TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin More Roadblocks/Protests Today??

Let's keep it civil. Below is what is in the Daily Herald today.

Article March 10

There is a back road to the Butterfly Farm and then into Orient Beach that many locals know about. It is probably easier than walking

I just tried to get to Orient Bay from Dawn Beach area (i am next to Westin Resort). Confirming the blockade is up, not as far north as it was yesterday.

This kind of information speaks well within this forum. Let's keep it civil without a political overtone. Thanks in advance.

Well written article. Reading between the lines, the end of the blockade is truly a wildcard.

I stayed up in Orient Bay area ladt year and loved it. Too bad. Well, got to deal with the cards that are dealt ... Goodbye Orient Bay, hello Mullet Bay.

Three ships docked at the Port of Phillipsburg right now with 10,000 to 12,000 passengers. One more arriving this afternoon with 3,000 more passengers.
If the roadblocks stay up the Dutch are going to make some money today.

The back route was blocked with boulders last summer.

As of 2 hours ago the gendarmes were there to prevent the blocking of the road

First time we've not stayed close to Orient and now we're stuck outside looking in.

Question: I'm in Orient bay and need to get my daughter from the Airport on Friday at 1PM? Any suggestions?

on Saturday I need to get my two other daughters to the Airport. Contingency ideas would be great!

3 day into our strangest visit so far.

Mbrott

My suggestion is that you wait and see what happens today. Hopefully things will be resolved today.

Seems like quite the mess and lots and lots of stuff to get resolved. Don't know if this is being civil or not, but I honestly can't imagine taking a week of annual vacation and paying a fair amount of money to encounter something like this.

Clearly the roadblock is a very powerful tool, but sad that effective plans were not in place for the transition.

I will be there at 4 PM tomorrow, in Orient Village. Hopefully things are resolved by then, otherwise I will keep you up to date with what I encounter.

OK, thanks. Anyone on the french side today, please give us an update when/if you can.

Message delivered at 2:58pm this afternoon via phone message center at the Simpson Bay Resort..."dear members and guests, please refrain from travel to the French side of the island due to civil unrest".…..just an FYI

I just checked with the security guard at Orient bay and you can access Orient from the Grand case side but not from Phillipsburg. That must be enough of an incentive to keep the buses away.

We were escorted on foot thru the roadblock last nite with luggage and $300 worth of groceries. Club Orient folk are doing so well considering the situation. Was a bit "unusual." Don't know who right, but shame to see effect on people who work and want to work.

this might be due to the huge music festival going on and many of the days/night based at Palm Beach

Sounds like a difficult situation, but glad you were able to get through somehow.

Since I am not familiar with any of the areas discussed, how does this affect those taking the Anguilla public ferry? Can the cabs get from the dock to the airport?
Can the cabs get from the airport to the dock?
What about the private water shuttles to/from the airport, does this have any effect on them?
Thanks for any info.
Ellen

I don't THINK if you're coming from the Dutch side that you will have a problem in terms of blockage to get to Marigot, unless you are taking a route that takes you through Orient, but my understanding is that the traffic everywhere is pretty messed up, at least today... The private water taxis should not be affected at all, going straight from the airport to Anguilla.

Kinda starting to look like Ferguson.

DH article here

SXM??? Wendell

Coming down on Saturday for a couple of weeks.
Guess Yvette's will have to wait a bit for us till this gets settled.
Oh well, we have Mark's, Mo's Snack shop and Le Grande Marche near us at the Divi.

That is ridiculous, if true, taking money to get people through the blockade.

Sadly, with the internet and the constant promotion of stuff such as Ferguson on US TV that many SXM locals watch, it does not surprise me.

Time for the island authorities (on BOTH sides of the island) to get a handle on this and QUICK!

I would also add that my flight was being announced as full and there are multiple empty seats, including 2 next to me. I am speculating there are some people who missed this flight and some of this might be the reason.

I wouldn't plan on going to mass on Sunday at St. Joseph's in the French Quarter either. There are boulders blocking the road up to the church.

Not true at all. It's a peaceful demonstration. Ferguson was not quiet or peaceful. It appears to be pretty much over now. The Gendarme cleared the people out about an hour ago. This happens quite frequently on the Island and nothing to get worked up about. Yes, it's a nuisance for us "locals" and I understand that it puts a damper on the vacationers, and I feel bad, especially if they only have a week vacation, but the people of St. Martin have a legal right to stand up for and support local businesses that are getting "shafted". I think some people forget that this is not the USA and the French culture supports this type of action. Don't get me wrong, I think blocking people from passing is wrong, but I do respect their right to do it. I really hope people don't cancel their vac plans or stop visiting the French side. They would be missing out on a beautiful half of the Island.
After I wrote this, the Gendarme riot squad did disperse the crowd with tear gas. This was done because some of the protestors were throwing stones. They tend to let the people demonstrate as long as it's peaceful. It's now over.

I was talking about people taking MONEY to get people through the blockade, not Ferguson. I should have been more specific. I edited my post.

Sorry Carol, It was another person that referred to Ferguson. Just hate St. Martin getting a bad name.

Staying at Mt. Vernon. Orient Beach was DEAD today. Pedros closed for the last 2 days. No one at Wakiki. I feel bad for the business people in this area as well as people trying to get into Orient Village. I heard road blocks until Tuesdays meeting BUT everyone has a different story.

Update

Gendarmes responded with teargas to disperse the crowd in French Quarter

Story here

throwing stones??? dispersing the crowd with tear gas??

I just guess your definition of peaceful is different than what I want to have my vacation days be.

And setting fires just like Ferguson

article here

Then you see tourists pushing thier luggage down the middle of the roar throufg this to leave. Personally I wouldn't expose my spouse to this. I would demand the hotel get us safely to the airport. Hey, but that is just me.

SXM??? Wendell

Doesn't look totally peaceful to me either. Burning trash, cars, rocks and extorting money?? I went to Orient for the first time in 3-4 years this trip. It may be 3-4 more years before I set foot on the French side if ever again.

And the part I don't understand is this started from some beach bars/restaurants didn't like terms of rent and uncompleted conditions of a few buildings. Wouldn't it have been better if they just didn't pay the rent and not occupy the buildings. Now there is a blemish on tourism on the French side that will affect everybody. So what positively did all the road blockage, throwing rocks and fires accomplish?

SXM??? Wendell

Publicity and not all good.

I honestly feel like a bad parent for taking my 2 year old to what, up until yesterday thought was paradise. I am spending $6k to go to damn near a war zone. The government apparently doesn't care what is happening and the people don't care what the implications are to the tourist industry. I will never return to the island.

We are scheduled to arrive Tuesday after missing visiting SXM last year. We will be staying in the Orient area and I am beginning to wonder whether coming is a good idea. Really don't want to have to worry about trying to get to and from the airport and to and from Grand Case for dinners--too many other places we can go including Hawaii without these kinds of hassles. Hope this site provide updates over the weekend.

Carol, who had to pay to get out? I didn't see that anywhere???

Please keep this thread going Carol. I will be following closely as we arrive on island. And to those who find out what the local
Protests are and any blockades, please keep everyone informed. Tomorrow will be rough.

Hi Wendy - this was included in the 2nd link:

"Reports of opportunist young people manning the barricades charging people money to go through are true."