We have had no lack of things to see and do in St. Martin and our timing was perfect for carnival on the Dutch side Sint Maarten. Carnival on the French side is in February but the Dutch celebrate the end of April and May day with a four day holiday. We took two buses from Grand Case to Marigot and then on to Phillipsburg and joined the thousands of happy locals lining the streets for their carnival parade. Carnival goes on for several days and nights beginning with what is called a Juvie which entails getting up at 4am and joining a parade of revellers who dance and sing their way around Great Salt Pond at Phillipsburg. We thought we could pass on that part of the celebration and decided to go to one of the parades which occur during the day and don't involve getting up in the middle of the night.
What a spectacle it was and the costumes were unbelievable. The parade lasted for close to two hours with at least a dozen huge trucks with bands providing the music for the hundreds of costumed dancers. The dancers were of all ages and shapes and sizes and the outfits were amazing. The biggest challenge was to keep their head dresses from blowing off in the wind. The parade we saw was on Monday and yesterday Tuesday May 1st they were going to do it all again. I imagine many folks go back to work today very tired.
Kite surfing is popular at Orient Beach.
Yesterday we took the opportunity to take a bus to the windward side and walk the famous Orient Beach. Being topless is allowed in the French Islands but total nudity is only allowed at the club at Orient Beach. Naturally we had to visit the club and check it out for ourselves. The sign at the beach bar says No shirt No pants No Problem! The captain was in his glory eating pizza and drinking beer at the beach. It was just like being at the cottage but only more entertaining. club Orient is a resort for naturists that has been on Orient Beach for many years and given the number of people we saw on the beach it continues to be popular.
When in Rome do as the Romans do.
No comments:
Post a Comment