be every bit as good.

OOO L'Auberge Gourmande, Grand Case http://www.laubergegourmande.com/  - As before, we particularly enjoyed the ambiance of this very good restaurant and all agreed the house special before dinner drink, champagne with apricot liqueur, was excellent.

We both had the foie gras and thought it good though it was bordering on being unacceptably rare.  In fact, one of the others in the party requested theirs be cooked a bit more which was perfectly understandable.  Sandra followed with the rack of lamb she thought was good, but not exceptional.  Ed ordered medium rare the beef filet with morel sauce and sun dried tomatoes.  It arrived with the outside properly seared but otherwise was totally rare.  This was sent back for more attention in the kitchen and soon returned cooked as it should be.  The beef dish was tasty but definitely on the tough side.  The bottles of Puilly Fuissé and Chateau Carbonnieux were well received.

The group showed surprising restraint by electing to share dessert - a frozen chocolate mousse served on a crispy cookie, gratinée with almond and coconut cream, bananas, vanilla ice cream and a caramel sauce.  Yes, that was all one dessert.

OOO Le Cottage, Grand Case http://www.restaurantlecottage.com/  - This is another restaurant where the staff will have you relaxed and entertained in no time at all with their fun, friendly banter.

Sandra had the foie gras pâté of which one slice was specially marinated in wine - she thought that was very good.  Her entrée was lamb chops with garlic vegetables that appeared zucchini based.  The vegetables were truly exceptional.  Ed skipped the appetizer having noticed an interesting crème brulée on the dessert section of the menu and wanting to be able to indulge in that later.  For an entrée he had the lobster thermidor which was good, but the parmesan was a little too heavy and the dish seemed to be wanting something that wasn't there.  He did in fact make it to the crème brulée which was actually servings of four different varieties - vanilla, mint, coffee and anisette.  Very interesting.  Sandra meanwhile enjoyed her banana tart with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.

Had a very nice Sancerre with the meal.

OO½O Repaire du Pirate, Grand Case - What a fun place!!!  It's extremely casual and Marcel, owner and pirate captain, keeps you unbelievably entertained - his zest for life and the enjoyment of it simply permeate the eclectic atmosphere.  Somehow, the word "eclectic" doesn't seem sufficient or carry quite the right connotation to properly characterize the Pirate, but it's the only one that comes to mind as being reasonably close.  The restaurant is constructed from the remnants of the owner's replica pirate ship that was destroyed in a storm, supplemented with appropriate bits and pieces of jetsam and flotsam contributed by friends.  For example, the roof is an old sail and nothing more.  The entrance door is kept locked and one must knock loudly to be admitted (and you just might be told to go away - pirates are like that, you know).  Even at our late arrival time of a bit past 9:00pm we found the place packed and the patrons clearly enjoying themselves.  Marcel, being the discriminating pirate he is, took an immediate fancy to Sandra with whom he flirted unmercifully the entire evening, much to her enjoyment.

Somehow in the midst of all the merry making we were reminded we might want to eat and proceeded to attend to that matter.  We had filets of beef, fried vegetables and baked potatoes - hearty fare indeed and good.

An interesting tidbit we learned was that Marcel's pirate mate was none other than Britta, the German girl we befriended last year and who was subsequently employed by Hotel L'Esplanade.  She was away visiting family and we were sorry we were not able to renew our acquaintance.  By the way, the lock of blond hair among the other interesting objects de art in "le potty" is Britta's.

The evening was ended with Marcel pouring his infamous rum drinks from a pirate's grog pot.  Most amusing was when Sandra invited Marcel to join us in a toast and he declined his own rum saying it was too strong!  Instead he opened a bottle of wine and then joined us in many toasts.  We left quite happy, quite full and feeling no pain.

The Pirate is not for the fain of heart nor those who can't grapple with English barely being spoken - though communication is achievable.  It's definitely a unique, fun experience.

OO½O La Plantation Cafe, Orient Bay - To be perfectly honest we selected this restaurant simply because it was so convenient - literally a one minute walk from the Sun-Bird - after a tiring day of over partying on Tintamarre and late naps.  Sandra had lamb chop brochette and Ed the poached lobster topped with goose liver.  Both entrées were accompanied by a vegetable compote.  Everything was excellent and we consider ourselves lucky to have discovered this little restaurant.

OO Le Pressoir, Grand Case - This is yet another establishment where we were immediately recognized and warmly welcomed, but perhaps that will not be the case the next time after this review.

