For those who havent heard, Im taking a long-deferred tall ship cruise in the Caribbean next week with Island Windjammers. I decided to do this about forty years ago, and Im finally getting around to it. Ill be one of 24 passengers aboard Sagitta (pronounced SaggEEtah, Im told). Its named for a smallish constellation also known as the Arrow, presumably one launched by Sagittarius, the Archer. Images and information are available at islandwindjammers. Im on the Sagitta Solo Sojourn, a week of visiting islands. Diamant, the other ship based at Grenada, looks prettier, but Sagitta carries more folks and should be fun. Got to my hotel (Holland House) on St Maarten okay after a pleasant 3-1/2-hour flight from Charlotte. All is well, and now that Weather is fiiiinne here, English is spoken (on the Dutch side if the island, at least--havent checked the French half yet) and dollars work although someone said something about Euros and Netherlands Antilles Guilders --havent seen any of those yet. All the signs Ive seen so far are in English, so its convenient for Americans to visit. Princess Juliana airport here (SXM) is famous because the runway threshold is right on the water. People stand on the beach to watch heavy airliners pass low overhead--a popular YouTube video posting. People also like to stand by the fence when big airplanes depart so the jet blast blows them across the beach and out to sea. Ill have to check this scene out for myself, of course -- I saw the passengers-eye view when we landed. All is well. My ship sails Sunday afternoon so Ill be somewhat out of touch until we get back Sunday Nov 17. I will report my observations when time permits unless Im overtaken by island attitudes.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Nov 2013 03:07:57 +0000
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