Friends and visits
03 March 2007 | St. Maarten/ St. Martin
Karin
Luxury in the marina Visit grandkids and home Two groups of Special guests Luxury in the marina We left Dream Weaver safely tied up at Island Water World while we visited friends and family in the states. As usual marina life seems luxurious when compared with being anchored. There is ample water for LONG showers and laundry as well as not having to worry about the batteries running out of charge. Also, we can walk ahsore without needing to first get our butts wet in the dinghy. All in all being at a marina is a break that I enjoy, although I am not sure I would want to stay in a marina permanently because there is usually more commotion at a marina (e.g., lights at night, noise from other boat traffic). This marina is out of the way at one end of Simpson Lagoon in St. Maarten and more peaceful than most. I especially enjoyed being a short dinghy ride from a great French Bakery where we could get fantastic coffee and croisants.
Our trip to the states was terrific. In addition to nice long visits with our grandkids (and their parents, or course), we saw friends and made our first trip to the Miami Boat Show. The Miami Boat Show is HUGE and very impressive. I can say this having attended any number of boats shows which I thought were large at the time, especially the ones in Annapolis and Newport. However, the Miami show is three or four times larger than either of those. We attended for two full days and did not see everything; but we had spent enough money and needed to get back to the boat because two groups of friends were coming to visit us in St. Maarten.
Amazing AnguillaOur first group of guests, Chadi and Chris, from Maryland were excited about scuba diving in Anguilla, an island none of us had ever visited even though it is only a few miles north of St. Maarten. Anguilla is a haven if you are interested in spectacular beaches, peaceful anchorages and good diving and snorkeling. Our guests flew into St. Maarten and we spent a day getting their scuba tanks and looking around St. Maarten. On the way to Grand Case, an anchorage on the north side of St. Maarten, we caught a wonderful Mahi Mahi. Chadi loves to fish and I was glad we were successful, especially since she made a terrific fish chowder from the bones, etc. we enjoyed the weekly Tuesday night street fair in Grand Case and left on Wednesday for Anguilla. Anguilla is a small island with few people; indeed, most of the land and shore are disignated marine parks. Getting the necessary permits was a bother, but worth the trouble because we could then anchor in these pristine areas and enjoy all they had to offer. Surprisingly, we went to a marvelous restaurant on the beach; at least, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of our meals because this is such a small island. Our friends' visit ended all too soon and we want them to plan two weeks next time.
Sensational St. BartsOnly a day after Chadi and Chris left, Val and Jeff, long time friends from Tennessee arrived. Luckily, our good friends on S/V Eira were in St. Maarten which meant that my two friends named Val could finally meet each other (one is our sailing companion on Eira and the other is our visitor from Tennessee). They were especially interested in comparing notes about what they had been told about the "other Val". We had enjoyed the weekly Tuesday night street fair in Grand Case so much that we deicded to take our second group of visitors the next week. unfortunately, it was a rainy afternoon and most of the vendors stayed away. No matter, we still managed to find some good food and have a fine time. Also, our guests went snorkeling for the first time and I think they are now ready for more. The next day we headed for Anse de Colombier in St. Barts which is about 15 miles south of St. Maarten. Anse de Colombier is also a marine park and a spectacular anchorage. It is a short dinghy ride into town from Anse de Colombier and we were able to have a decadent lunch at Eden's Rock, surely one of the prettiest places I have ever been. Back in St. Maarten, we went to the street market in Marigot which is on the French side. It's a large, busy market and plenty of souvenirs were bought for the unfortunates back home who had not been able to visit. Again, we had to say goodbye much too soon to our good friends.
After several weeks of travel and guests, it was a little strange to be just the two of us again. It had been so nice to have lot of friends and family around; one of the disadvantages of cruising is that friends often come and go which can lead to one of the advantages which is meeting up with old friends in new places and making new friends. Still I usually miss people when they move on, either returning home to work and school or cruising on to another place.