I flew on Silver Airways to Sint Maarten. Julien, the Airbnb host let me in and we chatted about US politics for an hour. He was a very interesting guy who went to USF too. Go Bulls!
The grocery store was nearby so I made pasta for dinner in the microwave.
On Wednesday, I walked the whole boardwalk and marveled at the two huge cruise ships that had appeared overnight. The beach was suddenly set up for sunbathing and the folks were hopping on tours and filling the bars and restaurants. I worked out on the beach with their burning hot gym equipment and worked at home in the cool a/c. I sorted out the rest of my travel plans for this trip. I tried as hard as I could to find a way to keep island-hopping, but it’s just too hard to do. So I’m headed home from St. Kitts, via San Juan, Ft. Lauderdale, Denver, and Tucson.
On Thursday, I joined a tour of the whole island, visiting St. Martin as well as Sint Maarten. It was really fun. Our guide was Cutty and he was on a mission to keep us on schedule and get a 5-star review. My goal when I signed up was to see the entire island and learn the history. Mission accomplished. I can honestly say, I was completely hot and sweaty or delightfully floating in the Caribbean at Mullet Bay the whole day, but I was happy. We had a cooler of great drinks including beer and homemade rum punch. I had a Smooth Operator drink on Orient Bay (the clothed, not the nude section) out of a coconut, a delicious grilled snapper fish with salad and rice accompanied by a ginger beer, and several other beverages all day. I watched the planes fly right over head at Maho Bay, landing seconds later at SXM, which is the airport code and general abbreviation of the whole island.
Friday, I did my yoga, walked a lot, met some of the crew on my scuba boat, went swimming in the sea, and talked to my mom, who has plantar fasciitis and is stuck on the sofa.
