St Maarten

There was one more stop on our cruise - St. Maarten. In some ways this was my least favorite stop. St. Maarten seems to be the most "civilized" of the islands we stopped at, even more so than Barbados. That said, we probably saw less of St. Maarten than any of the other islands. Amy and Miquel wanted to take the kids to a beach where they could play so we took a taxi to some resort that was supposed to have a nice beach and good snorkeling. On this particular day there were "bigger waves" than they usually see.

 

These knee-high waves were enough to churn up the water so visibility was terrible and enough to make it too rough for the kids to play by the water. Fortunately, the resort had a pool they let us hang by. So we spent the day by a resort pool drinking Carib beer. (Really - how civilized can an island be that doesn't even have its own beer?)

In fairness, we probably should go back some day to check out more of the island, especially the Dutch/French influences. Some sailing friends of ours love St Maarten. But there are several islands - St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Dominica - I'll head for before I go back to St. Maarten.

One other thing about St. Maarten: There was more "Christmas in the Caribbean" on display in St. Maarten than any of the other islands. It's still weird.