Ed began by selecting a white wine from the Mercurey region (Côte Chalonnaise) for the group and having it lightly chilled before serving.  It was very good.  We both proceeded to indulge in a foie gras pâté which was excellent.  This was followed by a lobster entrée for Ed which also was quite good.  Sandra had boneless lamb with au gratin potatoes and a lovely palm tree on the plate fashioned from squash and beans.  She found the lamb to be exceptionally tough and this discretely was brought to the attention of our waiter who indicated he would take care of the problem.  He left and returned shortly with his "solution" - a sharper knife - which he presented to Sandra.  We both looked at each other and knowingly smiled, thinking what a good joke!  But, unfortunately, it turned out not to be an attempt at humor.  Say goodbye to at least one O Le Pressoir!  The others with us enjoyed their dinners and would assign a much higher rating than we have, but there's no excuse for what transpired.

O Papagayo, Club Orient - Though we have had decent lunches at Papagayo before, this was our first dinner experience and we think it will be the last.  The only portion of the meal with any merit was Sandra's lamb chops.  The escargot appetizer was unremarkable and the Coquille St. Jacque entrée downright disappointing.  Service was horrible throughout and it wasn't just the slowness and inattentiveness.  We also were greatly aggravated at the obnoxious commotion the wait staff made in being sure we knew ahead of time that tips would not be accepted on credit cards.

6 Bliss, By Hotel Caravanserai - No O's for this restaurant!  We however will acknowledge their considerable consistency - that is for serving very unpalatable food.  The real chef must have been on vacation or not feeling well because prior to our visit we had heard nothing but good things about Bliss.

When we arrived we were surprised there were only three other couples dining in this fairly large establishment.  Our waiter, "Bo", immediately led off with a recitation of what they didn't have available that evening which didn't leave much in the way of choices from the limited menu.  We both selected the pan fried foie gras for appetizers which proved to be quite disappointing.  We ate only a small portion and asked that it be removed.  Sandra tried to explain in some detail the deficiencies of the appetizer, but Bo proceeded to insult her by saying she probably didn't know the difference between fresh foie gras and pâté.  Ed's sitting there thinking "Oh my god - doesn't he know he's in the presence of Ms. Foie Gras?!"  Ed thought Sandra showed admirable restraint in her reactions, but did notice the whole time she was slowly rolling her knife between her fingers.  For a fleeting moment Ed envisioned the next morning's Daily Herald headlines: "Insulted Customer Castrates Waiter".  However, Bo retreated with the offending foie gras and his private parts still intact.

Soon the shrimp fettuccine entrées arrived.  A few bites were taken and a conclusion swiftly reached - awful, just plain awful.  Ed excused himself and with credit card in hand went searching for Bo.

A person who identified himself as "Walter" and a restaurant manager presented himself at the table and questioned us about the meal - it felt a little bit like an interrogation.  Sandra did a superb job of explaining what had been wrong and why the food was unacceptable.  Walter did offer to provide a free dinner if we would return another night, but we politely declined.  Retrospectively, Ed wishes he had the presence of mind at the time to have inquired what would be done differently on a subsequent visit.  Anyway, we paid the full bill for the few bites of bad food we had and even magnanimously left a tip for Mr. Bo.  Then we very quickly left.

Other Dining Experiences

The following are brief comments and ratings for our other, less significant dining experiences.

44 Pedro's, Orient Beach - We went with the intention of having more of the excellent ribs we had enjoyed so much last year.  We were disappointed to find they weren't ready (still being cooked?) - curious, it was about 1:00pm.  Instead we had chicken which was OK, but nothing about which to get excited.  They had excellent entertainment and we regret not having stayed to enjoy it longer.

44 Tiko Tiko, Anchored at Tintamarre Island - Lunch was not as good this year as last.  In particular, the coconut chicken "bits" just weren't of the same quality and even the quantities of the various dishes was diminished.

444 Baywatch, Orient Beach - We enjoyed finally meeting Cheryl who is a very charming lady and who made us feel genuinely welcome and appreciated.  We were told Andy had departed a bit earlier.  Cheryl rescued us by making sure the kitchen stayed open for whatever we might want even though we had arrived late in the afternoon.  Ed enjoyed a nice shrimp Caesar salad while Sandra partook of fish and chips made with cod flown from New England.

