Day 51
OCTOBER 20, 2019
PHILIPSBURG, ST. MARTIN (Netherlands and France)
This is Philipsburg, the capital of the Dutch southern part of this Island, called Sint Maarten. The northern half of the island is French and is called Saint-Martin.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Martin
For the fourth consecutive port, ours was the only ship in dock. How lucky is that?
Upon leaving the dock area for our morning excursion, we immediately ran into a swarm of what our driver/guide called "Christmas Butterflies". Christmas? This is October. We were also informed that these butterflies, which are white and about the size of a silver dollar, only live for two days during which time they must mate. According to Wikipedia that is bullspit. Could this be a nameless, rare and endangered species of butterfly found only adjacent to the cruise docks in Philipsburg Sint Maarten?
In regard to currencies, the Dutch accept US dollars, while the French use only Euros. As it turns out, I still had Euros left over from earlier in the trip and I was hoping to spend them when we visited the French section of the island. Buuuut, it is Sunday! All retail outlets are closed on Sunday - even supermarkets. The only shops open on Sunday are the local tourist traps and we had no interest in or need to buy anything at those outdoor kiosks. Too bad, so sad.
We met iguanas:
After lunch Karen and I decided to spend the afternoon at Great Bay Beach. We were told there is a water taxi that travels between the Beach and a wharf a few hundred yards from our ship, so that's where we went. Guess what doesn't operate on Sundays? Apparently commerce is not a high priority on this island.
Discouraged by this non-functioning ferry service, we returned to the Sun and went to the pool to read a book (me) and knit (Karen) and possibly cool off with a dip. It occurred to us to ask whether our bartenders made banana daquiris with actual bananas. They DO! Deux s'il vous plait, garcon!!
PHILIPSBURG, ST. MARTIN (Netherlands and France)
This is Philipsburg, the capital of the Dutch southern part of this Island, called Sint Maarten. The northern half of the island is French and is called Saint-Martin.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Martin
For the fourth consecutive port, ours was the only ship in dock. How lucky is that?
Upon leaving the dock area for our morning excursion, we immediately ran into a swarm of what our driver/guide called "Christmas Butterflies". Christmas? This is October. We were also informed that these butterflies, which are white and about the size of a silver dollar, only live for two days during which time they must mate. According to Wikipedia that is bullspit. Could this be a nameless, rare and endangered species of butterfly found only adjacent to the cruise docks in Philipsburg Sint Maarten?
In regard to currencies, the Dutch accept US dollars, while the French use only Euros. As it turns out, I still had Euros left over from earlier in the trip and I was hoping to spend them when we visited the French section of the island. Buuuut, it is Sunday! All retail outlets are closed on Sunday - even supermarkets. The only shops open on Sunday are the local tourist traps and we had no interest in or need to buy anything at those outdoor kiosks. Too bad, so sad.
We met iguanas:
After lunch Karen and I decided to spend the afternoon at Great Bay Beach. We were told there is a water taxi that travels between the Beach and a wharf a few hundred yards from our ship, so that's where we went. Guess what doesn't operate on Sundays? Apparently commerce is not a high priority on this island.
Discouraged by this non-functioning ferry service, we returned to the Sun and went to the pool to read a book (me) and knit (Karen) and possibly cool off with a dip. It occurred to us to ask whether our bartenders made banana daquiris with actual bananas. They DO! Deux s'il vous plait, garcon!!
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