St Maarten/St Martin 28 December 2008 Newsletter Other newsletters Contests | Restaurants | Bargains and Happenings ISLAND NEWS

Weather: The first week after the last newsletter featured coolish temperatures (just reaching 80 for several days) with high winds and some rain. I admit that it didn't reach 20 here in NY and started the morning at about zero, so coolish is a relative term. There were also scattered showers. Just after Christmas, it was up in the 80's, although the winds were kicking up a bit, as always. That's why we call them the Christmas winds. Here's the current local conditions and here's the forecast from Weather Underground and here's one from the Weather Channel. We've passed the winter solstice, so for the next six months we'll be getting more sun every day. Sunset today is at 5:43 and there is a new moon. Full moons for 2009 are 11 Jan, 9 Feb, 11 Mar, 9 Apr, 9 May, 7 Jun, 7 Jul, 6 Aug, 4 Sep, 4 Oct, 3 Nov, and 2 Dec.

Dr. William Gray (above, left) from Colorado State and what appears to be his clone, Dr. Phil Klotzbach, have issued their forecast for the 2009 hurricane season. The numbers in parentheses are the averages from 1950 to 2000. A comparison shows several extra storms and one extra hurricane. I certainly wouldn't change any of my plans based on this info, especially when one looks at the next table that shows how last years initial prediction and updates (the last occurring almost midway through the season) compared with actual numbers. The major 2009 prediction for the islands: Above-average major hurricane landfall risk in the Caribbean. Flipping a coin would get this prediction right 50% of the time.		ATLANTIC BASIN SEASONAL HURRICANE FORECAST FOR 2009 10 December 2008 - Forecast for 2009 Named Storms (NS) (9.6) 14 Named Storm Days (NSD) (49.1) 70 Hurricanes (H) (5.9) 7 Hurricane Days (HD) (24.5) 30 Intense Hurricanes (IH) (2.3) 3 Intense Hurricane Days (IHD) (5.0) 7 Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) (96.1) 125 Net Tropical Cyclone Activity (NTC) (100%) 135 Hurricane Forecast (average 1950-2000 in parentheses) 7 Dec 2007 Update 9 April 2008 Update 3 June 2008 Update 5 Aug 2008 Observed 2008 Total Named Storms (NS) (9.6) 13 15 15 17 16 Named Storm Days (NSD) (49.1) 60 80 80 90 84.75 Hurricanes (H) (5.9) 7 8 8 9 8 Hurricane Days (HD) (24.5) 30 40 40 45 29.50 Intense Hurricanes (IH) (2.3) 3 4 4 5 5 Intense Hurricane Days (IHD) (5.0) 6 9 9 11 8.50 Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE) (96.2) 115 150 150 175 141 Net Tropical Cyclone Activity (NTC) (100%) 125 160 160 190 164
As for last year's predictions versus reality, the good Drs were quite pleased, stating "Unlike our predictions for the 2006 and 2007 hurricane seasons, we are very pleased with the skill of our forecasts for this year. We anticipated a well above-average season, and the season had activity at well above-average levels." To paraphrase, they have been right one out of the last three years. For 2009 they give probabilities of at least one major hurricane (category 3-5) landfall on the following areas: entire U.S. coastline - 63% (average for last century is 52%), U.S. East Coast Including peninsula Florida - 39% (average for last century is 31%), and Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle westward to Brownsville - 38% (average for last century is 30%).

SXM-Beaches: The beach at Grand Case is quite nice although like all others it can lose sand at times and when the Atlantic gets rough, it can rush into the Anguilla Channel and pound the beach. Last year a couple waterfront restaurants were closed one night because of this. Generally, the bay is quite placid and there are now several places that serve lunch and have chairs. Two places that do real French meals with sit down service at a table are California Restaurant (review below) and Sunset Café. Sunset is at the extreme east and California is one of the last outposts on the west. Both have beach access. California now has tables on the beach and a wider menu with pizzas and more. La Marine has just reopened quite close to California and is serving lunch and dinner. In the center of town Le Tastevin (French) and Il Nettuno Restaurant (Italian) are generally open for lunch in the high season, serving great food with great views, but no beach access. We've had many fine French lunches next door at Restaurant du Soleil, great views, but no access. Calmos Café is a beach bar (tables in the sand, palm trees, funky atmosphere, that serves some surprisingly good food. The lolos in the center of town are always open for lunch. On the left is the view from California.

