This is our second time to St. Martin but we didn't take a tour last time. As usual the tour consists of a bus ride with a few stops. We are docked in Philipsburg, the capital of the Dutch side of the island. The bus made its way to Marigot, the capital of the French side. Hurricane Irma swept through here about 14 months ago but the damage is still evident everywhere. Perhaps homes and businesses haven't repaired or rebuilt because of a lack of money or supplies or both. We stopped at an indoor mall that has a glass ceiling in the middle with many cracked panes of glass (and dead palm trees also for some reason) which look like they could come down with the next big wind. There are submerged yachts in the harbors and even the fire house has damage to the solar panels and the roof which hasn't been repaired. Needless to say, they are very grateful for the tourism dollars. There are casinos on the Dutch side. The Dutch are only allowed to visit 6 times per month; the French can go as often as they like.
The last time we were here we rented an umbrella and beach chairs at a crowded beach near the ship, but we didn't see the beach this time. This is another island with a desalination plant - actually two since everything is duplicated on each side. Our guide, Dahlia, was knowledgeable but she spoke very fast as if she was reading a speech. Not much interaction with us and didn't seem to like questions along the way. After the tour we walked through the obligatory shopping area and looked for our beach, but didn't come away with any luck in either pursuit.
We had afternoon tea for the first time which was nice - delicious scones, finger sandwiches and little sweets. Couldn't do it every day, but it was a nice treat. We had dinner with a delightful couple, Ron and Lori from Lake Tahoe. He, especially, has a wonderful sense of humor that kept us in stitches the whole time.
No comments:
Post a Comment