Hi all,
Edie, Michelle and I are back from trip #14 to SXM. As
always, we had a great time! With our daughter along on this
one, we modified our normal routines (ie: less beach time,
more casino time, different restaurants) but all agreed that
it was a great vacation. Let me get everyone caught up with
the latest news from down island. As usual, this trip report
will be via the installment plan:
What's New?
The island is GREEN! Perhaps more so than I've ever seen it
on any previous trip. There is a fair amount of
meteorological evidence that the recent eruptions on
Montserrat are resulting in more rain condensing on the dust
particles. On one recent eruption early last week, SXM got a
little dust coating that was visible on your car as a fine
white residue. Club Orient - construction of new chalets
continues. L'Orentique is being expanded along with a new
deck being added to Papagayos. Martha wanted me to tell
everyone "Hi" and that Club O will be soon opening a new
massage area that will have two people giving massages. This
should accommodate the need much better than in the past
where you had to sign up several weeks in advance.
Millenium - The former Caravansari was bought by a West
Indies group and has just opened as a new resort called
Millenium. When completed it will have 118 Deluxe Suites, 1
bedroom suites and Deluxe Bungalows. It will feature a
restaurant with a 360 degree view, 3 swimming pools, 3
whirlpools, 2 tennis courts, a casino and theater.
Mullet Bay - The owners of apartments at the resort filed a
lawsuit against SUN Resorts that owns Mullet Bay resort.
The judge in the New York Court agreed with the apartment
owners and ordered that all of the insurance monies received
by Sun Resorts, totaling US$ 39 million (of which US $21
million had been spent without rebuilding) be put into
Escrow. On April 28th, 1997, Sun Resort filed for protection
under the bankruptcy laws of the Netherland Antilles. The
case is scheduled to be heard 8/25/97. Stay tuned.
La Belle Creole - Still closed. The sticking point still
remains the rehiring of the former employees let go after
hurricane Luis. In recent negotiations, the owners offered
to rehire 50 former employees from the total of 166. The
owners would like to re-open in December. Stay tuned.
One less traffic jam - The heavy traffic jam near the Food
Center in Phillipsburg seems to have been eliminated with a
new traffic circle replacing the traffic light. This is a
welcome addition.
Less litter - The program to make SXM the cleanest island in
the Caribbean is having a positive effect. I definitely saw
less litter along the roads and the government had workers
trimming the brush on the side of the road with weed
whackers (God, you just gotta love the way they do things!).
More work is needed however on the remaining litter and I
still believe that more waste receptacles are badly needed.
Crime - Unfortunately, while I was down there, a security
guard was murdered trying to apprehend a thief. The
unfortunate man was Haitian and because the last several
murder victims were also Haitian, some people are wondering
if this group is being targeted. One of the things that I
love about SXM is the fact that so many races, ethnic groups
and religions mingle together, normally so well. I pray that
this is merely a coincidence.
Other stories from the Chronicle you may have missed in the
US: Police in Cologne, Germany had to rescue 2 young lovers
handcuffed together in bed. The naked couple had put the
handcuffs on when the key broke and the lock jammed. After
the rescue, the police left quietly. Police in Ghent,
Belgium were also busy last week as they broke up a street
game of soccer that involved the use of a 100-year-old human
skull. Why we don't get news like this in the US continues
to baffle and confound me!
I'll now switch to a day by day account of our trip 'cause
that's the way my notes read...
Sunday, 8/10
Flight down from Toronto on Canada 3000 was very
uneventful. Left on time and got there 5 minutes ahead of
schedule. For a charter flight, Canada 3000 is consistently
punctual and has a very reasonable rate usually about 2/3 of
American. Need I say more? Took about 25 minutes to get
through immigration, picked up our luggage and met Michael
from Unity Car Rental. Our first red rental car! The car was
in great shape and within 5 minutes, we were on our way.