444 L'Amandier, Grand Case - We were hugely surprised to discover our favorite bartender from the prior trip, Samir, had returned after an absence of several months.  He is now in a management position with L'Amandier.  We greatly enjoyed chatting with him.  Lunch for us both was Antipasti of cold meat and marinated vegetables.  Very tasty.

444 Peg Leg Pub, Simpson Bay area - Our first visit to PLP was immediately after returning from a long day of aerial photography and touring Anguilla.  It was nice simply to rinse a bit of the grime from our faces in the restrooms and then to collapse for a while at the bar.  Wanda plied us with cold Coors Lites and some very nice local folk who were playing darts engaged us in conversation.  We indulged in excellent Buffalo wings and coconut shrimp which ensured there would be no need for dinner plans that evening.

Neil Rooney, one of our favorite people on St. Martin, visited with us for quite a while.  He had just returned from "off island."  We talked about the transition from SunSet Beach Bar to PLP with which we think he has done a totally outstanding job.  It's a really marvelous place.  He enjoyed showing us the dock and telling us about its construction.  We also saw his "little pontoon boat" - yeah, right.  You need to see that masterpiece firsthand - it's quite something - a really serious toy!  We never cease to be amazed at the breadth and depth of Neil's knowledge and interests.  We think he must be St. Martin's renaissance man.

We ended our evening with Amie, the newest addition at PLP, serving our final rounds.  It was a great time.

444 La Plantation Cafe, Orient Bay - Because of the surprisingly good dinner we had at La Plantation we decided also to try it for lunch one day.  The ham and cheese salads were just right.

4444 Bounty, Grand Case - The Bounty Gourmet Shop provided superb ingredients for a number of nice meals during the trip.  Among other things on different occasions we bought roast beef, prosciutto, foie gras pâté, cheeses, avocado, plums, croque monsieur, French mustards, sundry breads and wines.  And of course at the very first opportunity we purchased their entire stock of the wonderful Barilla Salati Crackers.  It was all very delicious and quite nice for preparing impromptu little meals for the two of us and providing heavy cold cuts when entertaining.  We highly recommend Bounty.

4444 L'épicerie, Marigot -This is a French style combination cafe and gourmet shop that is excellent.  Our friends had discovered it on a prior trip and were eager for us to try it.  We quickly could understand why - it was great!  We most definitely enjoyed the medallions of foie gras we ordered and also sampling what the others had chosen including some outstanding cheeses.

44444 Le Bar de la Mer, Marigot - Took a lunch break here during one of the particularly intense shopping expeditions to Marigot.  We had heard the food was good, but it wasn't - it was outstanding!  Ed had the "Exotic De Crevettes Avocat" (green salad, shrimp, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes and avocado).  Sandra went for the "Nid D'Escargots Sur Fond D'Artichaud."  Their English translation was a good bit less than appealing:  "Nest of snails over artichoke bottom."

44444 Ms. B's, Dawn Beach - Here's the simple fare capturing one of the top spots in our rankings for informal meals!  Wonderful, wonderful ribs and exceedingly generous portions were served.  They were extremely meaty, tender and flavorful.  It's a pity we weren't able to try Pedro's version again this year so we could make a more contemporaneous comparison, but we have to say Ms. B's are the best.  Marco and Harry took excellent care of us and were clearly proud, rightly so, of what they had to offer.  Thank you guys!

Bars

We didn't seem to be in as many as often this trip.  Hmmm, maybe that's why we were able to accomplish and experience more of the other activities!  But, on the other hand, there was a lot of partying at the villas in lieu of being in the bars.

Peg Leg Pub, Simpson Bay area - We already have written a good bit about this establishment.  Suffice it to say it's a great bar - don't miss it!

SunSet Beach Bar, End of Juliana runway - Well, what can we say?  It is, after all, SunSet Beach Bar - no other place quite like it.  This time round our plans worked perfectly - check-in for departure at Juliana then off to SSBB for some final fun.  Enjoyed seeing Heidi again.

L'Amandier, Grand Case - Still a very good choice for after dinner drinks in Grand Case.

Boo Boo Jam, Orient Beach - Stopped in a bit too early for the lobster lunch we were contemplating, but it was good to visit again.

Baywatch, Orient Beach - Fun place and definitely worth a visit.  Cheryl stapled the Ed and Sandra card prominently over the bar.

