Just got back - Chartered Island Birds from SJU to EIS
Somewhere in between our flight's ~ 400 lbs of allotted luggage weight and the "much more than that" luggage my wife and daughter brought along (big family) > the Island Bird Pilot said > ~ "That ain't gonna fit!"
Two phone calls later, they brought it over on a later plane / got it on a taxi to the Moorings / arrived later that day / no extra cost except the $15 we paid the taxi guy.
The flight was excellent / no one in line at EIS customs > here we go
My wife and I are stay at Kazanu in Oyster Pond for a week in October (it is clothing optional), then moving over to Orient Village the second week. Looking forward to it. Will be spending most of the days at Club O beach.
Found this video of the Citadelle Laferriere built shortly after 1800 to repel a French retaking of the island which never happened as Napoleon met his Waterloo.
This vivid video takes me back to July 1979 and it looks like nothing has changed except the trail up the mountain is much improved/paved.
Back then along the trail were grass/palm huts, people carrying things in bowls on their head, and not for tourist voodoo rituals going on.
It was a 14 mile donkey ride (with lots of donkey dung) and the guides making no attempt to avoid it.
The poverty in Haiti was like nothing else I have seen worldwide.
The condition of the water they drank from our used coke bottles would lead to instant illness for most of us. They filtered it through their dirty shirt from one bottle to another.
I would like to hope things have improved. The small bit if the town and street pavement shows some. I do not remember paved streets outside the port. I remember trucks packed with what seemed like 50 people.
The young person narrating the video seems very bright. Back then, you did not see many signs of literacy.
Education and clean water are critical to improving this place.
Royal Caribbean goes to Labadee. But I have never heard of anyone being able to leave the compound?
I think the problem plane came in much later yesterday, I was surprised to see it in Canada on flight tracker well after 5 pm and then still sitting at SXM this morning
I don't think they are putting the tax on anyone other than people flying into or out of the Netherlands.
From what I read the charge applies to each arriving and departing flight. So it would increase the cost of the flight for everyone that travels through the Netherlands, which I assume, will impact a fair amount of travel to/from the Dutch Caribbean.
(I could be wrong. My opinion is based on what I gleaned from documents I could find online.)
Great Bay Casino was a much better choice if you wanted to play blackjack. One of the dealers named Jimmy could tell you the next card even though he was dealing from a six deck shoe. He even showed me how he did it. He would only do it if you were losing and he didn't want you to leave.
Saw this on Facebook. "ππ’π« π π«ππ§ππ ππ₯π’π π‘π ππππ₯ππ«ππ¬ ππ¦ππ«π ππ§ππ² π¨π―ππ« ππ‘π πππ₯ππ§ππ’π ππ§π π₯ππ§ππ¬ π’π§ πππ§πππ« Due to a suspected fuel leak yesterday, the crew of flight AF446 from Paris (CDG) to Saint Martin (SXM) decided to divert to Gander, Canada (YQX). This was done in application of the precautionary principle and in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions and the airline's procedures. The crews are regularly trained to deal with this type of known and controlled situation. The aircraft landed normally at Gander at 2:42 p.m., where customers are being looked after and accommodated by airport staff and maintenance checks will be carried out. A new aircraft will depart from Paris CDG Saturday and will take customers from Gander to Saint-Martin. The company regrets the inconvenience caused by this situation and says safety of customers and crew members is the most important."
"By the way, I would be careful about doing a lot of shopping at Market Garden, as I have heard that the prices on the shelf are often not the price on your receipt." I read a post on Facebook referencing that but of all the times we have shopped there we have never encountered any price discrepancies at checkout. Just rudeness and indifference from employees.
The Mon, Wed, Fri ferry to and from Anegada stops at VG if people need to get on and off..if not they go direct.The two ferry companies are sharing the runs..I would call them and tell them your plane..no problem.
Kim there was a casino at the old Little Bay Beach and Racket Club next to Belair.
It also had a deli, dining options and a dance floor with music acts. Then it was sold to Divi and the only thing that carried over was a deli. I miss Little Bay Club so much! Another person who always stayed there took up a place in Anse Marcel. He said he didn't want any part of the glitz the new place would bring. He wanted peace and quiet that Little Bay Club always had.
Good thing they detected it. Recently, Some plane took off from Honolulu to Seattle I think and the ground and tower could see a mile long trail of mist. The pilots were aware of nothing but were alerted and on landing it was pouring out.
Thanks Carol for that tip, we started doing that at the Maho Market last trip. Will do my best on the pictures. Right now on our 1st day I feel rushed, need Island time to kick in. Or at least a couple of these.
