Good morning again! This is the first time I have actually slept until 5;30am! With only 3 days to go, my sleep pattern should be just about normal by the time we get back to Ayr and have to deal with jet lag!
St Maarten was as special as always. Actually this is only our second visit, but it is just a wonderful and beautiful island. We wandered in early and found an internet café on the beach. I even got a Pina Colada while waiting for Alan to finish sending emails and checking his Facebook. (it was only 9am so I did have the presence of mind to get a “Virgin PIna Colada”, very tempted though, for only $1 it could have had rum in it!).
The little beaches in front of Philipsburg and perfect in everyway and I really had intended to swim there. But once I got my feet in the water, I remembered how sticky and grungy I would feel afterward, and this was supposed to be shopping time! I do have my priorities and went back to the bar! I must have been on St Maarten a grand total of 30 minutes before I made my first jewelry purchase! I had just wandered into a jewelry store, not intending to buy…….
The connection was so slow that we finally gave up and went shopping.
My favourite jewelry store of all time is only located on some Caribbean Islands, I cannot figure out the reason why it is on some and not others though. It is Little Switzerland and I cannot walk by one! It seems a common myth that jewelry in the Caribbean is a good deal and that is true. But this is mainly if you intend to buy top quality stones and name brand jewelry. Anything else is usually too expensive for me, but there is a section in Little Switzerland that makes my heart sing and I can find a variety of necklaces, bracelets and earrings that I love. Last year, I discovered this and did not buy enough, thinking I would wait until the next island. But that was the last one I saw in that trip. So this year, I made up for it!
Alan also wanted to buy some camera equipment and was not sure what he really wanted, so we went to quite a few shops until he made his mind up. And we got a table runner for our new dining room furniture, thanks again, Sue!
Alan also hoped to go to Maho Beach, where the planes take off and land at what looks like 20 feet over the beach. He wanted to go later in the day this time because he believes larger planes come in later. Last year, we saw a few smaller planes, but every so often you see a Boeing 747. In fact, one flew over today at 12:15, but we were not there then. In fact, we never got there. Once inside the taxi to go, we got stuck in a huge traffic jam. It was obvious the driver really did not want to go and I was remembering just why we went so early last year – traffic! He told us it would take an hour to get there, when it is usually a 20 minute drive. So that was approximately a 3 hour trip, and a struggle to get back to the ship in time (potentially). Alan thinks he really did not want to go but I think it might have been good advice. But, this also makes another island we have to return to!
We have also now abandoned formal dining altogether! With the dining room all filling up at the same time, dinner lasted about 2 hours with everyone in the room being served at the same time. This was causing us to rush to see the early shows, then spend 2 hours sitting and eating and then literally sleeping through some tremendous entertainment. With this being our first night of “freedom” we were really looking forward to a relaxed evening, after disembarking from St Maarten.
Best laid plans and all that – sadly there was a medical emergency about 5 minutes before sail away and we had to wait for island medical staff to deal with this. We were sad about this person, but delighted that it meant we were last of the 4 cruise ships to leave! First was the Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas, next was the Norwegian Epic and last was Disney Magic. What beautiful sights these large ships are as they sail away. And an added bonus – the Disney ship’s horn plays “When You Wish Upon a Star” instead of HOOOONNNNNNKKKK.
St Kitts on Port side, better go get breakfast and visit a new island for us!
“Walk too fast or be too impatient and you will miss much!
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