Afternoon
Trust me when I tell you that you don’t want to start day four of your vacation thinking you swallowed a horse pill, only to find your Naprosyn pain tablet at the bottom of your only water bottle.
We refilled it rather than paying for an expensive new one,but we have both been sipping on bitter water all day .
Saint Martin ( aka Saint Maarten ) is a beautiful island divided into two governments ,one French one Dutch .
We only stayed on the Dutch side, which is about 16 miles. The French side of the island is bigger and quieter and rich folks live there.
Our guide ,Nikki, told us that Shaquille O’Neal lives in a mansion in the French side part time, and that Donald Trump sold his home after hurricane Irma hit .
That’s hard to believe about a climate denier who doesn’t believe hurricanes are real .
Nikki pointed out what look like a lake, but it was actually a salt mine . There used to be thirteen of them, now there’s only nine. It’s was a big industry before everyone went crazy and got prescriptions for high blood pressure.
She pointed out some impressive statues of salt miners during our 30 minute shuttle ride to the beach..
It seemed like a death ride since there’re only roundabouts, and the only traffic light in town is broken .
Nikki told us about Skull Island, where King Kong was filmed, and she she pointed out one of the best medical schools in all of the Caribbean .
You know what she didn’t point out ?
Surrounded by several tourist shops on a congested strip?
Punctuation counts .
This store was called “Come Shop.”
Without a comma or an exclamation point, it didn’t seem like an invitation.
It didn’t seem like a place to purchase souvenirs.
It seems like it was Saint Martin’s version of a sperm bank.
Today, the ocean was OK . The waters were warm, but it was very salty and there was a lot of seaweed.. The view was nothing special… way too many yachts, but if you turned your head, you would see the greenery of the picturesque hills.
To get out of the ocean, you needed strength and dexterity .
It’s like somebody stacked two or three crates that were made of collapsible sand and then ordered you out of the ocean.
Nikki made a stop on the ride back , which we thought was just going to be a scenic overlook.
But people got off the bus they were immediately bombarded by very angry pigs, chickens, and one stray cat .
Pigs are bullies, but that didn’t stop some of you from electing one .
OK, I’ll stop ..
Pigs live up to their name, but they were very amusing .
And very hungry.
As much fun as the ship is , it was nice to finally dock and schedule an excursion.
I am dictating this blog into my phone, using the microphone feature, while enjoying Reggae music by the pool.
Blogging was quick!
But let’s see what my unshakable Philly accent did to this feature.
I hope whatever I dictated is comprehensible to the half a dozen of you who are still interested in my travelogues.
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