On 10 Dec there weren't many boats in Grand Case harbor and just one out at Creole Rock at lunch time. Cupecoy had waves coming up to the rocks, Mullet's waves were too big, and Simpson Bay was OK until the rains came. Not a great day at the beach! Just before Christmas, it got windy, but Cupecoy was surprisingly calm, considering the waves and whitecaps in the lagoon. There were some large swells and the strong current is once again trying to move the sand back towards Shore Pointe. Dany & John have added a final iron post and rope section to the "railing" at the little cove. Once the sand is gone, they can pour a few more steps, and it should be a much easier to access this beach.

The cover story in the February issue of Caribbean Travel + Life (yes, it's out already) is "Ultimate Beaches". SXM gets a page and for people watching it suggests Orient, Baie de Petites Cayes gets the nod for solitude, go to Grand Case for food, and Cupecoy for scenery. The next article covers beach bars and even though Anguilla has no beaches on the list (a mistake as far as I'm concerned), Bankie Banx's Dune Preserve on Rendezvous Bay makes this list, as does the Yellow Beach Bar on Pinel.

Activities: Captain Neil Roebert takes Celine out for a pub crawl several times each week. She starts at one bar and visits three others on the lagoon. Drinks are free on board and each stop provides a drink and a sample from the menu. It's a great way to meet people and see several restaurants in one evening. For great snorkeling day sails check out Random Wind. Good food, good snorkeling, and good times. Enter the SXM-Info contests for $40 coupon. Five lucky couples win this every year. It might as well be you.

Construction: Here's a shot of what started as Arenas (only because that sign was left over from a previous project from the same developer), changed to Pharos (as in lighthouse), and now is called the Blue Mall. Throughout, it has remained one of the ugliest blots on the landscape: about eight stories of blank wall facing the road and the Caribbean beyond. There is a sign that says "curtain walls by ..." but until that gets built, this is what you get to look at. On the plus side (only for those who like unmitigated development), this is going forward.

Holidays: There are some decorations on the island, but Maho, which usually has its decorations up at Thanksgiving, didn't get things up until mid-December. For New Year's most places have special menus and many add in music, dancing, and/or dancers. This is especially true on the French side where oysters, foie gras, ducks, geese, and pheasants start arriving by the planeload. Kakao Beach on Orient has an a la carte menu that includes Kobe Beef with foie gras, Tournedos Rossini (filet mignon topped with foie gras), Pigeon in Puff Pastry with foie gras, veal with morels, Angus prime rib with cepes (porcinis) - you get the idea. Gerald Romani, the owner of Montmartre Restaurant and L'Escapade Restaurant is doing something similar. There are many specials featuring these delicacies, but the standard menu is still available. Many other restaurants have set menus or a series of set menus featuring these products. It will be an unforgettable, albeit expensive, evening. Kakao is also advertising Brazilian dancers and fireworks. There have been fireworks at Orient, Pburg, Maho, and La Samanna for the last decade. The best fireworks that we have seen come from a barge anchored in Cupecoy for a private party in the villa next door to Sapphire. We're partial as these burst essentially at eye level in front of our sixth floor condo. Nonetheless, we can see Maho in the distance from this balcony and Sammana from the other balcony. The private show lasted longer than either of the others. L'Escargot Restaurant always has a special New Year's Eve Cabaret Show Dinner party. Reservations are a must. Sonya says the usual Friday Cabaret shows are doing well. If you haven't seen it, you should. As examples of what many restaurants will be doing, here are the special menus from Antoine Restaurant and Halsey's Restaurant:

Sapphire Beach Club: Our condo is essentially fully rented for the rest of the season. Only 10-14 January are available at $100 per night. If you have a visit planned and you want to extend your stay by a few days, you can't find anything with a view of the Caribbean and the lagoon at that price. It will be available again in low season (starting 15 April) for $1000 per week. The rental includes about $500 in coupons from several of our website clients. Check the calendar on our website for available dates. For those of you who wish to sell or rent their week or unit, we have opened up the Sapphire Beach Club website for that purpose. We charge $25 per year. If you wish to rent or sell your unit, send us some text (and $25 to esk@sxm-info.com via Paypal). If you wish to rent or buy a unit without high middleman fees, check out the website. Given the large assessment that Sapphire just levied, there may be a lot of sales. At present, there are 20 sales and/or rentals available directly from owners. Given a 25 to 35% standard rental commission, there should be some bargains in eliminating the middleman and dealing direct.

