|
|
Caribbean Travel RoundupNewsletter - Paul Graveline, Editor |
| CTR Homepage | Island Index | Search |
Trip 2/98 I just returned from my 11th trip to St. Croix and finally decided to urge people to get to know what a wonderful time can be had there. There used to be better American Airlines connections there in the past; but we were traveling on frequent flyer tickets, flew to JFK the night before, and were able to fly stand-by on an "illegal" connection out of SJU, so we arrived just after noon on February 23. FYI, USAirways has pretty good connections with decent arrival times. I travel with my sister, and neither one of us is the resort type. We like to be where we can get out and meet people and, as a result, have made many friends who live there. We always stay at the Hotel Caravelle - the staff there is just fantastic, and we count them among the friends we have made. It is a small (43 rooms) hotel right on the waterfront in Christiansted, with nice rooms, very clean and with reasonable room rates. They have a nice restaurant (Wahoo Willy's - more later) on premises with a fabulous view of the harbor; also a small workout room, fresh-water pool, as well as the usual amenities. It's walking distance (just steps, really) to many restaurants and shops, so the location is perfect for us and saves the cost of a car rental. Since it is in town there is no beach, but a pass can be purchased at the desk that will allow unlimited use of the ferry to and from Protestant Cay in the harbor, which is literally a five minute walk through town and a 90 second ferry ride to the beach. Tuesday, 2/24 -The first afternoon was spent settling in and lounging by the pool. There is a new restaurant in King's Alley - the King's Alley Cafe - where we had dinner. The food there is excellent and innovative, the setting is outdoors under a flamboyant tree, and the prices are very fair for the quality and presentation of the food. I had a salmon filet baked in plantains with a sauce that was incredible. Dinner for two with drinks and tip was about $50. Wednesday, 2/25 - We had breakfast at the Marina Bar (it's real name is the King's Landing Yacht Club, but nobody calls it that). They serve a fine omelette with homefries for a reasonable price, but the setting is reason to go there for breakfast. It is very close to our hotel and right on the waterfront, so you can see the island come to life in the morning, while watching all the sailboats anchored in the harbor. Friends then picked us up to take us horseback riding on the north shore. This is a relatively new riding operation run by Kerry Hartman at the Off the Wall beach bar. The price is extremely reasonable ($40 for 2+ hours) and the ride is great. Kerry matches the horses and the ride to the skill level of the riders, so it was very comfortable (!). We rode up two fairly steep hills and had an incredible view - it was a clear day so we actually could see St. Thomas, St. John and Tortola in the distance, then we descended and rode along the beach. Next time we are planning to ride into the "baths" near the Carambola Beach Resort on an all day trip with lunch. The "baths" are not well known to tourists, although all the locals say they are comparable to those on Tortola. After the ride we swam right there at Cane Bay before returning to town. In the evening we went out to walk the boardwalk (wharf) and were lured aboard the Harbor Cat, a two-level catamaran party boat that circles the harbor after sunset. The Barracuda Blues Band was playing (they are really good), and the harbor lights are gorgeous after dark. Dinner was at the Bombay Club, a fantastic filet mignon with goat cheese in a Merlot and bay demiglace. My sister had the stuffed crab as an entree and the total cost (again with drinks and tip) was around $40. Yes, we do like to eat well. Thursday, 2/26 - We had planned to watch the eclipse from Stixx (which sold us our solar viewing glasses), but received an offer from friends to sail out to Buck Island to watch it (easy decision). It turned out to be intermittently overcast in town, but at Buck Island it was perfect and the eclipse was incredible to watch under those conditions - the water was so blue it looked almost phosphorescent - a fantastic way to spend the day! Dinner at Tommy T's was simple, filling and delicious as always (about $40). Friday, 2/27 - A day to see what was new in town. We had lunch at No Name, which is re-opened and re- located to King Street in Christiansted in an old courtyard. It's a gorgeous space and the lunch was delicious (grilled mahi mahi with rosemary fries - about $20 with drinks and tip, dinners are somewhat pricier). Crab races at Stixx are always great fun. For the uninitiated - you "rent" and name a crab for $2; the crabs are place in the center of a circle, and the first two to the outside win that heat (there are four heats). Then there is a consolation race for all the "losers" (prizes for the top several finishers in that race) and a final race is held among all the "winners". All the "winners" take prizes, which can include rides in the bi-plane, a day sail to Buck Island, round-trip on the seaplane to St. Thomas, and a half-day horseback ride. It's always good fun, and what else is a person going to do during happy hour? Dinner again at King's Alley Cafe (lobster puffs, seafood, drinks and butterscotch rum cheesecake!!!) Saturday, 2/28 - A friend brought conch and fungi (similar to polenta is how I would describe it) from a local vendor to me for breakfast - I have had this many times before and really like it, even for breakfast. It was a gorgeous day, and we brought el-cheapo air mattresses with us (they pack real small, needless to say, and you can leave them there), so we blew them up and floated the day away perfecting our tans. Wandered the boardwalk again at sunset the went to Bombay Club again for dinner (garlic stuffed shrimp, small NY strip steak, drinks, tip - $35). We had planned to get back to No Name for dessert and to hear Venus sing (she is a terrific jazz/pop singer who is very popular on the island - see her