Sint Maarten: Day 16

To continue the trend my father and I awoke before 8:00 AM (though I did think that I had slept in when I got out of bed). This early rising time was actually quite good as we were expecting the physiology department chair to stop by at about 8:00 to pick up the new visiting faculty member. While at the apartment there were a few things that my father was to pass over, concluding his work of the university.

At the appointed hour the department chair arrived as planned. Shortly after arriving she invited my father and I to join herself and the new faculty member for breakfast in Marigot. Without much hesitation we agreed to go. I was particularly keen to go, as we didn’t really have that much food left in the apartment.

The selected breakfast location was a bakery/pastry shop in the centre of Marigot. Almost as soon as I walked under the awning I was pretty sure that I would be able to find something satisfactory on the menu. Eventually I ordered fried eggs and bacon (which also came with some bread). We also had a basket of croissants for the table. As it turned out, though this was not my plan, I had two of the four croissants. Much to my surprise, these were some of the best croissants that I have had in years, they alone would have been worth the trip.

Soon after finishing breakfast my father and I started to make our way back to our apartment while the women with whom we had breakfast continued on to Pinel Island, which is just of the coast from the beach at Orient Bay.

Once back at the apartment my father finished a few practice questions that he promised the students while I continued with some recreational reading. Soon enough we were both in a position to head to the airport to check in. We had decided to do this to beat any afternoon rush that might occur.

Upon arriving at the airport it was immediately clear that we had definitely arrived before any possible rush. From the time that we entered the airport to the time that we had deposited our bags and were heading back to the car was less than 15 minutes, qualifying us for free parking.

Instead of waiting for our arranged ride to the airport at 1:30 we decided to just head down here almost as soon as we were back at the university. Arriving early wasn’t such a problem, as we basically just would have been waiting around no matter where we were.

We did try to contact the gentleman who was to give us a ride, but we were without luck. My father suggested that we just try to catch the bus to Maho and then walk the rest of the way. While waiting for the bus to arrive a taxi pulled up. While my father was discussing matters with the driver a couple from the US offered us a ride. Since the taxi would have only been able to take us after he dealt with another fare the couple’s offered seemed like the way to go.

It turned out that the couple was from New York. After a few minutes of conversation we learned that the male had actually likely worked on various construction projects (including the demolition of a Con Ed plant) just blocks away from where I used to live in New York.

Almost as soon as we arrived in the airport we passed through security. This process, unlike similar processes in the United States and Canada, was relatively painless. When I walked through the metal detector with my belt the guard allowed me to remove my belt and try again. In most parts of North America such an obvious problem would cause the passenger to be subjected to a full body cavity search. The other thing that was impressive was that the screeners were clearly capable of picking up offending items while also moving people through the process at about twice the speed. It also didn’t hurt that the staff were much more pleasant than their Canadian counterparts.

Once in the secure section of the airport my father and I walked around for a while. We checked out various duty free places and available restaurant options. Eventually we decided to buy iced teas a convenience store like shop. While this wasn’t the classiest facility, it didn’t seem to be as outrageously priced as some of the other options.

Once we finished our iced teas we continued our journey through the departures waiting area. Soon enough we came across the business lounge. A sign on the wall next to the door that the admittance fee was only $20 and that a range of foods, wine, and services were available. As we had at least two hours to kill until boarding time we decided to go for it and pay the entry fee.

Almost as soon as we entered the lounge it was clear that we had made the correct decision. My father immediately grabbed a few of the warm meaty snacks while I went for a few of the miniature baked goods. Both of us were also able to take advantage of the free beverage offerings. I had a number of cups of coffee, at least four, while my father, if I recall correctly, had something to drink. Eventually, we both switched to wine (I had some white while my father went for the red) and ended up having three glasses apiece before boarding the plane.

During our stay in the lounge we were also able to take advantage some of the other services. Both of us were able to sit in comfortable chairs with easy access to tables (something that was particularly important as beverages and food were on the scene). My father was able to use the public access internet terminal to take care of a few internet related matters while I was able to use the free wireless internet connection to do some email and other web type things.

