Sint Maarten: Afternoon and Night 3

Yesterday my father had to give his first lecture. Aside from going over the time limit at the end things seem to have gone well (which seems to be assessment of both the students I spoke with and my father). He has suggested that his preparations for upcoming lectures is also going well, meaning that he should be able to free up some time for more touristy activities in the second week.

After my jet blasting experience of day 2 we decided that we would try to make it back to film the late afternoon Air France departure. This time we decided to make a point of being on the other side of the beach and runway so that we would have a better shot of those being blasted. We both set up with our cameras in different locations to acquire two shots of the take-off and blasting. Both of us were able to catch the blasting effect, though as my father was closer his shot was somewhat better. It is likely that in the coming days we may try to head back to get a few more shots of take-offs and landings (which we still haven’t had a chance to film).

We had also hoped to take this opportunity to stop by the Sunset Beach Bar for a drink. As they didn’t seem interested in serving us during our stay we decided to just head out to Baie Rouge and pick up a beer there.

Once at Baie Rouge we realized that it was likely a little too rough to go snorkeling with out fins. As one might expect, the wave size did not prevent us from getting a beer and sitting at one of the umbrella covered tables.

After consuming a 250 ml (baby size) Heineken I decided that if I couldn’t go snorkeling I might as well try to play around in the water for a while, seeing as I was at a beach and all. My father was agreeable to this plan but thought that we should examine the snorkeling area and take some beach photos before I went in. We stashed our belongings with the bar working and made for the rocky out-cropping where we had been told we would find the good snorkeling grounds. While making our way around the point we noticed all kinds of crabs on the rocks. Unlike crabs in Newfoundland, these crabs clearly spend much of their time out of the water (on a voluntary basis) and are brown or black rather than red.

Once we returned and after the obligatory standing in surf shots I was given the OK to go for the water. As the surf first washed over my feet I again noticed that the water was a little cooler than I might have expected but that it took only a second or two to become comfortable.

As the wave action was greater at this beach much of my activity was related to being sucked in and out by waves. In some cases one could be taken 30-40 feet in with the wave a matter of a few seconds, and then sucked back out as the water returned to the sea. If executed correctly, this maneuver could lead to a close to unending cycle of being pushed in and washed out with each wave.

After some number of minutes my father, who had been watching from our table, directed me to a part of the beach where the waves were even larger. As soon as I arrived at the new location I was battered by a six-foot wave. Once engulfed by the wave I was tossed and turned and eventually slammed into the beach, but not before I was forced to take a mouthful of sea water. Though none of the other waves were quite that abusive to me, many were large and powerful (maybe it was just that I then knew what to plan for) and did manage to toss me around rather effectively.

After returning home from the beach I cleaned up as best I could, though still managed to leave a fair bit of sand in my hair. We then went to an orientation mixer at a nearby restaurant. Though we didn’t mix as much as we might have, we did speak to several students and enjoy the free (local?) food. I was particularly taken with something that I presume was a vegetable somewhat reminiscent of potato.