This was the 3rd time, I have rented from Unity and the
service and cars have always been top notch. Drove over to
Jeff's condo and said "Hi" to Warren and Delores. They send
their love to their prodigy friends. As usual, we really
enjoyed Jeff's place and would like to publicly thank Jeff
for letting us rent it on 4 day's notice. I should also note
that the entire vacation went off without a single problem
which is pretty amazing since we put it together with
slightly less than 4 days preparation before we left. I
suppose since our house burned down and we went through the
eye of a hurricane during last year's trips, we were over
due <g>! For our first night out, we went to La Brasserie De
La Gare. Edith had pizza (fair), Michelle had Pasta (good)
and I had the red snapper filet (good). For dessert we had
the Creme Carmel which was very good. The bill was a very
reasonable $45. The Marina is in the process of having a
boardwalk put in over the cement to give it "class". Our
French waiter did grimace when I told him it reminded me of
Myrtle Beach. I know it was mean but after all he WAS French
<g>! Driving around the island that first day, I noticed
many locals out near Orient Beach picking guavaberries. I
also noticed that the roof is almost on the new Food World
grocery store near Phillipsburg. They seemed to be making
uncharacteristically good progress on its construction during
our week's stay. This is just the sort of thing that could
ruin the St. Martin workers reputation <g>!
Monday 8/11
We drove over to the Coconut Grove beach which is next to
Orient. This is my daughter's favorite beach for snorkeling.
The water is very shallow, calm and about 90 degrees this
time of year. It is a very popular beach for the locals as
well. I always get a kick out of watching the local families
having a fun day at the beach. A young couple were there who
were flying a kite with a wingspan of about 8 feet. I was
astounded to watch them have this kite put both of them
through the water at about 20 miles per hour. This really
looked like fun and I had never seen it done before. Driving
back to the Dutch side my daughter and I listened in vain
for the one song they invariably seem to play over and over
on the radio stations down there. No luck this trip. We were
amused to hear them play "Push your bottom in, push your
bottom out" several times during the week. My daughter and I
spent several Island drives discussing the social meaning of
this song. Edie's only contribution was rolling her eyes and
doing her Marge Simpson imitation! Oh well... That night we
ate at Cheri's. The Cheddar fries, chicken salad and
cheeseburger were typical Cheri's cuisine but the meal was
ruined by many flies that descended on the patrons that
night. I've never had this problem on any previous trip. By
the way, I am happy to report that the clock in the tower
across the street is still faithfully staying at 5:35 and is
correct twice a day. This record consistently beats the
political parties on the island <g>! That night we went to
the casinos which proved to be a real hit with my daughter
who is now over 18. By using the match play coupons, we
would win enough to play the slots for several hours and
still break even. My daughter's favorite sound soon
became...Ching, Ching, Ching, Ching, Ching, Ching.....
Tuesday, 8/12
We went to Carl & Son's bakery for breakfast. The baked
goods here are consistently good and reasonably priced. It
is located on a side road in the Cole Bay area. From here I
drove Edie and Michelle over to the St. Martin Zoo. It has
been rebuilt since Hurricane Luis and now features a bat
cave. Did you know that SXM has 5 different varieties of
bats? Just one of the interesting things they learned at the
zoo. While they were at the zoo, I paid a visit to Modern
Business Machines in Philipsburg. They are partnered with
IBM (yes IBM now has a Caribbean branch). I talked to the
owner about computer consulting opportunities on the island
and where the resorts stand on solving the Year 2000
computer problem. Needless to say, this visit made Edie
nervous since she knows how much I want to move down there.
Probably 5 - 10 years away...sigh.....We spent the remainder
of the day shopping in Phillipsburg and catching some beach
time at Simpson Beach. For an interesting experience, try
this: Fall asleep on the beach about 50 yards from the
runway and have the Air France 747 take off. Edie does not
laugh at my jokes but she does laugh at me when I'm not
trying to be funny....grrrrrrr
That night we went back into Philipsburg at ate at Ric's
Place on Front Street. We at the nachos, cheeseburger and a
chicken salad. The food is typical American, meaning large
proportions and reasonably priced. Bill came to about $30.
We then walked over to the theatre off of Front Street and
caught a movie. Every time my daughter comes down to the
island, we go to at least one movie. She likes the cultural
experience of Reggae music before the movie begins,
cigarette commercials and people drinking beer in the
theatre.
