St Martin is very interesting. It's certainly a good deal more cosmopolitan that I'm accustomed to - we are not here to dive or snorkel the reefs. But, it is quite unlike being in the Caribbean - on the French side, it seems like being in Europe - you may hear several different languages being spoken at any one time - often involving the same person. On the "Dutch" side, it seems a bit like being back in the USA (I don't know what the official language is, but American English is most certainly, at least, the unofficial language, and the US dollar is the currency of commerce.) Once you have checked into either country, you may travel freely between the two - in fact, since we travel by dinghy, I'm never even sure where the border is. We are here because St Martin (or Siint Maarten, or various other spellings, depending which side you are on) is known as the place with the best selection and cheapest prices on marine equipment in the entire eastern Caribbean. Well, that's not saying too much. Still, I've completed some minor boat projects which needed attention.
But, the big draw for me was the chance to stand about 10 feet below landing jets - I've seen photos and videos for years, and I wanted to experience it for myself. The runway threshold is literally just feet from the boundary fence, which is backed by a road and a beach. We took a short bus ride to the Driftwood Boat Bar and waited for the incoming jets. Some daredevils like to stand in the jets blast of departing planes - those folks are fun to watch.
We had to tuck Spike down into this bag in order to smuggle him aboard the buses.
KLM 747 on short final.
Over the beach.
I totally missed the money shot where the wheels just clear the fence!
The daredevils.
Are we having fun yet?
Note: No animals were harmed during the filming of this blog post.
Love the pics....I thought you meant small planes. Not a 747. Yowie.
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