Sint Maarten: Day 2

Today I arose earlier than I might have had I been left to my own devices. This was fortunate as it allowed my father to head to the school to work on some of his lectures and me to have time to explore the parts of the island within walking distance.

One of the more important accomplishments of the day was my trip to the grocery store to buy some bottled water and generally scout the store as well as others in the region. Not surprisingly, the walk back from the store with water was much more pleasant than my trip to the store. We have since returned to the store and purchased a full case of bottled water, as well as a case of beer.

After putting a few hours in on lecture preparations my father, and myself, went for lunch. We decided to go to one of the BBQ joints frequented mainly by locals. We decided to go with big fish. I had marlin while my father had swordfish.

When the plates came out I was a little disappointed to see that both plates had some kind of macaroni salad. I believe it is safe to say that we were both even more shocked to see that my father’s swordfish had been turned into some kind of swordfish mash. I think it is safe to say that the meal did not meet our expectations, we both did get something positive from each of our dishes (and we know that that is not likely the establishment for us).

After lunch we took our car and did a little bit of touring, the main goal of which was to acquire a mask and snorkel. It quickly became apparent that many stores were closed. What was less apparent is whether the stores were closed because it was a Sunday or because it was the final day of the Carnival holiday week. I guess we might get a sense of this next Sunday.

Eventually, after several unsuccessful attempts, we were able to find a local boat tour/snorkel tour company that also sold snorkeling equipment. We were able to purchase a nice mask and sophisticated water in-take reducing snorkel as well as some fin attachments for sandals. One particularly nice aspect of this shopping experience is that we received reduced prices on our items as we are here out of season.

We then continued on to Philipsburg, the large town on the Dutch side of the island. While in town we drove down the two main shopping streets. At one point my father purchased 4 mangoes for a dollar from a crew of people who were attempting to sell their wares to each passing car.

As we were returning to Maho (the nearest town to where we are staying) from Philipsburg we noticed that a big Air France jet was about to take off and that people were lining up to get blasted. We felt that the affair needed to be filmed for posterity.

As traffic was backed up to watch the take-off I decided to exit the car to try and get a better shot of the blasting. Unfortunately, the direction from which I approached the scene was not particularly conducive for filming. As I kept getting closer to the action, without a good angle, it soon became apparent to me that I would be in the path of the blast. I then decided that I would just go for it and try to film and experience as much of it as possible.

At first the experience was similar to a strong wind. Within only moments it had moved beyond the feeling of a strong storm to one more reminiscient of sand blasting, as my body was being pelted with sand and dust to such an extent that I was forced to close my eyes and turn away. Fortunately, this act didn’t cause my camera to be irreparably jammed with sand, but it does mean that I didn’t get to film the blasting of others by the Air France jet.

Shortly after returning from Philipsburg we decided to test the new snorkeling equipment out at the nearby “Mullet Beach.” As I had previously been pelted with sand, I wasn’t particularly concerned about any additional contact with sand.

Shortly after arriving at the beach we were both struck by the relative coolness of the water. Just like most North American swimming experiences, the first exposure past the waist was quite literally breathtaking. Fortunately, it was quite easy to become acclimatized to the water, so within moments we both felt quite comfortable (even when out of the water).

After a few practice maneuvers we moved our snorkeling operations from the open beach nearer to some rocks at the edge of the beach. Within moments it was possible to see a variety of types of fish. In particular, we both spotted schools of small, dark fish less than an inch long as well as several grayish fish that were six to eight inches long. I also spotted a few that resembled angel fish, as well as one that had zebra like black and white vertical stripes. Hopefully we will get to check out a few much snorkeling locations in the coming days and see an even wider range of fish.

As far as I know tomorrow, aside from it being the day on which my father’s first lecture is to occur, should be much like today. This is just fine with me as it suggests that I should be able to take care of a few computerological matters, some reading, as well as touristy activities.

Later today we will likely try and scrounge something up for dinner. At the moment I have no idea what that might be, though I presume that it will likely be something on the cheap side of things.

Presumably after we finish eating and my father finishes his lecture preparations we will have a few beers on the balcony. At the moment we have the option of either Presidente from the Dominican Republic or Carib from Trinidad.