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Published: November 12th 2008
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Thank you to all our veterans today~ Michael John, Uncle Don and anyone else that has served us. We are so grateful to you!
Yesterday we did enjoy our happy hour at sunset on the top deck. The pictures are beautiful and I will share with you soon. After dinner we went to bed; we want to be rested for St Maarten.
We had breakfast on the back deck and then went back to our room to pack our backpack for the day.
We walked off the ship and wandered around the pier for awhile. We are to meet Happy Harry at 9:30am, but it was over 3 weeks ago that we spoke to him and hope he understood us.
St Maarten is a tropical island in the northeast Caribbean, 186 miles east of Puerto Rico. The island is only 37 square miles and is roughly divided in half between France and the Netherlands Antilles. The southern half is the Dutch side and that is where the ship docks at Philipsburg. The island is celebrating today, it is a national holiday: according to legend, Columbus sighted and perhaps anchored at the island San Martin. This name translates to
Sint Maarten in Dutch. You may ask how was the island divided in two? An often repeated story is that the island was divided into two sections by a race; the french chose one person and the Dutch one person. The two were put back to back at one extreme point of the island and made to walk along the coast in opposite directions. They were not allowed to run. At the point they eventually met, a line was drawn across the island, dividing the two nations.
We go to our decided meeting point (a statue) to find Happy Harry. It has been five years since we have seen him and we only have a picture on a business card. I look around and immediately spot him. I yell, "Harry", he sees us and we all hug and laugh. He has lost weight and looks older. He has 12 children and now has 17 grandchildren. It is great to see him and talk. He says that his children and grandchildren are always asking for money; especially around the holidays. He said sometimes he does not answer the phone! His phone rings constantly as he drives us to Dawn Beach.
The island looks much more developed than it was 5 years ago. He says tourism (their only real resource) is really taking off. Construction everywhere.
We arrive at Dawn Beach, with Mr Busby's restaurant. It is as we remember. White sand, palm trees, unbelievable blue turquoise water. It truly looks fake. We are escorted by Harry's friends to two lounges and an umbrella. Harry says goodbye, he will pick us up at 2pm.
Beers are $1.50 for the next hour, at 11pm they will go down to 75 cents. Ken has two while waiting for the magic hour. The beer is "Carib" beer, a proper choice.
The water is warm and the sand is powdery white. We meet an engaged couple from Chicago. They are at a time share for the week: Jeannie and Cy. We meet another family from Chicago and the mother is topless; not an attractive thing. We also see two other topless females, one in her 70's and the other over 200lbs. A little different than what you see on the beach in the movies!!
We have grilled shrimp and mahi mahi for lunch and I have a few frozen daiquiri’s. I still don't feel
much like drinking alcohol with the cold. That's one way to save money.
We enjoy our day at the beach; the water is wonderful. Harry picks us up right at 2 pm and takes us back to the pier. We hug goodbye and promise to come again and keep in touch.
Back on the ship we shower and Ken and Larry head to the bean bag game. They won their match (against two females)! We go to the top deck to watch the sail away from St Maarten.
It is time for dinner. Larry and Henna skip dinner as they had a late lunch. We see Annie and Bobbie at dinner and they tell us about their day. No one went with Ken and I; Larry, Henna, Annie and Bobbie shopped. Minnie, Jack, Richard and Janice took tours.
Another beautiful day; we are reminded why we love the Caribbean and continue to come back here.
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Josette
non-member comment
Delighted to hear that you are well again, Marg and all the sick people. Annie and Henna are TOUGH ! You seem to really enjoy the Caribbean. Wonderful. Make the most of the rest of your cruise. Thanks to Annie and Bob for their lovely postcard. Love to all. Josette and Gary.