if you can), but time got away from us, so we made an early night of it. Sunday, 3/1 - Up early to meet friends who were taking us to Cane Bay for the day. We had breakfast/brunch at the Cane Bay Beach Bar, which serves a terrific bloody mary and the best huevos rancheros I've ever had. The plates are huge and the presentation is beautiful. Other items include stuffed French toast, lobster and cheddar omelettes - you get the idea. The setting is casual and there is classical guitar for entertainment. We spent the rest of the day at the beach, sunning and collecting some coral that had washed up on shore (it is illegal to remove coral from the ocean, but okay to take if the ocean has "divested" itself of its "holdings"). We returned to Off the Wall, then went to Andy's Surf Club at the Cane Bay Reef Club. Andy makes the best frozen drinks in the world and the setting is spectacular, with waves crashing high on the rocks. We asked to see a room at the hotel (just for the heck of it) and thought that it would be perfect for a honeymoon for somebody - king-size bed, huge closet, full kitchen, full bath, large living room with futon couch, balcony overlooking the breakers - very romantic. Back in town we cleaned up and grabbed a quick supper at Stixx (about $20 total) - the conch salad is one of my favorites. Afterwards we were 'hijacked' again aboard the Harbor Cat, where a terrific reggae/calypso band was playing (with apologies to the band for not writing down their name at the time, I believe they were called Xcell). Monday, 3/2 - Our last full day on island. We had breakfast again at the Marina Bar, then alternated last minute shopping with tanning. The Violette Boutique sells top-of-the-line cosmetics duty-free (approximately 20% off, and no tax) and the staff is friendly and knowledgeable, so we did some damage there. The best prices on liquor are at the K-Mart (yes, K-Mart), but that is towards the west end of the island so we do not purchase there, but rather from several local shops in Christiansted (we like to comparative shop and also spread our tourist dollars around a little). Joe at the Natural Jewel always has some unique pieces, so we can usually 'hurt' ourselves there as well, and this trip was no exception. Crab races were at the Marina Bar this evening, we sure do know how to pick losers! Dinner was at Tommy T's again. After dinner we went to Wahoo Willy's at the invitation of the steel pan band members we had met and listened to them. My sister even got to play a little after the last set. Tuesday, 3/3 - Our alleged departure day. Sunned on the upper deck at the Caravelle and watched schools of fish in the water below. Packed and grabbed a quick lunch at Stixx before leaving for the airport - nearly the entire staff of the hotel came over to hug us and say good-bye. We've learned that if we leave for the airport approximately an hour and twenty minutes before our flight's departure the timing is just about perfect, which it was. However the SJU-JFK leg of our itinerary was canceled, so the airline asked us if we would be able to stay an extra day in St. Croix. Trying not to show too much glee, we accepted - they gave us meal, taxi and hotel vouchers, re-booked us at the Caravelle, and kicked us up to first class for the next day - poor us! The vouchers for dinner were good at Wahoo Willy's, where we had the grilled wahoo on black bean salsa with creole sauce. It was delicious, perfectly cooked and beautifully presented, but the prices would have been somewhat more than we were paying elsewhere ($50, not including tip - the entire dinner voucher). Wednesday, 3/4 - Our real departure day. Breakfast at Wahoo Willy's was (or would have been) overpriced and extremely mediocre - fully twice what we paid for identical (but more tasty) fare elsewhere. As you may know, the real expense in staying an extra day, even at the airline's expense, is tips and phone calls - however it's still less than the full cost of a day in paradise. Uneventful flights back, and now we are safely returned to upstate New York where March is in full force. As I mentioned earlier, we like to eat fairly well. It is quite possible to dine out for far less (and far more, for that matter) than we did this trip. A few of the reasonably priced places we did not get to this time, but love, were Harvey's, Kim's, Luncheria, and Margarita's; and towards the pricier end we did not get to Indies, Kendrick's, or Comanche. The Bombay Club and Stixx also provide many low-priced and delicious entrees. Next time we also want to check out Percy's Place (if we can find it) and Bacchus. These are all right in Christiansted, when I have transportation I will definitely include Cafe du Soleil and The Blue Note in Fredriksted, The Waves at Cane Bay, and Dino's at the Buccaneer (actually, I have been to Dino's when it was still located in Christiansted - phenomenal). There is an amazing amount of excellent restaurants available on St. Croix. There are also numerous live performances going on about town and the island - more so than we have seen in the recent past. There is always a band at The Parrot's Perch (formerly Lizard's, formerly the Calabash Club), but there is entertainment at many of the restaurants, ranging from classical guitar, to piano, steel pan bands, vocalists, calypso and reggae, to jazz and blues, to rock; quality varies from good to excellent. While a good portion of this is for dinner entertainment; many performances linger on later into the evening, especially on the weekends. About crime: In our many trips to St. Croix we have never had so much as an anxious moment. Yes there have been some violent crimes, but these are typically late at night in deserted places (poorly lit sections, dark roads, etc.). As far as more common types of crime (petty theft, etc.), people need to practice good common sense - unlocked cars, locked cars with valuables in plain view - are just inviting trouble anywhere (up here too!). I haven't heard of any pick-pockets or purse snatchers, but the usual precautions are never out of place. When in doubt, ask