Sunset Beach Bar

Planespotting at the Sunset Beach Bar is always on all the must-do lists for St Maarten. Truth be told, the food is mediocre and the live music is always too loud, but it remains one of my favorite things to do when people visit.

You can't help but get excited spotting a plane approaching - a tiny dot in the sky. As it gets closer everyone gets their cameras ready on the decks or run out to lie on the beach to get a shot of it from below. When it's a big jumbo, the thrill is palpable.

For departures, it's a bit less exciting than it used to be since they elongated the runway about two years ago. The planes no longer have to back up all the way to the fence. Still, when a jumbo takes off, the blast is still powerful enough to send caps, beach umbrellas, books, towels and some lightweight people out into the water. I never tried it myself, but a girl who braved it said that it feels like a sand blast - and proudly showed me scratches on her arms from the projectile sand.

We last went there last Wednesday with my dad and my niece. It was packed - I had forgotten that 7 cruise ships were in town - see below:

Lots of landings...

...including the majestic Air France:

Then the anticipation as a jumbo prepares for takeoff:


And the chaos that ensues along with the sand blasts:

Good times!

To be 7 years old...

... where life is still full of possibilities but you are starting to learn where your limits are; where you ask tons of questions all the time but don't understand all the answers (and you don't really care); where you don't worry about much beyond the composition of the next snack. I feel like this is where my Mano is these days. Want to capture this moment forever.

Rainbows Galore

Rainbows were rare affairs back when we were living up north. Here it seems a dime a dozen. They really are magnificent and the other day we caught sight of double rainbows:

Beautiful!

St Martin's Got Religion

Judging by the proliferation of cars with proclamations of God's Greatness, it's a pretty religious island. See below:







Countless other cars have more or less the same proclamations as above.

Every once in a while though, a car ahead of me leaves me scratching my head in great puzzlement. An example below:

Not sure if the Lord himself needs blessing, but if he does, he is covered.