Tipping: I know I'll get plenty of mail on this one, but here are my thoughts. Let's start in France. My French tutor (born and raised in France) told me that "service compris" means that you are you are obliged to pay the bill that reaches your table and service was included. Typically people left their change, taking the folding money. That was 30 years ago, so now Condé Nast Traveler says most locals leave 10% in restaurants but tipping in bars is not expected. The island is not exactly France, of course, and Americans have tended to leave more and the locals have come to expect it. There has also been a tendency for restaurants to keep their menu prices the same from one year to the next, merely adding some words about how the customary tip of 15% is not included. So now 10% is expected, 15% is a good tip, and 20% should get special service.

The Dutch side is an even bigger mess as it has Dutch, American, and French influences. The Dutch are notorious anti-tippers. Before these emails start, my maternal grandfather's name was Van Note and I worked in Den Haag for over six months, eventually learning to speak Dutch at a sixth grade level. I know whereof I speak. Americans are embarrassed by tipping causing them to overtip. The French influence is mostly from French restaurateurs opening businesses on the Dutch side, rather than French tourists. This phenomenon has increased with the strength of the euro. Thus, there are places that don't put any tip on the bill, some that add 15% (or more) and some that add a service charge and turnover tax. In theory, the turnover tax should not be shown on the bill, but should have been hidden in the menu prices. I would tend to avoid anyplace that adds it. I would also avoid anyplace that adds a service charge when there is no mention of one on the menu, especially those that add it, don't mention it, and disguise it as SC, tax, TOT, or anything else that needs to be deciphered. If nothing is added, I tend to give 15% for decent service and ratchet up to 20% for good service.

Nature: Left is the flamboyant in front of The Summit. It was blooming a bit (look closely) in late November. On the right is earlier in the summer. I think it was a bit confused by Omar. The Nature Conservancy magazine had a nice feature on preserving sea turtles. An excerpt appears on their website and there is a slideshow with some great photos. They were taken on St Croix, but there are people working to help sea turtles on SXM, notably on the windward (eastern) beaches. During nesting season, they ask that people keep dogs on leashes and reduce lighting on the beaches as it confuses the turtles and hatchlings.

And speaking of leatherback hatchlings, here's a photo that National Geographic is offering as a download for computer wallpaper. Just head over to their site and follow the directions to have a much larger version of this photo installed as your wallpaper.

Traffic: The Simpson bay bridge openings are now back on their high season schedule: out of the lagoon at 9:00am, 11:00am and 4:30pm and into the lagoon at 9:30am, 11:30am, and 5:30pm. Keep it in mind if you are traveling through Simpson Bay. We've heard that car traffic and boat traffic seems to be lower, but high season is just starting.

Phone calls: We have long had a GSM cell phone from Telem on the island. Incoming calls are free. Outgoing calls to the USA or Canada are 40 cents/minute and local calls (both sides) 10 to 35 cents/minute. The phone works (with variable results) on both sides of the island. They can be rented from Pack Light Rentals and others.

We still use it in the car, but Skype is a better deal if you have a computer and a microphone. It can also handle a webcam. They charge according to where the landline you are calling is located, not where you are, since you are on the internet. Unlimited calls to the US and Canada from your computer cost $3 per month and unlimited calls to 36 countries (US, western Europe, Australia, NZ, Taiwan, Japan, and Israel cost $10 per month. You can pay as you go, in which case the costs per minute are listed in this table. For most phones (US, Canada, Western Europe, China) it is 2.1 cents/minute.

Vonage is another option. You get a phone that connects to your router - no computer needed. No webcam and a bit more pricey. Betty at Horny Toad Guesthouse has had this for some time and I used it frequently (before I got Skype). It seemed to work well, but all internet phones are limited by the reliability of your internet connection, which is probably the weakest link in any calls off the island. Betty just got MagicJack and convinced me to try it. Plug the MagicJack into a USB port and plug a regular phone into the jack. It costs $40 the first year, when you get the jack, and $20 each year thereafter for unlimited calls in the US and Canada. We now have a semi-local phone number (It's in our area code, but not in our town) and any phone in the world can ring our laptop as long as it is connected to the internet anywhere in the world. Basically, anybody in the US can call us for their regular US rates even when we are in our condo in Cupecoy. The reception seems quite good on my DSL line here in the US.

Crime: It's still happening. A couple guys on a scooter ram the back of a car driven by a single woman. When she pulls over to exchange papers, one of the guys grabs her purse with her passport, license, credit cards, cell phone, and a bit of money. The money is minimal but the bother is great. Women are targeted because they are the weaker sex and because, lacking pockets in their clothing, they conveniently assemble all their valuables in a handy carrying case. You are warned.

