A week in St. Maarten

---

I flew down to St. Maarten via Toronto the week of Nov. 11-18 for a much-appreciated vacation. Two reasons for going: to attend Sonya and Kevin's wedding and to spend some time with Sarah. Sarah is living in St. Maarten teaching at an international school on the Dutch side so acted as host and tour guide for the group that flew in, which included Sonya and Kevin, Wendy, John, Kevin and myself. It was my first time in the Caribbean and I think it was much better than staying at an all-inclusive resort because I got to experience more of the island. Equipped with my new waterproof Pentax (which should outlast my previous 3 cameras which met their end on beaches) I got lots of pics including beach and underwater shots. By the way, on a previous blog I listed a number of items that I lost while traveling. Well, this time I can annouce that two days after arriving home from St. Maarten, I found my old passport that I lost over a year ago. Unfortunately, it was a little too late because I just got it replaced.

Here's a summary of activities for the week:
Saturday - arrived at Princess Juliana Airport at 8:30 pm. Dinner at Charola's.

Sunday - Sarah took us to Orient Beach on the French side. Evening - had a little pre-wedding party at Sarah's place.

Monday - wedding day. I hung out at the resort with the guys before the wedding. I videotaped the wedding, which turned out ok until I got confused about the ON-OFF switch, so there's some stellar footage of my shirt. The wedding was held on a pavilion overlooking Maho Bay, about 15 people in attendance. Reception was at a restaurant called Bajatzu's, which serves some fine ribs.

Tuesday - Took a catamaran trip around the island (80 km distance). Stopped at island of Tintamarre to take a mudbath, snorkeling and lunch at Grand Case, and a swim later on.

Wednesday - Hung out at the resort with Sonya, Kevin, John and Todd. Swam in resort pool and beach, played ping pong and giant chess. Evening - dinner and drinks at Bamboo Bernie's on the beach.

Thursday - Kevin and Sonya flew home. Hung out with Sarah and friends.

Friday - Sarah and I went to Philipsburg, then windsurfing at Orient Beach. Not much wind so they gave me the rental for free. Evening - went out with Sarah and friends, watched a very drunk pianist playing at the Red Piano.

Saturday - More swimming at Jen's pool by the ocean. Flew home.

---

Photos

The gang
Sonya and Kevin, Sarah, John, Todd, Wendy

The Golden Eagle
We did a trip around the island on this catamaran.

Creole Rock
Where we went snorkeling

Desalinization plant
No need for hydrogeologists I guess.

View from Sarah's pool
Maho Bay

Windsurfing at Orient Bay
Unfortunately not much wind that day but still fun.

Comments

[Matt]

Great post! You can share your experiences and photos from the island on my new forum St Martin St Maarten Forum

[Scott Taylor]

Great photos!
Thanks for sharing the photos, makes me want to go back there!

[Elise]

questions
Hi, I am going to St. Martin next week and I stumbled across your photos during my research. Would you recommend the Golden Eagle Sail? Snorkeling at Creole Rock? Is there anything you wish you did or didn't do? Thank you, Elise