Cuban Bar, Marigot Marina - We thought this bar and its music, albeit very loud, were particularly interesting and would have stayed longer except for an obnoxious local patron who apparently thought he could monopolize Sandra's attention.  Wrong!

Le Bar de la Mer, Marigot - In addition to having an outstanding lunch here, we stopped one evening and had before dinner drinks.  Very pleasant and an interesting local clientele.

Papagayo, Club Orient - Day and night the drinks are fine, but the table service is slow and unreliable.  It's best to go to the bar and order what you would like.

Ms. B's, Dawn Beach - Marco won't keep you waiting for drinks.  Beautiful location.

Ric's Place, Simpson Bay area - http://www.ricsplace-sxm.com/ - Stopped in after a day on Saba.  Very nice, large facility with first class audio / video equipment and lots of it.

Portofino, Grand Case - Visited a couple of times on our way back to Hotel L'Esplanade for the night.  One of those visits they had a great band and, of course, Ms. Party Person ended up on stage.  Definitely a good place for a late nightcap.

Beaches

Orient - Contrary to some reports we had read earlier in the year, the beach at Orient seemed to be in pretty good shape and certainly was as beautiful as ever.  We continue to believe it is one of the best beaches in the Caribbean with something there for everyone.

Tintamarre - The beach on Tintamarre Island where the Tiko Tiko anchors is gorgeous - just no other way to put it.

Dawn Beach - This was a new experience for us and one we enjoyed very much.  The water is beautiful and the beach itself, at least in the vicinity of Ms. B's, is smooth, finely textured sand.  It's a most attractive setting and, of course, there's the added benefit of being able to enjoy the cold beverages and exceptional ribs at Ms. B's - a winning combination!

Marigot

We made many trips into Marigot and enjoyed becoming familiar with what it has to offer, which is a lot.  Shoppers with any discernment whatsoever can quickly distinguish between the junk tourist stores and the ones offering interesting, worthwhile, quality products from around the globe, but of course with a heavy emphasis on goods from France.

A particularly enjoyable time is when Market Day is in full swing.  We went on a Saturday morning and spent hours wandering through all manner of stalls offering everything from food supplies to black market CD remixes.  The bright colors, the smells of fruit and exotic spices, and the cacophony of sounds assault the senses at every turn.  The Market is quite fascinating and well worth doing.

One easily could spend many hours, as indeed we did, searching through the top flight clothing boutiques, cosmetics stores, jewelry shops and many other emporia.  On our first expedition Ed was beginning to wonder if Sandra were feeling well or not because she seemed so restrained in her purchases.  She did buy some stunning Christian Dior lingerie at Linsolite and a very modest, but pretty diamond and ruby ring from Sheherazade.  Of course the term "modest" is relative, but the very good negotiated price of only several hundred dollars put it in the realm of costume jewelry for Sandra.  She did look long and hard at a most unique ring by Carrera y Carrera at Jewels by Love (it was not modest by anyone's standards).  She did seem greatly tempted but couldn't reconcile herself to the burnished gold finish.

On subsequent shopping expeditions Sandra seemed to regain her form.  One day in particular we made a point of visiting Coco Island where the other ladies on a separate excursion had spotted a dress they insisted was just perfect and a must for Sandra.  And indeed they were right!  The only problem was her size wasn't available (nothing small enough).  That was a pity, but we did find two totally gorgeous dresses that were perfect in every respect and bought them both.  They certainly elicited a huge number of compliments when she wore them on subsequent evenings.  That same morning we discovered L' île aux Trésors which has fine decorator items, many with a nautical flair.  Ed bought a handsomely crafted brass porthole wall clock for his bathroom at home - just the sort of thing he had been wanting for some time.  Following a most enjoyable lunch at Le Bar de la Mer, Sandra announced she just wanted to pop into Little Switzerland for a moment to look at some ornaments for our display cases at home.  About an hour later the only ornaments that had been purchased were ones encrusted with precious stones that Sandra could wear.  The damage done was extraordinary, even for her:  a gold, onyx and diamond pendant with matching earrings; a gold and diamond necklace; and a gold bracelet heavily inset with diamonds.  Let's just say it afforded us the opportunity to sharpen our skills at negotiating bulk purchase discounts.  Had we known how badly the stock market was deteriorating while we were away, those purchases might not have occurred - Sandra was glad Ed wasn't keeping up with the news.  As we paused outside Little Switzerland to replenish our nicotine levels after that stressful event, we swear we could hear sounds of celebration inside by the staff including corks popping and champagne glasses clinking - yes, the sales staff were very happy.

