St. Maarten has a special place in my heart for a variety of reasons. First of all, it was the first place I was able to get off the ship after spending 6 days at sea during my last contract when we crossed over from Europe. Secondly, it is one of the places I visited with my boyfriend when I was on vacation.

Beach in St. Maarten

For my first St. Maarten day of this contract, I wanted to keep things simple. Food and beach were all I needed! I got off the ship in a group of 7, prepared to fight the Caribbean sun. I have a new, SPF 50+ sunscreen that is supposed to last 10 hours, as well as my awesome SPF sun hat from my sister. Feeling adequately protected, I led the group to Greenhouse for lunch. The 15 minute walk was long enough to make me sweat, but for once, didn’t make me burn!

Greenhouse

I ate some tasty fish tacos and had a caipirinha. Our service was quite slow, and some of my friends were frustrated with the inconsistent wifi, so we didn’t linger after we finished eating. Luckily, the beach was just a few minutes away! Lounging in front of Honky Tonk were more of our cast mates and friends. We set up camp in the sand, and took turns going into the water.

The gang at the beach

The cool ocean water offered a wonderful respite from the hot sun. I quickly became tired and walked back to the ship with the drummer from the orchestra. Although it wasn’t a long day out, it was enjoyable! With good food and a nice beach, I was more than satisfied!

Flowers near the port