someone if the area you are headed to is safe. The locals are very helpful in this respect - they want you to have a safe vacation and to send others to their island. The locals also point out that St. Croix sometimes receives a bit of a 'bum rap'in terms of media coverage of crime. There is a much higher percentage of crime in St. Thomas, but St. Croix crime seems to receive more publicity - possibly because the government is in St. Thomas. On another note, there are only one or two beggars, and they are polite and not aggressive; and there are no peddlars. I tend to carry little or no cash, mostly plastic. In Christiansted, the police are out and quite visible in the evenings, especially on the weekends. Other things we've done, or almost done (but not on this trip): Harbor Night in Fredriksted - Alternate Wednesday evenings in Fredriksted (but this time we were there during the "off" week) is this street party near the cruise ship dock. There are many local vendors of food and crafts - don't eat before going, food is fresh, plentiful, cheap and delicious. There are also all kinds of bands and mocko jumbie dancers (local dancers in costumes and on stilts - it's amazing!!). Visit Hamm's Bluff - gorgeous surf pounding against the lava flats. Drive through the rain forest - take the road for 4- wheel drive vehicles (but make sure you have one - you'll need it). It's absolutely incredible. And stop by the Domino Club to see the beer drinking pigs - it's not as tacky as it sounds (honestly!). Sample the local "brew" while you're there if you dare! Dive at the wall at Cane Bay or in the Salt River Canyon - tourist friends who have done this say it's some of the best diving in the Caribbean. Snorkel anywhere, but especially at Buck Island - a national monument. The island itself is small and uninhabited, covered in cactus of various kinds, with a small but terrific beach. Go to Point Udall - the easternmost point in the US. BTW, the western end of St. Croix is rain forest, but the eastern end is largely desert - real desert with recognizable varieties of cactus. Be sure to keep an eye open for mongoose when you drive. Tour Fort Christianvaern in Christiansted. Things we haven't done yet but may get to one of these days: Tour the botanical gardens, especially after a rainy season we're told. Tour the rum factory - free samples at the end of the tour. Tour the Whim Plantation/museum - a former plantation great house. Take the seaplane to St. Thomas for the day - why not if there's time? One final note: We've found that prices in general are only slightly higher than what we're used to in upstate New York. Groceries, however, do tend to run a fair bit more than up here. I can't explain why this difference isn't reflected more drastically in restaurant prices. Obviously liquor, cosmetics and jewelry are cheaper, especially since there is no tax. You are allowed to bring five liters of liquor back duty-free (six, if one is a Virgin Islands product), but I've frequently brought back more (you can fit more than six bottles in a six-bottle box if you pack carefully). I've always been honest when asked at Customs (they don't always ask), but I've never been charged the duty on any of it. I've now made myself suitably 'homesick' for paradise and my tan has only just begun to fade. Only 245 days left until my next trip!
Trip 2/98 We just returned from a wonderful seven day trip on St. Croix. While on the island we stayed at The Waves at Cane Bay (www.thewavesatcanebay.com) a relaxing intimate seaside inn ran and owned by Suzanne and Kevin Ryan. Our first floor room included a private screened in porch overlooking the Caribbean, fully equipped kitchen and outside scuba locker. Our only discomfort was a lumpy, spring-felt mattress. Suzanne and Kevin were always available if we needed directions or recommendations for places to go on the island. The Waves at Cane Bay Restaurant on the lower level with seating at water's edge gets our highest rating of any restaurant on the island. The service was excellent and allowed all the guests to enjoy a leisurely dinner under the stars. This restaurant is open every evening from 5:00 - 9:00 except Sunday and is definitely worth the drive to Cane Bay. We ate at the restaurant four different evenings and always had a fantastic dinner. The restaurant is moderately priced, most entrees were $17.00-$20.00 and included either soup or salad. Their seafood pasta is wonderful and they fix the catch-of-the-day four different ways. A great restaurant in Christiansted overlooking the bay is Stixx - for a quick cheap lunch, their pizza by the slice is great. Another fun local hangout is Cheeseburgers in Paradise located on the highway east of the Buccaneer Club. We have been scuba diving for 15 years and found Anchor Dive Shop at Salt River Bay to be one of the best dive operations in the Caribbean. The staff were helpful, chose great dive sites and entertained everyone with stories about the island. We rented a car on the island (remember driving is on the left) and toured the island one afternoon. Driving from the west to the east on the island you can go through a rain forest, over mountains, along coastal roads and through the dry eastern side where most of the cattle are pastured - all in an afternoon. We stayed away from the southern part of the island where the Hess Oil Refinery is located. A word of caution if you are scuba divers or are thinking about trying a resort course - Cane Bay Dive Shop is probably one of the most dangerous operations in the Caribbean. Our first full day on the island, we went down to inquire about their guided dives. They only do shore diving and will take anyone out in any conditions. We watched one dive guide take seven resort divers out with six foot swells breaking. We also talked to an experienced diver who went out with one of their dive guides and it was the guides fifth (yes 5th) dive that morning. While we watched, two divers fought the surf and surges for over 20 minutes trying to reach shore and were so exhausted that they had to be carried out of the water.