We did explore the new West Indies Shopping Mall and found it to be most attractive, but certainly out of character for Marigot.  That's not a bad thing - it's just different.  Only about half of the available space is populated with shops that are open.  We could see additional shops were being outfitted and that they would be in operation in the not too distant future.

At various times when we visited Marigot we stopped at the Match supermarket.  We finally understood and mastered the fine art of renting a wheeled shopping cart (actually, it's not exactly "renting" - it's more like depositing a bit of collateral for its use).  The carts are parked outside the entranceway, each connected one to another with a chain that attaches to a little device on top of the handle.  The device has a slot which we assumed wanted a particular Euro coin we didn't have, so we inquired at the cashier's station inside.  For a U.S. dollar they give you a plastic token which is inserted into the device on the cart handle and that releases it from its bonds.  When finished with the cart, it is returned to its parking station and the chain reattached which causes the device to regurgitate the token.  The token can then be surrendered to a cashier who returns the dollar used to acquire it.  Very curious system, but we're sure it serves its purpose.  One of the high priority items at Match was the purchase of hairdryers.  Within 24 hours of arriving at Villa Sun-Bird, the ladies had managed to destroy every hairdryer they had brought with them, including the one which had its own built in convertible power circuitry.  Problems with the current at the villa?  Who knows!  Anyway, they all now have official French 220 volt hairdryers to take on subsequent trips.

Marigot truly seems to come to life in the evenings.  Not to be missed is the Marina Royale area with people dining, strolling and in other ways enjoying themselves - very cosmopolitan.  Beautiful lights play across the water while the aroma of fine French food mingles in the air and voices in many languages are heard everywhere.  In addition to many nice restaurants, there are fun bars in the area and it's worth wandering around to see which ones catch your fancy.  Of particular note was the private security which was very obvious and appeared to be very effective.  These were not lame, token security personnel but clearly seemed both equipped and inclined to deal with any problems that might arise.  They were confidence inspiring men dressed in black jumpsuits and heavy boots with some accompanied by what looked like German Shepherds.  One was prominently positioned in the parking lot by the Tourist Bureau and others, singly and in pairs, were constantly patrolling all of the areas in the vicinity of the Marina.  We realized after awhile that they were paying particular attention to us.  We didn't know if they were just enamored with Sandra, which wouldn't be unusual, or perhaps we had that "problem waiting to happen" look about us because of the way we were attired, Sandra's expensive jewelry, and a high end Nikon camera we were toting.  Regardless of the reason, we appreciated their presence and attention.  As the evening progressed we always found them close by and when we would go into a bar they would discretely position themselves outside where they could see us.  When we were taking a final walk along the road back to the parking lot, Ed noticed we were being followed (at least it seemed that way) by someone whose pace was quickening toward us.  As Ed was moving to position himself, as a matter of precaution, between Sandra and the person that was approaching, out of nowhere came one of the black jumpsuits.  He intercepted this person, spoke what sounded like harsh admonitions in French and sent him packing back in the opposite direction.  In all honesty we don't know what really transpired and it may not have been what it seemed, but we felt grateful for what appeared to us to be the intervention on our behalf.  But, the story's not finished.  We entered the parking lot and couldn't see the guard that was positioned there earlier, so we were being very alert.  Just as we reached our car we nearly jumped out of our skins when the guard suddenly appeared and said in impeccable English "We've enjoyed having you here tonight." and then moved off a short distance to watch us depart.  Most curious.  We will say whomever is responsible for providing this security in the Marina area is to be congratulated.  It was greatly appreciated.

Aircraft Charter

As mentioned earlier, prior to the trip Kristin Petrelluzzi at Hotel L'Esplanade had located a pilot who would work with us to do some aerial photography and for us simply to get a better perspective of the island.  His name is Ariel Weiss (no kidding) and his company is called Key West Air.  Ariel is a certified flight instructor and holds pilot licenses from a number of different countries.  We had a series of conversations and exchanges of emails which made us confident he understood what we wanted to accomplish and that he had the right type of plane with which to do it, i.e. no wing struts that would obstruct the field of photography.  We also decided to expand the scope of our plan to include a trip to Anguilla.

