SXM

I have finally finished unpacking. My dad asked me if I could work from St. Martin, I wish. I don't think I could live there full time right now. It's very family oriented (there seems to be no single women over 30) and too small an island. But I would love to spend a month or so there at a time. I really missed my siblings but next Christmas we will all be there.

It was interesting to be on the island with a friend who has never been there. She wanted to know if we were related to everyone on the island. It became a running joke, we kept bumping into cousins, family friends, people I didn't even know we were related to. I don't know my parents who had not live there for decades, keep track.

It is so beautiful. I love the values, no botox, fake boobs no one cares what kind of car you drive. It's about family and community. Folks are proud and quality of life is great. There is cable (my parents get the NYC local channels, along with the CNNs, HBOs etc.) so you still know what is going on in the world. Great food, music, fresh air, stunning beaches, and men who flirt.

On the down side, small island so everybody knows your business, over development (esp. on the dutch side), many things have to be imported so prices are higher on those items. Not knowing french is a negative for me. My mom's french is back. My dad spoke french until his family move to Curacao in second grade. He said the dutch, spanish and papimento (local dialect of Curacao and Aruba, combo of spanish, porteguese with some hebrew mixed in) killed it. Most people do speak English but a lot of business (like paying your electric bill, grocery shopping) is in French.

We went to Le Gailion, Friar's Bay, Baie Rouge beaches. We miss Dawn Beach. I can't believe they are building such a huge hotel there. It's the same developers of the tacky Atlantis. One of the best beach bars on the island, Scavangers, had to close.

Had too many amazing meals to list from nice places like Spiga to "lolos", like Talk of the Town. That place has amazing Johnny cakes.

We went to Anguilla to see family and show my friend the sites. We stopped by the hospital and received some bad news.

Anguilla, british west indies, is very different from St. Martin. Quiet and laid back but popular with celebs who don't like the "sceney" St. Barths. Population is only 8,000. There are more Anguillians in the UK. It was under the radar until Brad and Jen, Beyonce, Jay z, Denzel etc. were there last christmas. It's still a pain to get to and very expensive so I don't think it will turn into Dutch Sint Maarten. There are no casinos, really nothing to do but relax. We saw David Ducovny (sp), Tea Leoni and Julianne Moore with their families when they arrive at SXM on their way to Anguilla. Saw Usher when I was leaving. Short, nice smile. Only the tourists seem to notice him.

My friend forwarded the site below to me. Nice photos of Anguilla.

http://www.d-nice.com/journal/archives/000077.php