Previous Caribbean Travel Roundup reports helped in the selection of this island destination and activities enjoyed during our 3-9 March 1998 visit to St. Croix. The following thoughts and experiences may be useful to other first time visitors. 1. Delta arrives at 9:30 p.m. and departs at 8:10 a.m. which is great for travelers from California's Central Coast. Other airlines' schedules allow more time on the island for those needing less travel time. 2. Taxi rates to hotels are posted in the baggage claim area. First time night rental driving on the left could be interesting. Roads are usually identified by number only at junctions of the roads. 3. Most used references: St. Croix This Week and official USVI road map. Both readily available. 4. It is true. An Island Safari Tour with Sweeny as guide is a great first introduction to the island. Attraction entrance fees were $11 per person on top of his $25 fee. If picked up at your hotel west of town, Sweeny will take you back to Christiansted for continued exploring at the end of the tour. 5. We stayed at the Hibiscus Beach Hotel with views of Buck Island through the palm trees above a sandy beach. Helpful staff and relaxed atmosphere. In room safe useful; as is mini-bar used to cool town purchased food and drink. 6. American Express Cards are useful here. " The official card of the USVI " 7. We sailed to Buck Island with Captain Big Beard's fun crew for half a day. Next time we will want a full day to picnic, hike, and snorkel more. Slow sailing vessel seems preferable to faster motor boat. Mask, fins, snorkel, and floatation if desired are provided. Bring a recyclable underwater camera. 8. Cruise ships in port result in crowded attractions and beaches; including Buck Island. Plan non conflicting activities. Cruise arrivals listed in St. Croix This Week. Most dock in Frederiksted. 9. Christiansted taxi drivers did not seem to understand the rates listed in St. Croix This Week. Hotel associated taxi was reasonable. 10. Suzuki Esteem rental car with minimal ground clearance was able to safely handle scenic drive dirt roads and all others attempted. 11. Worst road found: Hams Bay area leading to lighthouse gated road; large pot holes. 12. Public Housing Projects were the only areas we were dissuaded from visiting by hotel personnel. We did find a road that dead ended in one, though. 13. The road to Point Udall is being upgraded. During our visit the road was closed just beyond Cramer Park. We hiked the one and a half miles to Point Udall overlook and point on a Saturday. Carry water. We found no one on the east end of the island past the park. The nude beach is on the south of the island just west of the sandy beach visible from the overlook. 14. The road to Sandy Point is only open on week ends. 15. Java Mon near Christiansted's harbor has good ice cream. They are proud of their "4000 mile chocolate shakes" which are made with Ghirardelli chocolate from San Francisco. 16. As aged Cruzan Rum was being drained from the wooden barrels, the guide invited us to dip our hands in to the stream of rum. 17. Wahoo Willy's was a favorite restaurant with us. Good place for dinner when returning wet from Buck Island. Patio overlooks harbor with sea plane arrivals and departures. 18. Scouters; check out the two camps near the Great Pond. 19. The Very Long Baseline Array radio telescope receiver site across the road from Cramer Park has information brochures at the gate. It is one of 10 sites between here and Hawaii. Movement of the 82 foot diameter antenna is controlled form New Mexico. 20. Christopher Columbus Landing Site is not well marked. 21. Many shops in Christiansted open later on Sunday or not at all. 22. Steeple museum in Christiansted was open on Sunday when we were there, but not the other days we tried. 23. Tropical Memories in Frederiksted has Virgin Island ice scrapers. 24. Best part of the vacation was experiencing the friendly people of St. Croix.
Trip Feb-Mar /98 We spent 2 weeks on St. John during the end of Feb. and first of March. Not having been back for 6 years, the island was all and more than we remembered. We stayed at a villa overlooking Hart Bay and Chocolate Hole with incredible vistas before us and a sky full of stars every night. The small splash pool greeted us upon our return from the beach every day. Favorite beach - probably Honeymoon where the snorkeling was like swimming in an aquarium in spite of the many day trippers on The Wild Thing out of St. Thomas. With their life vests, fins and what else on, they hardly got further than a few yards off the beach. I also found what I thought was Jumbie Beach was in fact Oppenheimer (another favorite. Saw enormous iguana at Cinnamon, truly ugly and scary looking - picture didn't come out though, you'll have to take my word for it. Went to Salt Pond one day and it was packed with people due to a weather disturbance which was churning the waves to the top of the North Shore beaches. Good snorkeling there too though not favorite due to long walk from the parking lot - I'm getting lazy. However we did get to stop at Skinny Legs (incredibly huge Mahi, Mahi sandwich for $6) and also had a drink at bar by Tall Ships shirt shack - just loved the frozen raspberry mango colada, just about as good as bushwacker at Morgan's Mango. Best meals - hard to say, Lime Inn and chocolate dessert with fudge sauce was unbeatable. Truly enjoyed Paradisio (maybe best meal), Cafe Roma, and of course Fish Trap. Ate one evening at Cinnamon Bay campgrounds which also had live entertainment-some no see ums there. Impromtu dining at Joe's barbecue and Pizzaria. Was amazed at number of deli's. We used Tropicale by the Westin quite often - good variety and delicious for take out lunch to the beach. The Westin is open and looked much the same. Someone told us that they were at 40 per cent capacity. Was going to eat lunch there, but $6 for a hot dog just doesn't cut it. Did get souvenirs there for grandkids. Their waterfront beach is nice but the water is not clear - couldn't get over the number of kids vacationing with parents. Did sunset cruise with Captain Doug and Teka. She pointed out Little Saint James to us with it's high rental villa - nice and was impressed that David Copperfield proposed to Claudia there plus that Oprah and also Kevin Costner hangs out there. But at $2400 per person, minimum of 4 people, minimum of 4 days I don't think I will be dropping in even though it does have a helicopter. Truly enjoyed the Blast with Captain Alfred and mate Shay who took our party of 6 along with 12 more people to Jost Van Dyke, Sandy Spit and the world famous Soggy Bar - they really do dump you out in 8 feet of water and you do have to swim in to shore (also back) for that painkiller. The Blast's dinghy is a rubber swim float - we opted to snorkel in to Sandy Spit which is a sweet sand surrounded small island. We told the ones that preferred to remain on board that their was a nude beach on the opposite shore and they believed us. \Shay took us on a walking tour of Jost Van Dyke and was amazed that they had a school, church, gas station and car rental there for only 150 inhabitants. Foxy sang us a song about Cleveland, Ohio which made us glad we were not there but in the 90 degree sunny British Isles. By the way, the Blast does provide a bucket in which you can place your purchases, billfolds or whatever and Shay floats them back to the boat while we all hope it doesn't sink - of course after a few painkillers, you are hoping you don't sink yourself - a powerful drink. Another boatload of people there were having a treasure hunt with a real Captain Hook lookalike directing. I wanted one of their swords real bad to bring home to my grandsons - Captain Alfred was going to fight for one for me but he chickened out at the last minute. Oh Well we did have food and drinks back on board and a pleasurable motoring back to St. John. In reading the island paper, we found that a rash of burglaries on Giftt Hill has everyone up in arms-with residents claiming that the police are looking the other way and know who the thieves are. Our home was secured and we never felt threatened.
