Philipsburg, Sint Maarten...

This morning I was up early to take photos of our sail into Sint Maarten. To my surprise and delight, the Zaandam was already docking across from the Cunard Queen Mary 2…so of course, I was able to capture both ships. Much to my surprise and delight is that our good friend Florin is the Hotel General Manager on the Zaandam and seeing the Zaandam made me hope to see him later in the day. I sent him a text and got the wheels in motion.  As soon as the ship was cleared, we headed to town to beat the crowds. We walked along the beach…toward the main pier…there is still damage evident and cleanup being done from the effects of Hurricane Ian…Beyond the main pier strong winds and waves have washed the beach sand up on shore covering the board walk and pushed against the buildings…the hurricanes keeping pounding these beautiful islands. We started our return to the ship via the main shopping street…it was a very hot day and the Retreat was calling me…. With much difficulty from port security, Florin was finally able to board the Nieuw Statendam for a quick visit with us and his old friend Mustafa, the HGM on the Nieuw Statendam…such a nice reunion…  It was great spending time with Mustafa & Florin!  We are wishing Florin and his family a healthy and happy New Year. All said and done, it was a lovely day and nice visit to Sint Maarten.