Wednesday, 8/13
For those of you who have read previous trip reports of
mine, you know what's coming. Yes be still my heart, for
today I had breakfast at La Croissanterie. God may have
created the world but the French created the croissant and I
will forever be in debt to them for that most wondrous of
creations. Even now my hand trembles at the thought of the
(still warm from the oven) chocolate croissant being hand
delivered by the owner who smiles at my appreciation for his
work of art. Vive La France! I politely inquire of the owner
if he is planning a bed and breakfast arrangement but alas
it is not to be... From there we drive to Orient Beach,
where Edie and Michelle have scheduled a massage at the
hands of Martha at Club Orient. I have made the ultimate
sacrifice and forgone my normal massage so that Michelle
could have her first professional massage. I was pleased she
enjoyed it very much. For dinner that evening, we went to
Tutta Pasta and had a very good meal of Spaghetti and
Meatballs, Lasagna and Pasta Mediterranean for $44. A
complimentary bottle of wine was offered by our host which
was very much appreciated. That night my daughter and I
played slots at the various casinos using Casino (match
play) money for several hours. It proved to be a fun,
inexpensive amusement on most nights during the trip. I only
hope I haven't created a monster <g>.....
Thursday, 8/14
For breakfast we visited our friend Claire at Hiway D'Lite
next to Lynnettes near the end of the runway. I just can't
stay away from Claire's JohnnyCakes which are baked unlike
most other JohnnyCakes which are deep-fried. Delicious!
Hiway D'lite has many baked good now also. As we were
leaving, Claire gave us a (still warm!) fresh out of the
oven loaf of French bread. Claire epitomizes the "genteel"
old fashioned St. Martin friendliness and is always such a
pleasure to chat with. Afterwards we ate fresh tree ripened
mangos on our balcony and enjoyed the cool SXM morning
breezes. All in all, it beat the best day at work by a good
country mile! We spent the afternoon on the far beach of
Cupecoy. I was actually quite surprised that the beach was
quite large this time of year. I should also mention that it
rained quite hard on 4 occasions during this trip, but the
"Friendly Island" accommodated us by only raining at night.
The locals tell me that most heavy rainstorms do occur in
the evening which jives with my personal experience also.
I'd be curious to know if this is connected to the
temperature dropping. Perhaps one of our meteorologists could
help us out here with an explanation. That evening we all
went to the Konga Cafe in Cul De Sac for the best meal of
the trip. Edie had an Hawaiian Sandwich, Michelle had a
Veggie Pita with Cuban Black Bean Soup and I had the Currie
Chicken Salad. All of the food was simply excellent and the
price was $25 for the 3 of us. Incredible! I am sorry to
report that Vince (the owner) is thinking of going back to
Aruba. This would be a severe loss to reasonably price fine
SXM cuisine.
Friday, 8/15
After fortifying ourselves with more Johnny Cakes from Hiway
D'Lite, we took the ferry in Marigot over to Anguilla. In
our previous 13 trips, we have only briefly spent a few
hours on one beach in Anguilla and have never really seen
much of the island. When we arrived at Anguilla, we had
Benson (a taxi cab driver) give us a tour of the island
which mostly consisted of visiting several of the world
class resorts on the island. A visit to Sonesta is quite an
experience! The only thing separating me from staying at
this resort, is my inability to pick 6 numbers correctly in
the New York State lottery! After the tour, Benson dropped
us off at Shoal Bay which is a beautiful, empty beach with
terrific snorkeling. We had lunch at the Le Beach Bar &
Restaurant which was only OK and overpriced. Afterwards,
Benson picked us up and took us back for the return Ferry to
SXM. On the ride back, I pumped Benson for details on the
"Invasion of Anguilla". I have heard the story before but
this was my first opportunity to discuss it with someone who
was actually there when it happened. If you've never heard
the story, I will give you a brief synopsis in my next trip
report. Suffice it to say, that its the kind of thing that
could only happen in the Caribbean. I am amazed that no one
has ever made a movie (comedy) about it since its the
Caribbean version of "The mouse that roared". That night we
ate dinner at Ren & Stimpy. A good meal of chicken Creole,
spaghetti Bolognaise and Spaghetti with eggplant was served
for $42.