Trip 2/98 While leaving Milwaukee at 4:30 in the morning for the 2 hour drive to Chicago's midway airport to catch a 8:30 flight may seem silly, neither one of us was sleeping anyway, so why not. Arrived at Midway at about 6:45 without incident, checked the luggage, and was ready to board the plane by 7:00A.M. The flight from Chicago to San Juan, with a short stop in Miami was uneventful, with some of the softest touchdowns we've ever experienced. PUERTO RICO Arrived in San Juan at about 4:15 P.M., picked up our rental car, and grove to old San Juan, arriving at about 5:00. Since our stay in San Juan and Tortola were, in fact part of out trip to SXM, I'll include those stops in this report. After driving around Old San Juan a bit, we finally located our hotel, the "Gallary" Hotel. It was a little difficult to locate, since it did not have it's name posted on the front, but when I finally stopped to ask a local, you know how us men hate to ask for directions, he advised that we were right in front of the hotel. First, let us tell you about the hotel. This is a little, 21 room hotel, art gallery, overlooking the Carribean, on the road which runs between the two forts. This is truly an amazing place, with it's maze of hallways, staircases and open courtyards, filled with paintings and sculptures created mostly by the proprietor, whose name alludes me. While our room was small, it was adequate for the two nights we stayed there, and with the continental breakfast, honer bar, and roof deck with a 360 degree view of Old San Juan, it was very enjoyable. It turned out to be a very pleasant place to stay for a night or two, and it gave us an opportunity to tour OSJ on foot. Having only one full day in P.R., we took off early the next morning, Thursday, Feb 19, in the car to spent the morning exploring the island. We headed west out of S.J. on the tollway, in the direction of the "Caves". We spent the rest of the morning driving through the interior of the island, through the mountains, where the scenery and view was majestic, before heading back along the north coast. We were amazed at how majestic the scenery was and how clean and well kept the homes and towns were. Puerto Rico is one beautiful island. Arriving back in OSJ at about 2:30, we decided to grab a chilled bottle of Zinfandel from the refrig in the honor bar and go to the rooftop deck to relax. Since the deck was already occupied by another couple, I ran back down to the kitchen for two more goblets, and the four of us enjoyed a relaxing wine and good company. After recovering from the drive, which, by the way was not nearly as congested or hazardous as SXM, we prepared for a walking tour of OSJ and dinner. Being later in the afternoon, it was not quite as hot, and we had an interesting tour of the old city, without becoming overheated or uncomfortable. OSJ really is quite interesting and worth the time to tour. It is also within walking distance of the cruise ship port, and provides a way for cruisers to kill a couple of hours before or after the cruise. Had dinner at a restaurant called the "Gallaria", not related to the hotel, and we both had wonderful meals. Sandy had Shrimp in a garlic/wine sauce and I had salmon in a herb sauce. both were extremely good, as was the service of Franco, the waiter. While there are many fine restaurants in OSJ, many of which are obviously very popular, I highly recommend this restaurant for both food and service. Franco anticipated our every need, and every coarse, drink and wine was served at a perfectly timed sequence. We returned to our hotel at about 9:30, being exhausted from a long day, and after a cocktail on the balcony, called it a night. TORTOLA Caught the 10:00 Liat flight out of San Juan, landing in Tortola about 45 minutes later. After getting our luggage, and going through customs, which was a pain, we caught a cab to our hotel, the Beef Island Guest House, which took about two minutes. Truth is, we could have walked, if we hadn't brought our entire house in our luggage. Some day we'll learn. BIGH is truly a lovely bed and breakfast, with, I think seven rooms. Right next door is a little restaurant, which makes great margarita's as well as hamburger's, sandwiches, and, in the evening, great dinners. Our room was very nice sized, very clean, and enjoyable. The hotel and restaurant are located on an isolated beach, theirs being the only buildings on the beach, which stretched for 1 to 1-1/2 miles in length. Walking the length of the beach, we realized that if desire, we could tan au natural without any intrusion. Since our next stop was SXM however, we decide not to spend beach time, however. It was our intent to explore the island. We had made arrangements to rent a car, before leaving the States, so when we arrived, I called National to bring our car as promised. I was disappointed when they arrived, and explained that we would have to ride into Roadtown to do the paperwork and pick up the car. We climbed into the jeep and proceeded to head for town. On the way into town, Sandy asked the driver how long it would take to drive around the island, and was told the it would take about 1 hour. After a drive of almost 45 minutes, on one of the worst roads I have seen in a while, in a jeep with no suspension, we finally got to the National office. By this time Sandy and I both had sore necks from the bouncing and had lost our enthusiasm for touring. When we were told that this jeep form hell was our rental vehicle, we canceled, and had the driver return us to our hotel. Lounging on the beach suddenly seemed very desirable. We spent the rest of our time relaxing and drinking Margarita's, not a bad way to spend an afternoon. Had dinner at the restaurant nest door. I had a red snapper in a lime sauce, wonderful and Sandy had steak which she also enjoyed. After dinner we sat at the bar for a while, talking to