TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Some Orient construction on Friday

Here are some pictures from Friday:

thanks for posting.......but so sad to see it like this.

It is what it is. Maybe better or worse, at this point we do not know. There were a lot of people around that were stripping stuff, but it was the containers that caught our eye.

You bring in dozers that is one thing, but... so the metal cotainers had to be removed.

What will it look like in Sept/October, you guess is as good as mine.

I know that it is not being kept up now, would it, but.... more than one person this week alone said--- this is pathetic and something needs to be done.

Maybe Goonzolo finally broke the back???

The other note about "old orient", I remember back when ... is not the same as it is today........ change happens, did then and it will now. Better or worse, we do no know as of yet.

There is no orient from 20-30 years ago --- not going to happen and that is the way it is..... so 5 years ago may also change... does not mean it is good or bad, but change... one thing for certain, change happens.

So was the change from 20 years ago to say 10 years ago a good thing???? I imagine you would get a whole lot of discussion about that!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Does not mean it is right, good or even bad .... that has nothing to do with it. Know it sounds bad, but life always moves on, sometimes for the better and sometimes it seems not for the better. We will know in a couple of years.

Eric, thanks for posting the pics - makes it all seem more real, for better or worse!
I think there was a lot of "junk" that needed removing. Maybe a fresh start will be nice. I do hope that each establishment will be able to add their own character to their place - it may take time, but I think that will happen. (fingers crossed)
I'm so happy to hear that our friends Leandra and Francoise plan to return, hope all the others will too!

As of now, we are planning on taking a trip over there on Monday to see what's going on then.

The guy who drove that triple axle trailer on the island deserves a cold drink.

He probably had one before he drove.....

Great pictures Eric. Thanks for posting them. Change is a part of life so people need to learn to accept it and move on. I am optimistic that things will not be worse there, only different. Parking and the roads will be improved and the ocean views and the food will still be good! Hopefully it will continue to be our happy place!

There has been a lot of change since our first trip in 1984. Hope the construction is completed buy early November

I agree--the ocean will be there and the beach. The food and the people should be mostly the same, just in different surroundings.

Makes me sad, but change happens all the time as you said, "it is what it is".

Looking forward to new memories down at that end of Orient when we arrive late October.

What did Don Henly sing..."call some place paradise and kiss it good bye"... There was a time when Orient was pretty close...not as much now but we are still coming back after 25 years. I imagine most of you are in the same boat...

Wow that ripped a hole in my heart!! One of the best things we (Fabila) would look forward to was closing Cheryl and Andy's place every time we were on Orient beach. Sitting around cocktails with George and Marie and the NJ-NY gang as the beach goers passed by checking out the menu board. Slice of heaven. Now a fond memory.