The Invasion of Anguilla
It has been written that during this invasion, nobody was
killed but many people were embarrassed...... I am not a
historian so if some of the points are not exactly correct,
I apologize in advance. The gist of this story is true,
however bizarre it might seem. From the 19th century until
1967, Anguilla was governed as part of St. Kitts and Nevis
as sort of a British protectorate with the central
government in St. Kitts. It was not unlike Sint Maarten's
relationship with the Netherland Antilles with the main
government located in Curacao. To make a long story short,
in 1967, the government on St. Kitts imposed a tax on
Anguilla. Now Anguilla had never paid taxes before (or very
little) and basically told St. Kitts "NO WAY MON"! They then
proceeded to succeed from St. Kitts and refused to pay any
taxes to them. Now you have to understand that it's not like
St. Kitts could mobilize its armed forces and by force of
arms make Anguilla comply mainly because St. Kitts doesn't
have armed forces. Oh sure they have a few cops but they
only "work" 9 - 5 and then only on the odd days. OK, OK, I'm
exaggerating but you get the picture. St. Kitts only
recourse was to ask Great Britain to bring these rebellious
Anguillian's into line. Now Great Britain didn't know much
about Anguilla but they've had a lot of experience with
colonies that don't pay taxes. You might recall the
"unpleasantry" we refer to as the Revolutionary War. Anyway,
Great Britain pursued the tried and true methodology in this
scenario and launched an armed flotilla against the upstart
island of Anguilla. At this point, Great Britain made 2
seriously flawed mistakes. First, they were dealing with
people in the Caribbean. Its too darn hot for warfare and
anyway the people are much too laid back and fun loving for
this sort of thing. Secondly, warfare is not good for
tourism. How many Americans vacation in Cuba after the "Bay
of Pigs"? At any rate, on the morning of March 19th, 1969,
a combined force of heavily armed landing craft hit the
beaches of Anguilla while Helicopter gunships simultaneously
swooped in from the air. The British had counted on the
element of surprise. They were absolutely right. They just
hadn't counted on it working against them. The people of
Anguilla were totally surprised by this landing force all of
a sudden descending on their island paradise. However, the
people of Anguilla liked Great Britain and had absolutely
nothing against them. As a matter of fact they wanted to
become a dependent territory of Great Britain and viewed the
British as their "saviors". They opened their arms and
hearts to these "invaders" by showering them with flowers,
barbecued ribs, free rum, etc. The British troops were
absolutely stunned by this heroes welcome and spent the next
couple of week's milling around the island asking themselves
"What the heck are we supposed to do here?" and being
treated like royalty. After a couple of weeks, the British
government withdrew their troops after a great deal of
embarrassment. Many of the troops left the beaches vowing
(Like General McCarthur) "I shall return!" only next time on
holiday with my family. Eventually Great Britain gave
Anguilla their wish of being a British Dependent Territory
and everyone lived happily ever after. Now some of you may
think I'm making this yarn up. I can only say that life is
often stranger than fiction. If you'd like to read more
about this invasion, I suggest a book entitled "Under an
English Heaven" by Donald E. Westlake. Published by Hodder &
Stoughton, 1973. You can get the book in Anguilla and I
believe in the bookstores on St. Martin. But anyway, I
digress from my own personal trip report.
Saturday, 8/16
Spent the day shopping in Marigot and Phillipsburg. That
evening we ate dinner at Indiana Beach which was formerly
Felix's located next to the Atrium. Indiana Beach opened
last December and sports monkeys, parrots and an alligator.
These are for the viewing by the tourists and not menu items
<g>! We had French Onion Soup, 2 chicken salads, Fetticine
Alfredo which were all good and enjoyed the view of the
setting sun very much. For a change of pace, we went to the
Lightning casino which was hosting a Trinidadian
comedian/storyteller. The crowd was predominantly locals and
offered me an opportunity to observe cultural differences in
the area of humor. The people of St. Martin are much freer
with their laughter than their American counterparts. I
really felt quite reserved next to the locals who were
splitting their sides with laughter. All in all, it was a
fun evening and gave me new insight into the personality of
the locals.
Sunday, 8/17
Alas all things come to an end. So on the seventh day, I
looked upon my vacation and saw that it was good. Packed up,
bid farewell to Warren and Delores, returned the rental car
and all too soon found myself boarding the airplane for the
return home. As I waited for the plane to take off, I once
more pondered what it is about SXM that tugs on my soul like
no place else I have ever been. There is crime, squalor, and
a culture that is diametrically opposed to everything I
know. There is no logical commonality. And then I recall the
honest laughter, the woman at the beach in the shade of a
palm tree watching her children frolic in the warm Caribbean
water, the simple happiness of the music and most of all
those cool tropical breezes at night after a hot Caribbean
day. For me, SXM evokes an emotional response. There is only
a need that SXM seems to be able to fill. There is only one
known cure...frequent dosages. Yes that is just what the
doctor ordered....Is it next April yet???
Bruce and Edie
E mail address: FHWV00A @prodigy.com
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