St.Martin
Vacation
June
28th to July 12th 2003
This was our
eighth trip to the island, but we still looked forward to it with great
anticipation, counting the days until the time finally arrived!
Our flight left
early Saturday morning (scheduled for 6:15 am) via Skyservice, a Canadian
charter company, from Toronto non-stop to St. Martin. Because of the early flight, we had to leave the house about 2
am…………no sleep that night!! We arrived
at Princess Juliana Airport about 11:00 am and were able to pass through
immigration with minimal delay. We had
decided to check one bag to minimize the carry-on, and so had to wait a few
minutes for it. But soon we were on
our way to Club Orient via taxi and the vacation had officially begun! (taxi fare is still $25 plus tip)
We arrived at the
Club Orient office without much delay.
The staff in the office welcomed us back, and we even received a special
welcome from Ed the general manager, who had to bend over a long way to give
Linda a hug! (he is very tall). We had booked our stay through Ed Roman of
Caribbean Islands Travel Service, and as expected everything was in order. We were assigned to minisuite 148 and were
quickly wisked over there by a security guard. It felt good to be home!!
Not waiting to
unpack, we quickly applied the necessary sunscreen, and then went to open our
accounts at L’Orientique and Papagayo restaurant. That way we didn’t have to carry cash on the resort – a real
convenience! We noticed a significant
number of new staff, however, all were very friendly.
Once these
necessary errands were completed, it was time to hit the beach. We were already aware of the erosion from
reports on the internet, and it was pretty much as expected. Most of the beach was gone around Papagayo’s
and the waves were lapping up against the wall of their patio. At least one of the new palm trees planted
here was gone. However, we could still
walk down to the restaurant on beach sand, but just might get a little
wet. A hundred yards or so north, the
beach started to widen and there was plenty of room for chairs in the area of
the Perch bar. In front of Pedro’s
there was no beach, but this was unchanged from last year. What was new, however, was the lack of
beach from Pedro’s down to Kon Tiki.
We were still able to walk the beach, but had to actually walk through
the Kon Tiki restaurant in order to get by.
Further north, there was plenty of beach, in fact it looked wider than
before.
We were finally in
paradise, and it felt very good indeed!!!
Most of our days had a certain level of routine to them, so I won’t
continue with a “blow by blow” description of each one. Our typical day started about 6:00 am. It’s so much easier to get up early while
on vacation!! We would enjoy a walk,
usually the entire length of the beach, each morning before breakfast. As mentioned, we had to walk right through
the Kon Tiki restaurant because of the beach erosion. We never had a problem doing this, despite the fact that staff
were often present on the return route, preparing for the day. We often would meet many of the same people
each morning on the beach and share a friendly “Good morning!” Next we would either purchase some
croissants from L’Orientique for a leisurely breakfast out on the patio of our
minisuite, or eat out at either Papagayo’s or Baywatch for breakfast, often
with friends. Most of the daytime was
spent letting sand gravity do its work out on Orient beach. It felt so good enjoying the warm sunshine,
sand and water, and letting total relaxation take over!
People:
This is one of the
major reasons we enjoy returning to Club Orient time after time. Many people come to the resort at the same
time each year, and so it is a chance to renew many old friendships as well as
make new ones. This year was no
exception. We were fortunate enough to
“hook up” with a number of couples from previous years, with whom we had become
close friends. It was really great
seeing them again! We also met a new
couple who quickly became one of our “group” and with whom we hope to keep in
touch. (Thanks for reserving our
chairs each morning)!! We enjoyed many
pleasant hours together out on the beach as well as many meals. We must say that it is truly the friends we
meet, who really make our vacation so enjoyable!! Thank you!!!!
Weather:
Generally, the
weather was very good the entire 2 weeks.
It rained very little, and what did fall was usually at night………good
timing! There were a few days when the
wind became quite strong to the point where some sand blasting occurred, but
really we couldn’t have asked for much better.
Restaurants:
Breakfast:
Papagayo’s – Ate here 3
times………good for a leisurely breakfast to start your day. Food is quite acceptable, some portions not
overly large but adequate. Service was
very slow once, but quite acceptable the other two times.
Baywatch – Good American-style
food. We always ate here with friends
and had a good time. Andy is very
entertaining!
Lunch:
Baywatch – Very good food at
reasonable prices. Good music! Always well looked after by Andy and
Adrian. We missed Cheryl, who was away
in the States.