We met Ariel early one morning at Juliana and then proceeded immediately to run into delays.  His plane was still being fueled even though he had made arrangements with the airport for that to be accomplished the day before (we believe him).  The next problem came about when we all went to the departure tax window to deal with that matter.  There he discovered they were trying to charge him a special overtime fee by air traffic control for his previous landing (we gather landing fees are paid at the next departure).  Ariel was irate and let them know in no uncertain terms that he had a prior arrangement for the fee not to be applicable.  So off he went to meet with the airport authority management which took a good bit of time (we got to know the wood benches outside the terminal quite well).  He returned with an official letter in hand validating his contention.  The people at the departure tax window were clearly miffed that he was right and we could see they were deliberately trying in a spiteful way to prolong the matter as much as they could.  But finally all that was dealt with and we were on our way to the plane.

As previously agreed, Ariel had removed the front passenger seat and the passenger door to provide as much of an unobstructed view as possible for the cameras.  The weather had been bright and clear until we were taxiing along the runway and then we could see a buildup of heavy haze to the north.  Our hearts sank, but there was nothing to do at that point but press on.  The haze became progressively worse as we flew toward Grand Case and circled the bay there a few times.  We then journeyed around the northern tip of the island and down the eastern side.  At our request Ariel made numerous passes over Orient.  He had a particularly neat maneuver where he would approach with the plane gaining speed banked to the left and then he would roll hard over to the right with the throttle back and was somehow able to hold that position as we made a pass - it gave a great view.  Changing film and swapping cameras was an interesting challenge.  We had thoroughly expected there would be a strong slip stream of air by the open doorway, but definitely were not prepared for just how much was hitting us in the rear seat.  Sandra did an incredible job of holding our glasses and the camera that was not in use, and having the next roll of film ready to insert when it was needed.  Excellent team work!  It really was a fun, interesting experience - a good adventure.  We just highly regret the weather was so damned uncooperative.

After the final pass, Ariel took us out over Tintamarre and on to Anguilla where it also was not only hazy, but heavily overcast - a photographer's nightmare.  Ariel waited at the airport while we spent hours touring Anguilla.  The flight back was pleasant and as we approached Juliana the sky suddenly cleared.  We must not be living right!

Ariel, even considering the delays, did a very nice job for us.  He does provide conventional sight seeing tours complete with front passenger seat and door in place.  You might want to give it a try for a different sort of view of the island.  Ariel can be contacted at keywestair@hotmail.com or 599 557 0700.

Daytrips to Anguilla and Saba

We always have to do just one more new island (or two in this case) when they're handy.  Ed's stock answer when Sandra asks "Why this island?" is always either "Because it needs doing." or "They have different T-shirts there."  Actually, it's just insatiable curiosity.  But Sandra likes adventure too!

Click on this link to read about our trip to Anguilla:  Excursion to Anguilla  and this one for Saba: Daytrip to Saba.

Ma-DouDou Store and Factory

One of the things on our "to do" list was to find the home of Ma-DouDou, the famous flavored rums and spices prepared on St. Martin.  It took a bit of effort with a few wrong turns before we succeeded in accomplishing our mission.  There it was across from the Sunrise Hotel

On our first journey of discovery we were by ourselves, but when we returned to the villa and displayed our bounty, the others were eager to visit.  So we made another trip the following day for all to partake.  Everyone loved it and more treasures were acquired.

During our visits the attendants (owner in one case?) spoke only the barest of English.  Thus it was a challenge to learn some of the things we wanted to know.  We did understand that all the many different types of attractive bottles are manufactured in France and hand decorated at the Ma-DouDou factory where we were visiting.  The thing about which we were most curious proved to be the most challenging in terms of both parties attempting to comprehend one another and communicate accordingly.  We hope we have the following correct, but there are no assurances.  A month or so before the trip Ed noticed some pictures made at the Ma-DouDou store by a recent visitor which showed an internet address painted above the counter inside.  Being the inquisitive sort he is, he tried it and brought forth a Ma-DouDou website with several nicely done pages showing pictures and providing descriptions of the various products.  Knowing this subject to be of more than a little interest to St. Martin aficionados, we posted the information on the TTOL bulletin board.  Then of course we felt like complete idiots when neither we nor any of the readers of the post could subsequently access the site.  Pursuing this matter at the Ma-DouDou store what we think we understood is that we had stumbled into a website that's under development and that they didn't mean for it to be accessible yet.  No, we hadn't lost our minds - it really was there.  We got only vague answers from the French lady who kept gesturing and saying "Sometime - another works on it." when we asked when the site would be available.  So, looks like we'll just have to be patient and in the meantime try it periodically!

