Alas, all good things must come to an end. I have had so much fun, not only on my cruise, but in putting together the videos and the blogs. I had only done one slide-show video before this and I've learned a lot. They are far, far from professional quality, but they are getting better, at least I think so. I'm thinking I may go back into my archives and make videos of past trips, just for practice and for a kind of 'living scrapbook'.
So, where are we? St. Maarten, one island, two countries. Read all about the history of the island here.
Initially, my husband and I had not planned an excursion. The island was small, we already had three excursions, it's another island, maybe we'll just hang out like we did in Grand Turk. Well, my adventurous side wanted a little more...adventure. But, just a little. At the last minute we opted for a 'Scenic Coastal Hike'. A coastal hike was just the thing. Not too hard, not too slow, and lots of scenery for this photographer.
We met our tour group at 8:00 am in one of the ship's lounges then were led through the port's tourist area to a bus. On board the bus we drove past the little tourist shopping mecca, up and around the outlying hills to the eastern coast. To my surprise, we turned a corner and stopped on the side of the road. There were a few homes and a dirt road. Curious, we all hopped out of the bus and were met by our guide. The hike was along a single-track path up the hill in front of us. At the top of the hill was an abandoned home, owned by the Benny Goodman family. Past this home is where our hike began. See the video below. My words cannot do the scenery justice. There are not enough adjectives to adequately describe the beauty of the oceans and the islands in the Caribbean. I only wish I had brought my "good camera".
My only complaint with this excursion was the speed of the guide. I felt he was walking too fast. I started out in front so my pictures could be human-free as much as possible. I stopped every few minutes to take a picture, look back in the hope that I wasn't holding up the rest of the group and they'd be several yards to ten yards behind. They weren't in a hurry either. On the return trip (it was a point to point or there and back hike) I stayed in back so I could drag as slow as I wanted then run to catch up. This turned out to be a blessing because at one stop a lady offered to switch places and be last because she was tiring. My husband explained my wandering and suggested she stay in front. Good thing because not ten minutes later she was stung by a bee. Not that it was good she was stung, just good I wasn't because I'm allergic! I did have creams and a bandage for her and she was fine.
When we returned to the starting point the guide gave us water then led us down another path next to a home down to an uninhabited bay, the Guana Bay Beach. Due to tides and rip currents no one swims here. We rested, took lots of photos then headed back towards the port. Our guide gave us great advice for the shopping area. I'm not a huge shopper, but several in our group were. He said don't buy from the first person or first store. Don't pay the asking price. Negotiate. Most stores have the exact same items. I applaud guides who are actually helpful and not pushy. We were unable to tip him because we had left all of our cash on the ship. (Not a good thing to do!).
For some reason, I had gotten it in my head way back in Grand Turk that I wanted something "Sea Turtle". Something unique. In one of the jewelry stores that we had wandered into I asked if there were any 'local artists" or stores that carried "local art". The sales woman directed us to a store called "Shipwreck". It turned out to be a run-of-the-mill t-shirt and souvenir shop, however, there was one case that carried (relatively) one-of-a-kind artisan pieces. I found my sea turtle. I'm not going to show you the picture because a) I didn't take a photo b) I'd like to keep it as one of a kind as possible. Go to St. Marteen and get your own sea turtle. Really, go. Take a hike, see the cliffs and beaches. See the butterflies and go snorkeling. Go on an Eco Tour with Tri Sport. You'll be glad you did!
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