Boo Boo Jams – Good food and
very strong drinks! Unfortunately our
favourite waitress, Carol, was not there (recently had a baby). Mudslides are very good………in fact one afternoon we walked all the
way down the beach for one!
La Playa – Enjoy their club
sandwich. Nice relaxing atmosphere
under the palm trees. We were even
given after lunch drinks (flavoured rum) on the house, in true St. Martin
style.
Dinner:
Papagayo’s – Only ate dinner
here 3 times, including their July 4th buffet. Food and service were acceptable. At least you don’t have to get dressed!
Repaire
du Pirate – Ate here last year and just had to return. A very fun evening and the food was good
too!! Reasonably priced. We even had the pleasure of meeting
Marcel’s daughter.
Le Fish Bar – Not a fancy
place, but food was good and reasonably priced. Most of the menu was seafood……go figure!
Il Nettuno – We were not happy
here. Our waiter gave us a hard time
when we asked for separate checks and actually insulted one of our party who
requested a variation on one entre!
Extremely slow service. His
attitude improved somewhat after he was told we were not happy, but the evening
was spoiled. We almost left and
probably should have. Would not
recommend this place. One of the most
expensive restaurants we ate at……figures!
Bikini Beach – Ate dinner here
one night and enjoyed it very much.
Portions are huge, so go with a good appetite! Service was very friendly and efficient.
Kakao – One evening a pizza
night and dance was organized here, as a private party for about 50 Club O
guests. Music and food were good……we
had a great time!
Pizza
place in Grand Case (can’t
remember their name – on the left shortly after the bridge) – Actually very
good!! Our party of ten enjoyed a
semi-private table in an alcove at the back of the restaurant. Food was very good and inexpensive. They have many other choices besides pizza.
Le Piccolo – First time since
they switched to appetizers only. My
wife and I shared 4 appetizers and desert.
Service was very quick and efficient for our party of ten at the
beginning, but slowed down once the restaurant began to fill up. However, there was only one waiter and he
did the best he could.
We had 3 dinners “in” where we got
together with friends and enjoyed good food and company right at someone’s unit
at Club Orient. One night we had
bar-b-que’d steaks, another night was spagetti and the third was kind of a
combo spagetti/stirfry night. A couple
of people deserve honourable mention for doing most of the cooking (you know
who you are!). The food was great,
inexpensive and the company was the best!!
We didn’t even have to get dressed!!!
I think we enjoyed these nights the best!
July 4th Parade:
Around mid-day a
parade down Orient beach was organized among guests at Club O. A number of people were "dressed"
in some 4th of July garb such as hats, body paint and temporary tattoos, but of
course little else!! The rest of us
carried American flags. We were
fortunate to be able to participate even though we are Canadian. We were accepted as "honorary
Americans" for the day!! It was a
blast!! We were probably about 50
people strong and we chanted American slogans......some newly made up such as
"USA, naked all the way" as well as singing some nationalistic
songs. The parade started on the Club O
beach and made its way down past Pedros, into Baywatch, further down the beach
and right through Kon Tiki, and all the way down to the rockpile at Coco Beach,
before returning much the same way. It
stopped in Pedros for awhile and many participants danced to some music being
played there, before gradually disbanding.
Most of the spectators along the way accepted it in fun and cheered us
on. Kon Tiki even turned on some kind
of siren and many patrons "high-fived" us as we passed through. There were certainly many cameras clicking
away, especially on our return trip. I guess they knew we would have to return the
same way, and many more people were lined up waiting to take their photos!!
Abandoned Building on Orient Beach (see pictures):
As reported
previously, there is work finally being done on this structure. Tile floors have been installed on both
levels, and a bar has been constructed on the lower level. Some doors and windows have also been
installed. The site has been cleaned up
and an elaborate entranceway complete with trees and a circle-shaped roadway has
been built. We heard it is to become
some sort of nightclub.
All too quickly,
the time came for us to return home.
It’s got to be one of hardest things to say good-bye to everyone, put
those clothes back on and get on that plane!
Reality is certainly a “downer” sometimes!!
We want to say a
special thank you to our friends who managed to get up bright and early on our
departure day to join us for a 7:15 am breakfast at Baywatch. You guys are the best!! We also want to thank you for driving us
all over the place and to the airport.
We miss you all, but hopefully we can get together again next year. We’re looking forward to it!!
Don and Linda