St. Maarten, May 15, 2014 –Maho Beach & The Greenhouse

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Photos for this trip can be found through this link.

We took a rather relaxed approach to the morning, knowing that the bigger planes we wanted to catch coming into Princess Juliana Airport would arrive later in the afternoon. We stretched out our balcony breakfast, did some photos –me of France and Ray of yesterday's catch-- then spent some time getting to know Patsey, our housekeeper for the week. It's always fascinating to get to know how others live their lives, especially in such a different part of the planet that requires a different approach to life. So many similarities exist among the various differences that one would conclude that the only thing different is the sameness.

After Ray spread out the two pieces of art he purchased yesterday at the Marigot Market, he decided he should have bought a third piece that would make the whole look better on his wall at home. So we headed to Marigot first to find the missing piece. When we finally found a parking place, we walked to where he found the artist yesterday. We noticed that the configuration of merchants changes, probably on a first-come basis, and we had to check each booth until we found her French neighbor from our first visit. She informed us that the mother-artist stays home with her baby on Thursdays and Fridays to make some more artwork to sell, and she would be back early Saturday. We thanked her and promised to return before our flight, and headed over to Maho Beach.

Maho Beach lays at the end of the runway of the Princess Juliana Airport, and planes landing look like they are about to knock down any unfortunate sun worshiper standing in the sand. When a plane takes off, its jets rev up and blow thrill seekers lined up along a wire fence behind them, with many of the smaller daredevils actually lifting off the ground. We saw an unsecured blowup raft being thrown out to sea from the blast. The Sunset Bar & Grill, which is the best place to wait for and watch the excitement, posts an online flight schedule every day. At first, Ray and I, in our haste to get to a good position to capture the magic, walked passed that best spot. The afternoon light was still pretty harsh at the beach, and showed us no preference for a better photo. We took most of our shots from this far side.

Before coming to St. Martin I searched Google for photos and photo ops, and found a lot of examples under Maho Beach Images. Most of the photos showed someone reaching up as if they were catching the plane –at least that's how it appears from the angle of the photographer. Ray & I weren't after that shot (mostly because I couldn't get him to put down his camera to pose when the infrequent opportunities arose), but you can see many others getting theirs in our shots. There's always something to shoot while you wait for the next plane, like Da Party Bus driving by or the beautiful scenery. When a large plane taxied behind us and a large crowd gathered along the fence, I moved farther back than Ray, who was either more courageous or more naive. Considering what he did for a living, I knew it was the former, but continued in the coward's role with the excuse of protecting my camera from flying sand. You can see Ray's bravery in photo 10, but by photo 12 he lost his hat and was unable, and likely unwilling, to stick his lens in the face of the temporary storm. I was far enough away to take the cowardly captures.

While on this end of the beach we relied on memory from our morning Internet search along with the apparent knowledge of those around us to tip us off when the planes would come. On our way back to our car, we stopped for a beer at the Sunset Bar. Almost immediately we knew this was the location we should have satisfied ourselves with on our arrival. Not only do they serve you and provide a cool place to perch for the air traffic shows, but they have a surf board in the sand to display the arrivals and departures. We also got a chance to watch the best photographer on the island work her magic for the people. Tiffanique ( I forget her last name) of Tiffanique Photography had a line of folks waiting for her to capture just the right gesture at precisely the right time and immediately produce a masterful keepsake for them. You can see her shooting a client in photo 22 (the towel and shirt was his idea). There are not many things I recommend in these blogs, but you'll be glad you contacted Tiffanique before your visit if you're looking for something uniquely special to take home.

We got back to the Belair (well, if you've been with us this far, you know it was) just in time for happy hour. Happy hour with Ray is only secondarily about the incredible drinks he'll make. He always makes some wonderful hors d'oeuvres to compliment them. While he was preparing this afternoon's concoction, we were visited by the Activities Director for the Belair Beach Hotel. She wanted to be sure we were having a great time and wanted to know if there was anything she could make happen for us. The only thing Ray asked was for was a restaurant frequented by locals. She showed us how to find a place called the Negril Restaurant. Later that night we parked in Phillipsburg and walked around looking for it. Feeling the hunger and forgetting the map she made for us, we ended up at the Greenhouse Restaurant, which was also exactly what Ray ordered.

We got home in time to turn out the lights, say good night, and get to bed, knowing that tomorrow would be our last full day on this island. I thought of the people I knew whose birthday it was, and went to sleep.

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