Contest Winners for the 26 October to 28 December
Caribbean ViewCondo - half price summer rental (May-October) - Deb Olson
Bikini Beach - A DAY AT THE BEACH
(including 2 chairs and a parasol, 2 welcome punches and $50.00 credit towards food and drink) - Bob Jones
Lagoon Pub Crawl - two for one ticket - Deb Olson
Skipjack's - $50 off a dinner for two - Deb Olson
Select Wine Cellar - Wine tasting and a bottle of wine - Ken Anderson
Random Wind - $40 gift certificate - Sandy Penta
GCBC Watersports - Two for One snorkel trip to Créole Rock - John S. Bell
Peg Leg Pub - $50 off a dinner for two - Sandy Penta
PassportMD - Six months free service - Ed Reap

Current Contest: 28 December to 1 March 2009
Caribbean ViewCondo - half price summer rental (May-October)
Lagoon Pub Crawl - two for one ticket
Skipjack's - $50 off a dinner for two
Select Wine Cellar - Wine tasting and a bottle of wine
Random Wind - $40 gift certificate
GCBC Watersports - Two for One snorkel trip to Créole Rock
Peg Leg Pub - $50 off a dinner for two
PassportMD - Six months free service

Read our rules, visit the websites of these sponsors, find their contest codes, and enter them on our entry form.

One of the rules is that you should enter each contest only once.

Future Contests:

1 March to 26 April 2009
Caribbean ViewCondo - half price summer rental (May-October)
Lagoon Pub Crawl - two for one ticket
Skipjack's - $50 off a dinner for two
Select Wine Cellar - Wine tasting and a bottle of wine
Random Wind - $40 gift certificate
GCBC Watersports - Two for One snorkel trip to Créole Rock
Peg Leg Pub - $50 off a dinner for two
PassportMD - Six months free service

Mathis Café Wendy K tried this new restaurant at the Chefs de France facility in Nettle Bay twice and sent in these reports: The menu is fairly limited, with fresh juices, about half dozen salads (8.50-12€), three wraps (9.5€), fresh grilled salmon (11€), and vegetable lasagna (9.€). Fizzy water was 4€ and house wine 12€. Other more expensive wines are available. We ordered two of the three blackboard specials: monkfish in a vin blanc sauce with rice and some wonderful carrots, and chicken breast with mushrooms in a garlic cream sauce with haricots verts and roasted potatoes. Both were 9.5€. The presentation was lovely, service attentive, although there were only two other couples and one couple for take away (everything is available "a emporter"). The inside dining area is separated from the kitchen by a glass wall, and the kitchen is impeccable. Our bill for water, wine, and two specials was 31€ (about $40). They also offer four "plates to share" which require 24 hours notice, and are apparently 20 canape-type items: 30€ for a vegetable plate, 40€ for seafood, 50€ for the deluxe plate with seafood, smoked duck breast, etc, and 25€ for desserts. We were impressed and will go back next week." And they did: "They were having a sort of grand opening party for friends on the terrasse, but they were able to fit us in at the last outside table. Tony had "legumes farci avec lambi" (2 green peppers and a tomato stuffed with conch, rice, and spices, over a bed of spinach, served with rice and a small bowl of soupe de poisson). I had spaghetti fruits de mer, which had the same rather strong fish sauce with julienned zucchini, carrots, and haricots verts, shrimp, and salmon. 12 and 9.50€, respectively. They were out of the house Merlot, and gave us a 2007 Gamay for the same price, which was better." It seems like good, interesting food at good prices. The location is convenient and there is parking. Being hard by the highway, the view is nothing.

Durreche Also from Wendy K: "We had a good lunch. Prices have gone up, especially for the specials, but overall, we're still happy with the restaurant, and of course it's always nice to be recognized and greeted with kisses on the cheek (and a final glass of wine on the house!). Tony had a special: sausage from Toulouse, with lentilles, which I think were cooked with lardons and were delicious. (12€) I had the seared tuna (although it was a pretty thin cut, as you can see) with a tasty sauce chien and my habitual frites (11.5€). Wine was 10€, and it seems they only charged us 1 euro for fizzy water, because the bill was 34.5€ (about $45)." This is also good, interesting food at good prices. It's on the waterfront road in Marigot, so there is a parking lot, but the Marigot market keeps it pretty full. It's possible to park further out by the cemetery and stroll in to the restaurant. The view, despite the "waterfront" setting is limited by the market filling all the space across the street.