Before boarding our plane we noticed that there was a 747 at the airport, the first we had seen in Sint Maarten. Immediately both of us thought about how exciting it would have been to see it land as well as to see the impending take-off.

Soon after we boarded the plane and then pulled away from the jet-way it became clear that we were likely to be delayed for some time. It seems that the 747 was in the line ahead of us and needed to take off from the ‘end’ of the runway, rather than the ‘beginning,’ as is done by most planes.

Not only did this change in protocol mean that the plane had to make it all the way up to the other end of the runway at a slow rate of speed, but also that a few approaching planes were allowed to land before the runway became occupied by the large plane’s trip down the runway.

Eventually the 747 took off and the new backlog of landing planes was cleared. 50 minutes after our scheduled departure we were finally able to make it into the air.

While still sitting on the runway my father, who was sitting across the aisle from me, started talking to the couple seated next to him. Due to my proximity to the conversation I was able to hear what my father was saying, and some of what the couple was saying. One thing that was immediately clear was that these people seemed to be a relatively friendly and talkative couple. It seems that the couple, who were from San Francisco, were on the island for a friend’s wedding. On and off throughout the flight my father spoke to these people about a variety of matters.

The couple sitting to my right were a very different matter. Almost as soon as they were seated they opened a variety of snacks and proceeded to chow down. The strange part about this was the way in which the seemingly picky female member of the couple went about this. Instead of deciding that she wasn’t interested in something, or that she was interested, she seemed to rip small pieces (or take small bites) of the food that was in the male’s hand. For some reason he seemed to be in charge of the food and all acquisitions made to suit his tastes. Eventually these roles were somewhat reversed when the drinks cart came around and the female seemed to be in charge of ordering and allocating quantities (the drinks were also kept on her tray).

Strangely, neither my father nor I was able to sleep on the flight. Actually, my lack of ability to sleep may have been caused by the iced tea and four or five cups of coffee that I had recently consumed. I don’t know what was working against my father. This lack of sleep meant that when the started showing the second movie that we both ended making the simultaneous, but unrelated, decision to watch it.

As I didn’t really have much else to do I can’t really say that I wasted time by watching the film, but I can say I wasn’t particularly impressed. It seems that the filmmakers were particularly taken with the use of green screens, or whatever that technology is properly called, instead of actually visiting a location or hiring stuntmen.

Soon after the end of the movie we started our descent into JFK. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to make up time, as had been suggested by the pilot, and instead ended up losing an additional twenty minutes by the time we reached the gate. I guess I should be clear that much of this time loss occurred while we were sitting on the tarmac waiting to approach a gate.

Eventually we were able to de-plane and head through immigration, or whichever branch of Homeland Security is taking care of that first stage of the process. Aside from a few circles on our declaration card there were no problems with this process and we were able to proceed to the baggage claim area.

After a wait of about an hour we finally were able to acquire our bags and head on to the next step of the customs/immigration process. At this step we again handed over our declaration card to an agent. Upon examining the various circles he noticed that we were supposedly bringing some kind of plant life into the country. He asked what it was we were bringing in. My father then pulled an apple, which happened to have been grown in the US, out of his pocket and handed it to the agent. After briefly inspecting the apple and setting it on a table the agent asked us if that was all we had. Once we informed him that that was it we were allowed to go on our way. Oddly, the apple made it into the country even though it was being dealt with as though it was a potential threat. It seems almost as though these things are considered threats only if you aren’t making money on them. We all know that huge quantities of produce are shipped into the US from foreign nations every day, including from various Caribbean islands.

Once we passed the final staged the customs/immigration charade we started to look for the baggage drop-off point. Though we were staying in New York for the night our bags were checked al the way through Montreal. Eventually we did find the location. Instead of it being like most places where one can just drop their bags, in this case there were airline agents and a line. Eventually it became clear that all kinds of people were trying to re-book flights at the drop-off location, and that in some cases the workers at the drop-off station were actually helping them.

After waiting a few minutes we were told that the station was closed and that we should go to the third floor. As this made absolutely no sense we just stayed where we were in line and continued to wait. Eventually, after several exhortations to move to the third floor, we finally were able to talk to make it clear that we just wanted to drop off our bags and be on our way. Not surprisingly, as it was a baggage drop-off point, they accepted our bags without further hassle.