the sailors that stopped for dinner, and then called it a night. ST. MARTIN Sandy and I left the BVI's on Saturday, Feb. 20 about one hour behind schedule. LIAT does seem to have a habitual problem of not staying on schedule. We landed at SXM shortly before 5:00 p.m., to be met by Sommerset car rental. For whatever reason, they said something about a crackdown by the taxi association, Claude insisted that he drive us to his office to pick up the car rather than having it at the airport. It was a real race to get past the bridge before 5:30 but we made it and were on our way to Grand Case. Checked into our room at Chez Martine, unpacked, freshened up and were on our way to meet friends for dinner at Le Tastevin. The four of us had a wonderful meal as usual. Sandy had beef fillet and I had Salmon fillet. I don't recall what sauces they were prepared in, but they were both very good. This restaurant is a 5 star restaurant. It has wonderful food, a beautiful view overlooking the water and superb service. After dinner we went back to the apartment on the Grand Case beach where our friends were staying and sat on the porch overlooking the water and had a few drinks. Since it was a long day with traveling we called it a night at a reasonable hour, walked back to Chez Martine and crashed for the night. Sunday morning we got up bright and early had breakfast, which is served on the balcony outside of our room and headed for Orient beach. At 10:00 we had taken our morning walk the length of the beach and then met up with our friends of last night. Spent the rest of the morning enjoying the sun, before going to the airport to pick up a third couple. We then headed to Surf Club South for a late lunch and a birthday party for our friend's eight year old. After lunch we spent the rest of the day on the beach before going back to the hotel and dinner at Chez Martine. I had skate, which is the wings of a sting ray and Sandy had the beef (again). This was one of our more pleasant meals on the island and the service was exceptional. Not sure if we got special service being guests of the hotel. However, I highly recommend this restaurant, and while it doesn't get much attention on this board, it is worth the time and money. Monday it's breakfast and off to the beach again with a detour in Marigot and breakfast at Zee Best. As usual breakfast was ZEE BEST and the croissants were as good as ever. After a full day on the beach at Orient, with exceptionally sunny and hot weather, we returned to Grand Case for dinner at L'Atlantic. This restaurant had been recommended a while back on the board and therefore we decided to give it a try. Had the usual fish and beef entrees, and while the food was good and inexpensive, the restaurant was VERY hot and stuffy and the service was VERY slow. I will admit, however, that when I made reservations I was told to expect slow service because all dishes are prepared individually. Sandy however, didn't quite believe this and said the slow service was due to one chef and one waiter. Take your choice of reasons. At any rate, the food was well worth the cost (just go on a breezy evening). Tuesday was another day at the beach at Club Orient. Weather was hot and Sunny, with a nice breeze which was needed to prevent overheating. i had rented two lounges and an umbrella for the week from club O, and spent most of my time under the umbrella reading and drinking Caribe. What a perfect day. Went to Captain Olivers for dinner with friends before returning to Club O for the live band. For people watchers, this is the most interesting event of the week. Of coarse, since I love to dance, you can't keep me off the dance floor. I did promise sandy that i would not get up on stage with the band this year, and managed to keep the promise. A final cocktail with friends staying at Orient , and it's off to Grand case and bed. Another successful day on vacation. Since the rest of the week was spent at Orient, I won't bore you with repetitive stories of our days on the beach. suffice it to say that, with the exception of Saturday and Sunday morning, when it was overcast, the weather was hot and sunny. I'm not sure if it was hotter then usual because we were there in late Feb. rather then early Feb., but we credited it on El Nino, of coarse. Lunches included Padro's, Patricks at LaGalleon, Kon Tiki, and Wakiki, as well as the before mentioned Surf Club south. Dinners, in addition to the previously mentioned, were enjoyed at Portofino, where the pizza was not as good as last year, Picolo's which was every bit as enjoyable as had been reported on this board, Escapade, where both the service and food was miserable, Auberge Gormand(sp) and grilled steaks with friends at orient. In my opinion, Auberge has regained king of the hill status in Grand Case, with Testivin a close second. Escapade, which was one of my personal favorites in years past, was way off it's mark this year. Maybe just a bad night? Having had to much beer, booze, food and sun(not) over the past week, we packed on Monday for the dreary return to the midwest. Got to the airport early enough to stop at Turtle Bar fore our traditional last breakfast and Bloody Mary's before checking our luggage. It was then we discovered that Pam Am, which was our airline of choice,(bad) had filed chapter 11 the previous Friday, and we had no reservations to get from SJU to Chicago. Our flight from SXM to SJU, on LIAT, was pleasant enough, but i was dreading the inevitable in SJU. No airlines were honoring Pan Am tickets, so it catch as catch can. Fortunately, American had empty seats on there evening flight, nonstop SJU to ORD, and they charged only $250.00 per ticket for the flight so all turned out well. AMX has already credited my account $350.00 for our unused tickets so we're only out $150.00 Not bad under the circumstances. Time to start planning for next year!
