Chasing Summer –

November 28-29th

Day one in Sint Maartin is also American Thanksgiving, so I am so thankful that I have lived the life I have, in a way that allows me to do all of this amazing traveling this year, and grateful for all the fabulous people I’ve met along the way.

I managed to drag my butt out of bed in time to catch the sunrise, which quickly turned into rain. Since it’s so early and I’m usually the only person around, I’ve taken to not even getting dressed before heading out so it was a bit of a dash back inside to avoid getting my nightwear wet.

I was happily shocked that we had the prime parking spot on the dock. There were 4 other much larger cruises coming in this morning and 3 tomorrow. This meant that we were adding about 11,000-13,000 people to the population each day. That’s a lot of cruisers.

The game plan for day one was to head out to Maho Airport beach before everyone else could to experience the low-flying airplanes that go over the beach.

It takes about 30 minutes by car to get to the beach, and there are three main options. A person could take a tour that stops there for around $25, take a shared taxi for $18 round-trip, or take the local bus for $2.50 one way. Angela, Steve, Scott, and I opted for the taxi ride.

On the ride, I got to see quite a bit of the island and the port city of Philipsburg.

Once at the beach area, I was amazed at how narrow the beach is and how sharp of an incline there is to the ocean, which was rushing up the narrow top. The water still ran a gorgeous blue, so I kicked off my sandals and decided to go into the nearly empty waters.

The sand is like powder, so it’s nice to walk on but sticks like crazy which is important to note. Also, remember that steep incline that the waves rush up, well that means that the water also goes back down fast. My first foray into water was okay, but it got deep pretty quick, so I retreated to make sure my new waterproof phone case was really waterproof.

Good news. The case is waterproof. Sadly, I had not retreated far enough up the slope, so when a large wave came in, it took me with it. I had that powder fine sand everywhere – everywhere – and it wasn’t coming off without a fight.

So I went back to sitting on the curb waiting for a plane and watching other people struggle with the tide. A grandma almost lost the battle, and a couple of kids had to be plucked from the passing waves. It’s definitely not a relaxing beach visit.

Over the next 2 hours, 5 small planes arrived or took off, and many people arrived to crowd the small beach. It was fun to watch the airplanes, and even though they were not as dramatic as the big flights coming overhead, I was content with the morning.

It would be another hour and a half before a large plane landed, and I was uncomfortable covered in sand, so I decided not to wait it out and headed back to the ship.

It took 20 minutes of soaping up and scrubbing in the shower to remove the sand, and I still think there was a little left sprinkling behind me as I walked. I’m thinking of it as beach glitter.

Day two was walking around the town of Philipsburg Day. Passengers can take a water taxi or car to the town but it’s only a fifteen-minute walk so I went on foot.

There isn’t much to see in town beyond a couple of streets of restaurants, duty-free, and souvenir shops.

There was a courthouse, a couple of churches, and several murals painted onto walls.

It was a fun two days in Sint Maartin and I can’t wait to see what adventures await next in three days in Road Town, British Virgin Islands.