14 St. Maarten

St. Maarten

Entering the Harbour

The ship docked in Philipsburg, St. Maarten for the day.  You can be off the ship at 7AM but must be back on board by 5 PM. If you like, you can get off the ship and wander around the town, or you can book an excursion through the ship’s travel center.

 

This was my first stop ever in the Caribbean; I was curious as to how I would feel about being in one of the Caribbean Islands. This part of the Island is Dutch, the other half is French. Well, I decided to just walk through Philipsburg, approach the Caribbean slowly, since we will stop at a few other Islands on the way south. 

Welcome Sign

My first impression was the shock of touristy schlock. Gift stores everywhere, jewelry stores every 3^rd shop, stuff for sale I do not need. So I learned very fast I could pass on the whole of Philipsburg, there was nothing there I needed or admired or ever wanted to own. The people were friendly but their faces also showed they had only business in mind. I am not a buyer; I am just an observer. 

After some time, I just went to a café that had Wi-Fi and downloaded all the emails I had missed in the last 3 days. It was enough to keep me busy for a while. Prices are high, a cup of coffee was US $4.-

The Skeptic

While the ship has Wi-Fi, it is very, very expensive and very, very slow. I did not opt to buy the package for this cruise. I figured to be off line is good for me for a while. I will download things when in any port. I remember I used to live just fine before the electronic age, I think this NO WIFI will be good for me.

Carol too had about 40 emails she downloaded. We were kept occupied with that, since we did not see much in Philipsburg that we just had to experience or see. 

Hurricane Damage

We noticed some of the houses were still damaged from the last hurricane, I think it was Irma? Street lights were still lying in the streets. Damaged Palm Trees were still left in the ground albeit cut down to a chest high stump, roofs were torn off and gaps were visible. The roofs needed lots of work, but since this is an Island it takes special shipments to get the raw material to fix things. It takes longer here to fix things. The temps are humid, the air is warm, the money is in short supply and people have learned to make do with what is available. So many stores and houses still had plastic tarps covering up the damage. 

Broken Tree Tops in Front of the Courthouse

The prices were high since everything had to be shipped in. There was no local economy except tourism. We, which includes me, are the food that the locals eat from. Not a nice picture, but that is how it is; the locals live off the tourists. The town itself looked very tired, very commercial, very poor. Without ‘us’ there would be lots of poverty, well for sure more than what I saw.

Now, let me remind you, the people seemed well fed, well dressed, well educated.

Let’s see what other Islands will teach me.

Turquoise Water

Carol found a jewelry store that had prices she could not resist. A local stone bracelet and a tanzanite with diamonds ring found a new owner. She said she was just supporting the rebuilding efforts.

On board the ship is a jewelry store named ‘Effy’, a NYC headquartered seller of high end Jewelry. Carol loved most of their merchandise, she will visit this place again I am sure.

Effy's - Free Champagne on Valentine's Day

Just to look, of course? Smiles.

We visited the bar last night that was so crowded on the first day. Tonight they had a game show on called YES or NO. You are interviewed on stage and asked questions. You must answer but you cannot say the words yes or no. (Or shake your head that way). The interview is only 3 minutes. 

Everybody failed the interview…… I guess it is harder than it sounds…… right?

(Did you say yes? You failed)