Trip 3/98 Sunday: My wife, Meg, and I flew from Houston to Cancun via Sun Country, arriving around 3:00. This was the first time we had ever flown this particular airline, but we couldn't pass up the $150 RT fare. Normally, we fly down via Continental. No problems, and customs went very quickly as usual. We picked up a Volkswagen bug at Thrifty, and started our drive down to Tulum. As per information received from various sources, we decided to go to an ATM in Playa del Carmen to get our pesos. We stopped at the Banamex bank, and after figuring out their ATM system, we were able to get the N$1000 pesos we wanted at that time. The charge from my bank will be $2.00US for utilizing someone else's ATM machine, plus whatever the current exchange rate was at that time, which was about 8.4 pesos per dollar. After passing the Tulum ruins, but before we reached the pueblo, we turned left on the Tulum-Coba road, and drove a couple of kilometers, where we then headed south for our first night at Zamas cabanas. One out-of-place sign at the crossroad was for the "Internet Cafe". Here we are, basically in the jungle, miles from Playa del Carmen, and we see that they have directions to the "Internet Cafe" in the Tulum pueblo. Pretty amazing... (Our main reason for this trip was to get video footage for my wife's new company, and the Tulum area is the first location that will be offered. The web address is listed at the bottom. So we decided to stay at a few different locations to get as much footage as possible. As we have three kids, ages 6 to 14, we could only be away for a short period.) As was stated above, our first night was spent at Zamas, which is located on the Boca Paila road that leads south from the Tulum ruins. It is between the Piedras Escondida and Osho resorts. According to the information at www.turqreef.com, Zamas had a very good beach. Well, that wasn't really the case. The beach was VERY rocky, and full of alot of seaweed. Now, that doesn't mean that it wasn't a nice place to be--it's just that it didn't have a good beach. The Zamas cabanas were pretty rustic, but clean; and the bathroom even had running hot water, though the pressure was low. The restaurant, Que Fresco, was okay, and we ate dinner and breakfast there the next morning. The cost was $65.00US per night. Not too bad, but it really would have helped to have a good beach (which is a major prerequisite for Meg.) Monday: The next day, Monday, after eating breakfast, we checked out, and got some more video footage of the general vicinity. We then drove down to the Las Ranitas resort, which means 'little frogs'. This is located about 9k south on the Boca Paila road. Note that this is much further down than either Ana y Jose or Cabanas Tulum, which in the past have generally been at the end of the line. Las Ranitas was originally the vacation home of a French family, but it has grown up to be a full-fledged resort. We spoke with Manuel, who was very helpful in our filming by letting us into the different types of rooms they had there. The resort has very nice landscaping, a pretty good beach (which was nearly deserted), very nice rooms (no matter what the size or style), and a decent restaurant. This place opened in December, 1997. It is a joint venture between the French family and Ana y Jose's. Since Ana y Jose's was booked solid the whole time we were there, we ended up staying at Las Ranitas for two nights. We ate dinner there on Monday and Tuesday nights. There are two gentlemen who seem to run both Las Ranitas and Ana y Jose, one of whom is Paul, and the other whose name I can't remember at this time. There were French and Spanish (I don't know if this was Mexican Spanish or Spain Spanish) visitors besides ourselves--i.e., we were the only norteamericanos. Our room was $120US per night. This is not your standard Tulum-road cabana resort. I predict that within the next 3-5 years this place will be to Tulum what Shangri- La is to the Playa del Carmen area. Recommended. We spent the afternoon at the beach, which at the time was pretty windy; but it was warm so it all evened out. Tuesday: We drove up to Ana y Jose's and ate breakfast at their restaurant. We both had very good meals, and Meg really liked the sand floor of the restaurant. The last time we had eaten at a sand-floor restaurant was when we were in Xcalak back in '93 and ate at Adolfo's. We then filmed the inside of some rooms at Ana y Jose's and outside at the resort next door--Cabanas Tulum. Both places seemed to be fairly decent. I believe standard room prices were $50 - $60US. After filming at Ana y Jose's and Cabanas Tulum, we drove up the dirt road to Don Armando's Cabanas. The turn-off doesn't say that's where you are, but the next one up is El Mirador, and that is the last resort before the ruins. We drove up the sand path to the restaurant and parked there. There were a number of taxis waiting there for the visitors who did not want to hitch-hike back to their cabanas or where they were staying. Once you walk past the restaurant, it opens out to a very large beach area. The cabanas at Don Armando's are each named after some location there on the coast, such as "Isla Mujeres" or "Playa del Carmen". I guess that is easier to read than just a small identifying number. It takes a few minutes to walk past the cabanas because of all of the sand dunes that surround the area. We did not film the inside of these cabanas, but did get plenty of photos and video of the outside, and associated areas. The beach was wide open, and there seemed to be more people here than at any of the other beaches that we had visited to this point. South of the beach at Don Armando's were a number of RV's. Most of the people there seemed to be in their 20's, and then up. There were no children present while we were there, which was different from all of the other beaches we had visited. There were about half a dozen or so who had decided to take full advantage of the clothing- optional aspect of this particular area. Meg and I ended up setting down our beach towels closer to the north end of the beach near El Mirador. You could see the Tulum ruins from our spot on the beach. The military helicopter (an old Huey) flew by 3 or 4 times during the 2 hours which we were present. In fact, it seemed to fly the whole Punta Bete - Tulum corridor 4 or 5 times every day. Neither Meg nor I remembered it being that way when we were there in July, 97. We left around 2:30 in the afternoon to go back to Las Ranitas (you'd be amazed at how long it takes to drive 7 or 8 kilometers along that road) because we had run out of Hi8 video and 35mm film. After getting everything we needed, we drove back up the road, and this time turned right up the path which leads to El Mirador, which is the last cabana resort before you reach the ruins. We parked our car there, next to the restaurant, and then walked the 1/2 kilometer past the road-block to the ruins. We purchased our admission ticket, and our permission slip to