BullDog in the Morning, Laser 101 FM

So how did we become guests on this radio program?  Kind of an interesting story here.

Prior to our trip Ed was cruising through various St. Martin related locations on the internet when he accessed Jeff Berger's site http://www.jmbcommunications.com/sxm.html  and realized he had won a contest for the 250,000th visitor.  There were some nice prizes from St. Martin including such things as hotel accommodations, champagne and dinners.  After a good bit of deliberation we decided to donate those prizes as fund raisers for some deserving organization in St. Martin.  We discussed the matter with Jeff Berger who suggested Safe Haven, a shelter for battered women.  We thought that was a terrific idea and asked Jeff to make the arrangements.  The next thing we knew we were asked to appear on the BullDog in the Morning program while we were on St. Martin to help promote a subsequent auction of the prizes.  Well now, that wasn't exactly the type of activity we had envisioned undertaking on our vacation, but agreed to do so in hopes of helping Safe Haven.  Sandra, of course, because of her prominent role in the charitable arena in the U.S., felt it was something we really ought to do, even if it meant she had to be up at 5am when she would otherwise first start stirring around noon.

When we arrived on island we made specific arrangements with BullDog and Melissa, another personality on the program.  The directions to the station sounded rather confusing to us, so rather than risk being late or worse yet absent, we did a dry run the afternoon before and were glad we did.  On the morning of our planned appearance we arrived right on time.  BullDog in all his sartorial glory (shorts and BullDog T-shirt) was on a balcony at the station taking a break during a commercial, saw us approaching and waved us inside.  In addition to meeting this legendary St. Martin talk show host and Melissa, we also were introduced to Yoda and ReRun.  It was really quite a fascinating venture with neither of us having ever observed, much less participated in, a live talk show (Sandra's done TV appearances, but it's just not the same).  BullDog was a total riot and they all made us feel most welcome.  While off the air we were reminded what a small world it is when we realized that Melissa, a most attractive and personable young lady, was a good friend of Kristin Petrelluzzi's sister-in-law, Cecile, who owns The Perfect Ti Pot in Grand Case.  The interview itself went fine, we think, even though it was much longer than expected.  Of course, BullDog had an absolute field day when during the interview Sandra's involvement with charitable trusts surfaced and she off-handedly remarked one of the most difficult challenges is sometimes finding qualified recipients.

We think by the end of the interview BullDog was having way too much fun with us.  Just when we thought we were through and could escape, he suddenly announces on the air that he wants us to stay for the next segment which involved a couple on their honeymoon in St. Martin.  So we did and it was a scream.  Among other things he had us play "The Newly Wed Game" with the other couple who were very young.  We did pretty darn good with our answers matching, not that anyone was keeping close score.

After it all was really finished we did pictures with BullDog and he made a few for his website.  We subsequently were provided our very own BullDog T-shirts and a recording of the program in which we had participated.  Definitely something different from a normal vacation activity!

Since our return we've received a particularly touching letter from Ms. Lorraine Lopez, Director for Safe Haven.  The following is an excerpt:

This organization is a shelter for abused and battered women and their children.  We have been operational since July 1999 and have helped many hundreds of women and children who are in a domestic violence situation.  The foundation is a non-profit organization which relies on a small subsidy from our local government but mainly from community donations and donations such as yours.  I would like to thank you for your support and consideration in donating your prize to us.  Without support such as yours we would be unable to help the many victims of Domestic Violence.

On behalf of the women and children I thank you.

Perhaps some of you SXM fans would like the opportunity to give a little bit back to the island.  Safe Haven can be contacted at safehaven@sintmaarten.net and contributions sent to SAFE HAVEN, P.O. Box 166, Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles or Safe Haven Foundation, c/o Lorraine Lopez, ASTAN N.V. #192, 3550 N.W. 33rd Street, Miami, FL 33142-5736.

A gift, no matter how small, means a lot to them and will be put to very good use.

Conclusion

It was the most splendid of trips and one we shall long remember.  As we said way, way back at the beginning of this report, we're starting to understand why there are so many return visitors to St. Martin.  No doubt, we shall continue to be among them.

Thank you for taking the time to share in our little adventure.

                                                                                        Ed and Sandra                                                                                           EandS@carolina.rr.com