Good thing we set our alarm for 6:30am this morning because we were already approaching St. Maarten when we got up! Once again today we had the good fortune of watching the drive in from our port side balcony. We figured out the breakfast system perfectly today by ordering omelets and juice from room service so we wouldn’t have to make several trips downstairs with the food and drinks. Went up to the Lido quickly for pancakes, French toast and meat to bring back. Then we could sit back and relax as we pulled in to St. Maarten. Joe was especially fascinated by the dock procedure when we arrived. We were one of six boats docked at the island today so we had to spin around and back into our spot.
By 8am, we were tied up and ready to get off the ship. Joe and I decided to try our luck and rent a car on the spot off the ship while the rest of the family took the water taxi to Phillipsburg. I never expected renting a car to be an experience! Every company was trying to flag down customers and claim their cars to be most reliable. After getting quotes of $90-$99 from Budget and Hertz, we settled on a $47 rental from Coastal (a local car company Dave came along to check on us and asked if the car had A/C since it was so much cheaper. He got the response “Its 2011 Mon…every car has A/C” ). At first I was hesitant because their price was so much lower than the other companies. However, I think we made the right choice. The staff were helpful and our small Hyundai was just right for a quick tour of the island....
Our first stop was Phillipsburg. Found parking behind the town and walked in to check out the capital of the Dutch side of the island. We were not overall impressed with the town. The big thing to do here is shop for jewelry and other items. There was a boardwalk along the beach, but far too many people bothering us to rent a beach chair. We stayed long enough to grab some postcards and claim the pendant that I won on the ship earlier in the week at Tanzanite International.
The overall landscape on St. Maarten was not at all what I imagined. I pictured a flatter island with lots of vegetation (similar to the area outside San Juan). The island is surprisingly dry and hilly on the interior so we frequently had to go up and down the small hills between towns. From Phillipsburg we drove towards Simpson Lagoon, past lots of fancy yachts, and to the Juliana Airport. The main roads circles the airport and you can actually go to a beach at the end of the runway and watch all the planes come in right over your head. We were there around 11am, so we mostly saw private planes and small commuter planes from St. Barths landing. We did catch one small jet coming in the blew sand up at the people on the beach below (Joe included). Got some neat pictures of the planes coming in. We would have loved to stay to see the bigger jets and international flights come in after noon but we had lots more to see on the island.
Our drive continued around Simpson Lagoon towards Marigot, the capital of the French side of the island. Passed several groups on a bike tour of the island from the German cruise ship in port today. Maybe we would fit in better on that boat with all the young people who like more active tours! Although it was pretty warm here today so I don’t know if I’d really want to be biking anyway. We made a quick stop in Marigot but we didn’t have enough time to really see this town. I think we would have liked it better than Phillipsburg. Guess we’ll have to wait a little longer for a French bakery. We headed towards Orient Bay next to check out one of the famous beached on the island. Unfortunately we only made it there long enough to snap a few pictures and for Joe to jump in the water quickly. It was probably just as well since it was windy and choppy on this side of the island not to mention that fact that the beach was crowded and very commercialized. Since we didn’t want to push our luck with time, we headed back to the cruise terminal to return the car and check out the duty free shops before boarding the ship at 2:30pm.
Once again today we headed to the Lido for lunch with the family while Luke got aquainted with his new friend on board...a penguin...which he quacked at. Definitely over ate and ruined my appetite for dinner today. After lunch, Joe and I played Travel Trivia with Dave. Ian, the travel director, had a Powerpoint Presentation of lots pictures he had taken on his trips with Holland America around the world. We competed against people twice and three times our age so even though we didn’t come close to winning, we still identified quite a few places. (Thank you Rick Steves for bringing us to many of these sites or showing them to us on TV!). Only got a cat nap in on the Promenade chairs before it was time to eat again. I wasn’t at all hungry tonight, but somehow I made room for the tasty pumpkin and squash soup, and the pineapple rum glazed pork chops. Tonight we finally decided to walk over dinner by doing laps around the Promenade. It was a beautiful night to be walking the deck. Caught the last few minutes of the comedian show tonight and then called it an early night. Heru made a cool lobster towel for us tonight in our room!
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