TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Sat., April 16, 2016

So! It's Saturday morning, approximately 10:30, and already we've done the coffee in the room thing, showered, dressed and driven out to Grand Case Airport (which they used to call L'Esperance Airport but I've not seen it mentioned that way anywhere of late.....) and dropped the St. Bart's contingent off and meandered on to Paradise View for breakfast. Yummy breakfast, btw, and the views, while always good, were beyond good and perhaps extraordinary this morning and were worth the drive out even if you didn't have to go that way. We could clearly see St. Bart's and what I think were St. Kitts/Nevis and Statia which for us is a rare view to see that clearly, if that's even what it was. And returning to the Towers and coming down the hill just before Porto Cupecoy we could see Saba and and StKitts/Nevis and Statia (at least I think that's the order...) but not St. Bart's. The water is a brilliant aqua to turquoise and the islands are visibly as clear as a bell, and so far the weather has been drop dead gorgeous!!

And all that said, the local weather from about Monday and through the rest of the time we're here looks absolutely horrible. Anywhere from forty percent chance of rain to a hundred percent and not even a partly cloudy day to be seen. Let's see how on target the island forecasts really are. I don't generally give it much credo but a lot if he local people are telling us the beautiful days we've seen so far are the calm before the storm. Yikes! Doesn't sound too promising, but it is what it is, right?!

So we headed out with the idea of doing all kinds of 'stuff' but saw an easy parking spot at SMYC and opted to do that instead. Probably not the best choice but it was fun and the grouper fingers were great. The kids met us there after their St. Bart's trip, having flown out this morning and taken the fast boat back to Simpson Bay after having a fun-filled day out there. And then we had more drinks and snacks. So much for dinner......

Thinking maybe SSB&G for a bit with the kids.....or not! But it's been a very nice day all around.

Sounds like a great time so far. The Grand Case Airport is still L'Esperance Airport. The sky has been so clear, as you pointed out. Hoping the forecast is wrong!

Pat,
How long is the lousy weather supposed to last? We arrive on Wednesday.

BobandJeana

Yet another grand day. Grouper fingers at SMYC are really good. Hopefully the weather is not as bad as predicted.

Here's to hoping the great weather holds out for you!

Good morning,

I typically pay little to no attention to the weather forecasts down here. We have had a week plus of spectacular weather to date but the weather calendar this morning is calling for anywhere from sixty to ninety percent chance of rain from Monday through Friday. And this is an improvement because yesterday there were a couple of days with 100 percent likelihood. And as I said, typically I would ignore it all but talking to a couple of sailors at SMYC yesterday, they're all talking about it, too.

But again, you can't mess with Mother Nature so in the end, it is what it is and we'll all have to make the best of it. If it really happens, it will be the most rain I've seen down here in 43 years at this time of year.

Sounds like a wonderful morning taking friends to the airport then Paradise View---love that place!

Sounds like a great trip so far Pat. Love Paradise View's crepes and views and recently became a fan of the grouper fingers at SMYC. Hoping the weather isn't as rainy as they say for your future stay.

Sounds like a fun day and with Grouper Fingers at SMYC, just about perfect.

We love the breakfast at paradise view also and tried the grouper finger at smyc this past Feb. and will be sure to have again next trip, they were the best.