St Maarten/St Martin 27 July 2008 Newsletter Other newsletters Contests | Restaurants | Bargains and Happenings ISLAND NEWS

Weather: Today's (27 July) sunset will be at 6:45PM. It's about a month past the longest day of the year, when the sunset was at 6:48PM. The change is pretty slow around the solstice. On the right is a shot taken from the balcony of our condo on the winter solstice in 2005. The weather has been about normal for this time of the year, temperatures in the high 80's during the day and high 70's during the night, with 10 to 15 mph breezes. Nonetheless, the humidity is up and the heat index says it will feel like mid 90's even with the breeze. The rains are generally passing showers, not deluges, and rarely last all day. Full moon dates for 2008 are: 16 Aug, 15 Sep, 13 Oct, 13 Nov, and 12 Dec. Here's the local weather forecast from the Weather Underground and here's one from the Weather Channel.

SXM-Beaches: Here's a shot taken of Orient Beach earlier this year. We were having a fine lunch at Pirate Beach Bar when I stepped onto the beach and took this glorious shot looking north. It's a great place for lunch, especially good for fish, and the conch salad is our favorite. Prices are in dollars and there is a coupon on the website for a bargain on two chairs, two drinks, and an umbrella with the purchase of two lunches. If you don't know where the island's beaches are, visit SXM-Beaches for maps and photos.

Beach Reading: The August National Geographic had an article on Moscow by novelist Martin Cruz Smith. Shortly before Yeltsin mounted a tank to stop the army insurrection, I was exploring the possibility of opening an office there. That put an end to the exploratory talks. Not much of an SXM connection there, but Martin Cruz Smith is the novelist who writes the Arkady Renko series. His Havana Bay brings Arkady to Cuba, giving an accurate glimpse at one of the largest Caribbean islands, making it excellent beach reading. Random Wind: Diane reports fair seas and pretty good weather. She welcomes the winner of her first contest, Ed C, and urges everyone to enter the SXM-Info contests for a two for one Paradise Day Sail on Random Wind.

Construction: Not exactly construction, but if you are building or moving into a new place, Ace Hardware in Cole Bay has almost everything you would want. Unlike hardware stores in the US, they have a second floor with home furnishings. They are on the main road heading from Cole Bay to Marigot, after the now-defunct Food Center and before the fine Grand Marché grocery store and Port de Plaisance.

PDG, also in Cole Bay, is the restaurant supply store. It's open to the public and they have a fantastic selection of finer cooking items. You probably could outfit a kitchen at Ace Hardware, but you could spend more and get better quality at PDG. If you go to the BIG roundabout in Cole Bay and take the road that goes into Cole Bay, it will be on your right.

Sapphire Beach Club: We have returned to our home in NY. Our condo will be available for rent at $1000 per week from 15 April to December 15, $2000 per week during holiday season (20 Dec until 4 Jan), and $1500 per week at other times. The rental includes about $500 in coupons from several of our website clients. Check the calendar on our website for available dates. Hurricane Special: Any days in September and August for $100. 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.

Travel: All travel to the USA now requires a passport. Life is pretty easy if you allow enough time to renew by mail. All the details can be found at this State Department page.

Shopping: Diamonds International still has a discount coupon on their website that offers 15% off on any diamond or gemstone jewelry over $300 or 10% off on designer jewelry and watches.

Groceries: We had a cheese course with some Taleggio and Etorki recently. In his Cheese Primer Jenkins says Taleggio is northern Italy's best-kept secret - the most refined and sophisticated of all Italian cheeses. Unfortunately, you will find very little in SXM. We were sure that the Etorki was a brebis, ie a sheep's milk cheese and I posited that it came from the Basque region (because of the "k" in the name). Jenkins says it comes from the western Pyrénées, Basque country. The AOC is Ossau-Iraty but Etorki is the same cheese, vacuum packed and stored at low temperatures to arrest further development. This is done to smooth out the discrepancy between production and consumption and apparently does not harm the quality. We have seen this at US Imports. Jenkins says: "heavenly".