We then had to figure out how to go from where we were to our hotel, which we both believed was in the airport. After examining various signs and information boards we eventually gathered that we had to make our way, via the AirTrain system, to Federal Circle. After encountering several misleading and conflicting signs we eventually made our way to the nearest train station. Fortunately the first stop was the one for us. We then had to make our way from the train section of the station to the airport shuttle section of the station (which seemed a little strange for an airport that was at the airport).

As we continued waiting for our shuttle it became apparent that we weren’t the only ones going to our hotel. Actually, most of the people that had been there a long time were going to our hotel. It seems that for some unexplained reason our hotel’s shuttle hadn’t come by in a very long time.

After a relatively long wait one woman who had a reservation at our hotel made her way over to some waiting buses to see if they could be persuaded to give us a ride, or if they might know how we could walk there. When she returned she had learned that walking wasn’t really a possibility, and they clearly hadn’t agreed to give her a ride.

As we were in the hotel shuttle area we weren’t near any taxis or other forms of transportation that could take us where we wanted to go. This was very frustrating as it was clear that our hotel shuttle was not operating on a regular schedule.

Eventually the woman who had investigated other options and the man with whom she was traveling decided to try to take a cab to the hotel. As much as I like the idea of getting there quickly I knew that this would mean heading back to the train, waiting for the train, riding the train, and then making my way to the taxi area to wait for a taxi before finally being on my way.

Eventually, after we had been waiting for about an hour, the hotel shuttle began to approach. As it neared the curb a mass of people, maybe half of those waiting, raced to the door. As soon as the door opened pushed their way aboard. Fortunately, due to a good location in the waiting area, and the fact that we weren’t slowed down by luggage, we were able to make it aboard the over crowded bus.

As the bus closed its doors and started to make its way towards the hotel a man started to chase the bus and try to get the driver to stop. Whether the driver did or did not see the man was unclear. What was clear was that my father asked the driver to stop and he did not.

At about this time the shuttle started to make its first turn on the journey back to the hotel. As soon as the shuttle entered these turns it became even more apparent that the bus was overloaded. The floor began to twist and buckle with the first turn as we as with each subsequent turn. As the ride progressed I became very worried that the bus was just going to fall apart on the way to the hotel. Feeling the floor twist below one’s feet is certainly not pleasant and does not make for a relaxing journey.

Fortunately the ride was short, only about four minutes. This actually caused us further confusion as to the cause of the delay and why the online description suggested that the hotel was located in the airport.

Even though it was after midnight there was a long check-in line in the lobby of the hotel. The people from the shuttle managed to make the line seem monstrous. As neither my father nor I were particularly pleased with the situation my father thought he might try calling the company through which we booked are room.

Moments after he left me to wait in line while he made the phone call the couple that had left the shuttle area to find a taxi arrived. It seems that once they made it back to the taxi area they couldn’t immediately find a driver that knew how to get to our hotel. When they finally did get a cab the driver made a wrong turn, delaying them again.

Eventually my father returned from his phone call and reported that he had not been able to make any progress. He then suggested that he head to the hotel bar to pick up a few beers for us to have while we continued to wait in the live.

Within a few minutes of his return we were able to sign in and head up to our room. As we left the elevator and started to head down the hall to our room we noticed that the room doors were very near each other, much closer than one would want.

As expected the room was quite small, basically just big enough for two beds and two dressers. The bathroom was also quite compact. In both cases the facilities were large enough for what we needed, but certainly not luxurious.

Shortly after stashing our things we returned to the main floor to visit the hotel bar for another beer. This time we sat at the bar to drink. Something that was quite strange about the bar was that it was recessed, meaning the bar tender’s head was close to level with ours, though we were seated on regular height chairs. Though the bar didn’t sell any food and the restaurant and kitchen were closed my father was able to rustle up some food. He found a wine decanter full of bar snacks that he then proceeded to eat rather quickly. I had a chocolate bar and pouch of crackers when returned to our room.

Unfortunately, the delays and subsequent trip to the bar meant that we only had enough time for about 4 hours of sleep before we needed to head back to the airport to catch our flight to Montreal.