Day 5

The small island of St Maarten is half Dutch and half French. We were visiting the Dutch side and we were berthed in Philipsburg. To be honest I don’t think we made the most of our visit here, our last couple of days had been very busy so we decided not to book a tour and just mooch about by ourselves.  We decided to have a later start and then wander into town for a look around the shops (Jane’s idea not mine!) There were, however, 5 other cruise ships in at the same time as us and everything was packed!

Philipsburg is quite a small town with some lovely old buildings and I expect it would be very restful if it wasn’t for all the other ships!

However, the bars and restaurant owners were pleased to see the influx of holiday makers after the forced shut-down caused by the pandemic. There were so many people queuing for seats in restaurants for meals, and to use their free WI-FI, that it was far from the Caribbean ideal!

The standard of graffiti on the walls here was on another level than I’m used to in the UK, it certainly added to the charm of this place!

When we ventured a bit further from the centre of town it got a lot quieter and the beach was almost empty. This was the place I choose for my swim and the water was just lovely!

At the end of the day there was a bit of a traffic jam as the ships set sail for their next ports of call. I hoped they weren’t all going to be the same one again!