Posted by:
pat
(---.dsl.wlfrct.sbcglobal.net)
SXM Trip Report – 11/15 through 11/21
Flew
AA 667 JFK/SXM – departed on time and arrived a little early. A perfect flight in every way with excellent service throughout. Same deal,
AA 660 home and arrived a few minutes early – after the incredibly long taxi to the terminal and the hike to immigration we cleared the area and met our driver and were back at home in CT by 8 last night.
Easy arrival and airport exit in SXM – carry-on bags and seats in the front of the plane and of course,
Kennys Car Rental right there with our chariot. Lesley didn’t know it but he was about to become our new best friend. Second day there, the car battery died – Lesley was there with a new battery within fifteen minutes. Third day there, our locked car was vandalized in the Mullet beach parking lot so once again, we called him and within minutes, he was there with a new car for us. It pains me to see one islander hurt by another islander this way but Lesley took it all in stride and performed valiantly.
The rest of our trip was the absolutely great. Our arrival at
The Towers is always a pleasure – greeting and being greeted by the same friendly faces – it’s like coming home or visiting dear family. We had a lovely one bedroom corner unit on the 7th floor overlooking the pool and the lagoon so I was able to catch my sunrises each morning.
Fresh pastries from
Carlsons delivered to The Towers each day to have with our morning coffee on the balcony – I can’t believe not once did we go our for breakfast the whole trip. Lazed by the pool and met the whole Connecticut contingent of island visitors on Sunday.
The next four days we spent our daytime hours at
Mullet Beach - chairs and umbrellas from
Rosey’s and lunch there each day as well. Can’t seem to get enough of her
BBQ rib plates. The beach was clean and the water was like floating in a heated pool. All that changed on Thursday and by Friday the surfers were there so we spent our last day at the pool which is always pleasant,too. The November guests are a very nice group and it was pleasant spending time with them and catching up.
Our dinner experiences this trip were pretty limited but so was our island time.....
Night one -
Uncle Harry’s – we were headed to
Pineapple Pete's but traffic was backed up so we turned in here and had a great meal – pan fried mahi mahi and the double pork shop – both excellent with excellent service.
Night two –
Lee’s for the much anticipated lobster dinner. As always we weren’t disappointed – excellent service, grilled lobster to die for and no paper plates. And for those, who, like myself, weren't aware of it - they do now have tables on the back veranda where the lobster pound used to be - much nicer, IMHO, than sitting in the main dining area, particularly if you want to get away from the music a bit.
Night three – the much anticipated dinner with dear friends – Barbara and Dee Cannegieter – at
Antoine’s. The traffic was a killer – took us a full hour to get there – but it was worth the effort. The setting is lovely, the company was delightful and the food was incredible. You can’t ask for much more than that. We couldn't believe it when we realized we'd lingered over dinner all that time but it was a very pleasant evening.
Night four -
Paris Bistro - we had a wonderful and relatively inexpensive dinner there by island standards and enjoyed the
Casino Royale dancers while we ate dessert, so of course we felt obligated to pay back the casino. We weren’t big winners but we weren’t losers either so it was a pretty nice evening.
Night five – back to
Uncle Harry’s for some more seafood although we had started out to go to the
Hideaway but heavy traffic has made Harry's a very convenient alternative dinner spot. Once you round that corner, if it's all backed up - well, you get the picture I'm sure.
Night six –
Antoines again – such creatures of habit are we. I may have had the very best grilled grouper I’ve had in my life while hubby had the fillet and if you talk real nice to the chef he can be persuaded to make you a killer lemon soufflé. Low season affords him the luxury of a little extra time to create off the menu. We were so glad we chose to go back the second night because we got to see Jean Pierre’s daughter again – and what a beautiful little girl she’s grown to be.
Other observations – we saw more police presence this trip than ever before. Traffic in the evenings is a real killer – it took us a full hour to go to P’berg from the Towers at 6 pm but the 2nd time we left at 7 pm and got there at 7:25 so it’s all about timing. And a couple of personal firsts – never crossed the border from side to side this trip and didn’t go shopping once – no shopping so nothing to declare on our US entry forms – now this was a major first and it almost didn’t feel normal. The Mullet golf course is being played right up to the area that sustained the real Omar sand damage – we met a Scottish couple who played each day and said it was “a little rough in a few places but they were quite enjoying it!†I just smiled…..isn’t Scotland supposed to be one of the great golfing venues of the world?
So in conclusion, while I managed to pick up a cold on the way down which sadly, hung around for the duration of our trip and left me feeling a little punky and not too inclined to do much, turns out this wasn’t really such a bad thing. We didn’t go very far or do very much but we truly relaxed and enjoyed the pleasure of our time on the island and basked in the enjoyment of each others company and that was a very nice thing. How much more could one ask for?
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Respectfully,
pat
