The infamous Maho Beach, St Martin
05 March 2014
After one has been cruising for a little while, the "touristy" things are less of a draw, if they ever were in the first place. You spend enough time around places, and the need to go with the lemmings decreases. Ken and I aren't particularly keen on doing all of the things presented in the tourism brochures, anyway. However, sometimes you just have to do it.
Here in St. Martin there is the famous Maho beach. This is the beach adjacent to the airport runway, where some people will try to cling to the fence as the big jets rev up (not for the biggest airbus or 747, the Police chase the thrill seekers off the fence for the big birds). At either end of the beach, there are some bars, to cash in on the tourist dollars. Last time we were here, Ken and I didn't do it. This time we decided we needed to check it out. Besides, we both like airplanes, and don't mind the jets taking off over our boat. Actually we enjoy it.
We walked over from where we parked the dinghy, a really neat walk past "Badda-Bing" Adult Entertainment Bar (we didn't see any of Tony's crew there), and along a lovely beach. We eventually ended up at the Sunset Bar, which is at the south end of Maho Beach. We lucked out with seats with a view and shade, and even got a better place a little while later.
As much as I like to "poo-poo" touristy things, this was fun. The bar's prices for drinks were not extortionist, and the food was both affordable and decent. Wow. What a concept. Don't screw over the tourists? We can handle that!
There is a prominently placed sign, with accompanying graphic, warning of the dangers of the jet blasts. Well, it is a safety announcement, or an invitation, depending on your desire to eat grit sandblasted at you from jet engines. We chose to heed the warning. Others took up the challenges, and clung to the fence like flies on a windshield. They were as entertaining as the planes.
We found the planes landing more interesting. The glide paths of the big guys brings them quite low over the beach (unlike departure, when they need to get over the hills in a hurry). The little courier planes and island hoppers will quickly duck around the corner and drop onto the runway, taxiing off in no time at all. The big planes need the full 7000 feet (a little shorter than the norm) to slow down and take off.
It was when we were ready to leave that we heard the announcement that women who are topless get free drinks. I thought the sign at the bar was a joke when I saw it. Hmm, maybe I'll be drinking for free if we go back, which is highly likely.
We chose to walk back on the north side of the runway, past the airport proper (there are buses available, but it was a great day to walk). It was still fun watching the planes. When we got to the east end of the runway, not too far from where we are anchored, a jet was taking off towards the west, something they do when the wind dies down a bit. The end of the runway is farther away from the road, so we had a seat in-line with the jet wash and watched the take off. It was just the two of us, the jet blast had enough time to dissipate a bit, and it was fun, too.
If you look for Maho Beach on YouTube, you should find lots of videos of the action there. This is certainly the kind of thing that video conveys very well.