		Alcohol: A recent Food & Wine had some champagne and sparkling wine ratings. They rated rosé champagnes and found Nicolas Feuillate Brut Rosé to be a bargain (admittedly at $43). We used to get that at Vinissimo in downtown Marigot. They gave a top rating to Ruinart Brut Rosé ($70). This has long been Martha's favorite, although at that price she is operating on long-term memory, ie before my time when she was a chef at one of Saratoga Springs finer restaurants. We currently like the DEUTZ Brut Rosé ($79) for really special occasions and the BELIN Brut Rosé ($38) found at Select Wine Cellar in the Orange Grove Shopping Center. The sparklers that F&W mentioned included a Llorpart Brut Rosé Reserva from the Penedes region of Spain (only $19) and the Friexenet Brut de Noirs (a mere $10). In the US they mentioned Schramsberg's Mirabelle Brut Rosé ($24), Roederer Estates Brut Rosé ($30), and Domaine Carneros Cuvée de la Pampadour ($42). We've always been partial to Schramsberg but Taittinger owns Domaine Carneros, giving them a leg up on making great sparkling wine. Roederer Estate is owned by Louis Roederer, another famous Champagne house. They also own Deutz.
		Nature: This is an adult Brown Pelican floating off Cupecoy Beach. The Browns are the only pelicans that dive into the ocean to catch fish. In doing so, they provide hours of amusement for beachgoers. The adults have white feathers on their head. They will weigh four to ten pounds (2 to 5 kilos) and have a wingspan of six feet (2 meters). Typically they fly in formation skimming the waves until they spot some fish. They then fly up and crash headfirst into the water to scoop up the unsuspecting bit of sushi.

Small island story: It is a small island, but there are two countries, two phone systems, and two of most everything you would need in an emergency: police, ambulance, fire department, etc. There was a thread on TTOL recently where someone stated that they had lined up a phone from Sharon, the Queen of SXM. We deal with King Bob at Pack Light Rentals, but no matter who you chose you'll get treated like royalty. The question, however, was what numbers should be put on the phone. Here is a compendium of the suggestions:

Current Contest - 27 July to 26 October
Caribbean ViewCondo - half price summer rental (May-October)
Azure Guesthouse - seven nights for the price of four
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 - Two for one coupon for the Paradise Day Sail
GCBC Watersports - Two for One snorkel trip to Créole Rock
Peg Leg Pub - $50 off a dinner for two
PassportMD - Six months free service

Previous contest winners:
Caribbean ViewCondo - half price summer rental (May-October) - Lee M
Lagoon Pub Crawl - two for one ticket - Ed C
Skipjack's - $50 off a dinner for two - Joann L
Select Wine Cellar - Wine tasting and a bottle of wine - Lisa & Mark
Random Wind - Two for one coupon for the Paradise Day Sail - Ed C
GCBC Watersports - Two for One snorkel trip to Créole Rock - Jules R
Peg Leg Pub - $50 off a dinner for two - Lisa & Mark
PassportMD - Six months free service - Susan S
Ti Coin Créole - $50 off a dinner for two - Joann L
Marci's MegaGym 2000 - Two weeks gym admission and two mega-shakes - Ed C

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:

27 July to 26 October
Caribbean ViewCondo - half price summer rental (May-October)
Azure Guesthouse - seven nights for the price of four
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 - Two for one coupon for the Paradise Day Sail
GCBC Watersports - Two for One snorkel trip to Créole Rock
Peg Leg Pub - $50 off a dinner for two
PassportMD - Six months free service

26 October to 28 December
Caribbean ViewCondo - half price summer rental (May-October)
Bikini Beach - A DAY AT THE BEACH
(including 2 chairs and a parasol, 2 welcome punches and $50.00 credit towards food and drink)
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 - Two for one coupon for the Paradise Day Sail
GCBC Watersports - Two for One snorkel trip to Créole Rock
Peg Leg Pub - $50 off a dinner for two
PassportMD - Six months free service

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 - Two for one coupon for the Paradise Day Sail
GCBC Watersports - Two for One snorkel trip to Créole Rock
Peg Leg Pub - $50 off a dinner for two
PassportMD - Six months free service

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 - Two for one coupon for the Paradise Day Sail
GCBC Watersports - Two for One snorkel trip to Créole Rock
Peg Leg Pub - $50 off a dinner for two
PassportMD - Six months free service