use the video camera. Each admission was N$14, and it cost N$30 to bring in the video camera. Both Meg and I really enjoyed our visit at the ruins. We had read that it was best to get there either very early in the morning, or around 4:00 in the afternoon to avoid the tourist buses from Cancun. We actually arrived at about 4:15, and it was starting to clear out pretty well around that time. We decided that we will bring a picnic basket this summer when we bring the kids, and eat at the little beach between a couple of the ruins. It was very pretty there, very informative, and was worth the time and effort. Recommended. That evening we ate dinner at Las Ranitas, and the food was better than the night before. The flan was very good. Wednesday: We decided to get up and check out early, because we were going to visit the ruins at Coba, and then head up to Playa del Carmen for our last day. We wanted to beat the crowds, but ran behind a little from our original plan. We decided to eat breakfast again at Ana y Jose's, and enjoyed that meal once again. We picked up a Mayan woman in traditional clothing and her daughter or granddaughter, who had waved us down for a ride. We don't know alot of Spanish, but found out that there names were Soledad and Isabella, and that they were wanting a ride to the Tulum pueblo, which was about 7 or 8 kilometers away. After we dropped them off, we started up the Coba road. From Tulum, it is 47 kilometers. I had meant to get gasoline, but forgot, and hoped that I wouldn't run out on the way back to Tulum. We didn't, of course. I've just never gotten used to the kilometer-miles ratio difference. We arrived in Coba before all the buses, and decided not to hire a guide for the Coba site, since we were really in a hurry to get up to Playa. Once you purchase your ticket, it is about a 2 kilometer walk up to the big ruins. Well, guess what--they had archaeological digs going on in a number of places, and they don't let you climb to the top like you have been able to in the recent past. Bummer. Oh, well, it was still interesting. On the walk back along the path, we were met by a little Mayan girl of about 3 or 4 years old, who was begging for pesos. Except for her skin and hair color, she looked just like the little kid in that one Mad Max movie with Mel Gibson. Her older sister was in the woods somewhere, but we couldn't see her. Meg had our keys on a chain around her neck, and the little girl forgot what she was there for, and so she just wanted to see the keys. I could kick myself for not having taken a picture of that incident. We both needed to use the bathroom before we left, and they had men's and women's banos behind the admission building. It cost a peso for each of us to use, but it was worth it. On the road back to Tulum, we counted no less than 11 tour buses headed towards Coba. Good timing. We figure that if you get to Coba by 9:30 or 10:00am, you'll do fine. We filled up at the Pemex just north of the Tulum-Coba road and 307, and headed up to Playa del Carmen. They were working on the roads alot around Playacar, and so it made for some slow going since there weren't any remaining shoulders. We arrived at Shangri-La right at about 1:00pm. Since we couldn't check-in for another hour or so, we went ahead and got our towels from registration and headed toward the beach, which seemed to be nearly deserted of sunbathers. As happens sometimes, the clouds filled up the sky, and so there was not much sun to be gotten at that time. So, we checked into our room, and filmed it and the surrounding area. By the time we had had our afternoon snack of things in our Tupperware container brought from home (remind me some time to tell you a related story about bringing food to the Quintana-Roo coast without proper storage containers), the sun had come out full force, so it was back to the beach. After a couple of hours, we walked down to Playa along the beach. They were building a very large resort hotel at the punta just north of the Blue Parrot Inn when we were there in July. Well, that resort is now finished, and it actually looks very nice. However, the beach on which it sits it full of rocks. I guess they figure that people will go use the beaches elsewhere. The area just to the north of that punta was very dirty, and there was alot of broken glass in the sand. It was not like this back in July. Oh, well, so much for progress. After spending a little bit of time window-shopping, and a Cristal Grape- fruit soda (I'm hooked on those things), we walked back to Shangri-La, our home away from home. Dinner that evening was very good, and it was nice that a few of the staff remembered us from our visit back in the summer. The clientele was very different this time. We were the only Americans that we saw when we were there in July, as it was mostly French, German and Italian. This time, there were alot of well-off Americans, mostly aged 50+, and there were alot of 20-ish single Germans. Obviously, there were others that fit into other categories, but this was our main impression. THURSDAY: After breakfast at the restaurant, we got in some more sun time at the beach. Today, the beach was pretty full. Meg went to the management office, and was able to get into some other rooms for filming. I was also able to get film of the new north section of Shangri-La. We checked out at 12:30, and headed back up to the airport. About 10 kilometers before we got there, I found that I had turista. Fortunately, I had gone to the doctor before we left, and he prescribed for me some new anti-biotic for turista that does not make you sun-sensitive. I popped one as soon as we got to the airport after we turned in the car, which turned out to have some scratches on it that wasn't there before we rented it. That cost me N$500 pesos, which AMEX should cover since it was on my personal card. I'll let everyone know how that goes. Our Sun Country flight left early, and we had an uneventful flight back to Houston. We were going to stay with friends that night (we live in Louisville, KY), but our daughter, Olivia, was in a spelling bee on Friday, and Meg wanted to attend the contest in case she won. Meg got a ticket on Continental back that night. Good thing to, since Olivia won the whole thing for her district! All in all, a very good trip--always too short, as usual. We'll be back with the kids in June or July to get film of the family and kid oriented places along the Mayan Riviera. Adios! Visit www.video-travel.com for photos and preview video of the Tulum area.
The Caribbean Travel Roundup is available worldwide via Compuserve and INTERNET
and is distributed internationally through the facilities of America Online and GENIE.
Selected features appear on Prodigy.
Contact:
Paul GravelineOFFICIAL WORLD WIDE WEB SITE: http://www.gobeach.com/ctr/
E-mail via CTREDITOR@aol.com or CTREDITOR@compuserve.com : On Prodigy - MKWC51A
| CTR Home | << Back | ToC | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Search |