Tuesday - SXM Airport from the other side!

So, waking bright and early from our sleep in Fantastic Hotel, we went down the corner to a lovely little Caribbean cafe for breakfast. The lady serving us was very friendly, and provided a selection of pastries, breads, teas and coffees. The order for 6 people was a little too much maths for that time in the morning, so the just quoted us 30 dollars and off we went.

First stop for the morning was the marina to speak to the Sunsail people, who reside in a porta-cabin next to the water. Inside, Colin and Katie negotiated a provisional route for the trip, confirming areas we could and could not sail and moor.

We need to confirm this with them tomorrow, so they know where we are going to keep an eye! This bit done and dusted we decided to head up to the fort at the top o f the hill, the Caribbean journey time estimated to us at about 25 minutes, but we managed it in 8 walking at my speed!

There are remnants of colonial conflict all over these islands, and this fort was no exception, old cannons atop the old barricades. There was a welcome breeze at the top, which was pleasant in the 30 degree temperature already at 8am! We spent about a quarter of an hour at the top of the fort, before heading back down.

Next stop was back down to collect our suitcases, to load into Tony's taxi for him to take to the marina while we wait for the boat to be ready. Following this Tony took us on to Phillipsburg where had a very warm walk along the seafront before eating in a beachside bar. Nicose salads were enjoyed by most, and Pete had a mexican burger, and I had a caribbean salad, with fresh grapefruit, mango, and tomato, with a grilled chicken breast which was great. This was, of course, helped down by a few choice Presidente Beers!

Next stop was back to Juliana International Airport - no we're not done yet, but we've got some planes to watch! Such is the international attraction now that there are strings of taxis going across the road at the edge of the runway, to a bar, dropping off tourists, then circling back. We arrived, true to form, with just minutes to spare before the afternoon highlight - the arrival of the AirFrance A380 at 14:15. This gave us a few minutes to practice taking some nice shots, trying to get the classic "I'm holding up a plane". I'll link some videos when I can upload the large files, but the sound and air rush was incredible, but not even close to the sensation of the planes taking off, which sandblasted every inch of you. As one American lady noted in the bar later "I was finding it my teeth for days"...

Walking further down the beach we found ourselves in a Ramshackle bar called Driftwood Boat Bar, which definitely had been constructed from Driftwood. A futher beer / rum punch set the afternoon off, and soon Tony was back to transport us back to Marigot to collect out boat.

He detoured via Carrefort (We are in France after-all!), so Tim, Suzanne, Pete and I could do the shopping for the trip. We divided 8 pages of shopping lists between us and neogatiated the biggest supermarket on the island, contesting with prices being in either US Dollars, Euros, or the local currency. The local currency is about 3:1 so it was extremely reassuring to find the meat was prices in this, not Dollars!

Having spent a small fortune, it was time to load up 3 full carts of groceries and drinks into the taxi, and back to finally climb aboard!

I have to say, I knew this was going to be a luxurious holiday, but nothing had prepared me for the mixture of the quality of the boat, and the setting, and I was fully taken aback!

Some fixture are quite in keeping with the stuff on our luxury Motorhome holiday with Jon in NZ, but without the peril of the knife drawer spontaneously ejecting!.

We've got: Two fridges, two freezers, a microwave, on-board water maker, 4 berths, AC power when the generator is on, 3 gas rings and a gas oven/grill, and plenty of space to relax in the sun! Can't wait to get started!

Tim cooked a slap-up steak dinner, with boiled potatoes and mixed veg, and then we clarified out expectations about where we all fancied going ahead of the trip starting tomorrow. Then off to bed for an early start tomorrow!