The cruise’s port of call for today was Sint Maarten, an island split between The Netherlands and France. We took a bus tour of the island that covered both the Dutch and French sides. The tour was great, thanks to our guides and drivers. They really missed their calling because they’d make a great comedy team. We got to see some of the coast, as well as the major towns on both the French and Dutch sides. I picked up some earrings for Heather and did a little shopping for myself as well.

Once the tour was done, we asked to be dropped off at the main drag on the Dutch side to do a little more shopping and to grab a snack. We found a truly obnoxiously loud Hawaiian shirt for a friend. I mean this thing can cause hearing damage. We really hope he likes it. After assaulting our ears with The Shirt, we swung by Kay’s Fine Jewelry to see if the ship’s shopping host’s recommendations were legit, and were pleasantly surprised. It’s a family owned store, and they really do understand customer service. Heather got a few more sparklies, blue ones this time, and I owe our salesman a Gronk shirt.

After that we went looking for some of the guava berry rum that has been talked about. We found a store selling it and doing tastings. It’s actually pretty good, and might make a good base for home made vanilla. Having secured a bottle, and being a bit peckish, we hit one of the bars, Pirates In Paradise, on the beach to grab a snack, a beer, and use their wifi. The bar’s owner is an American expat and a huge Ohio State fan, which is what drew us in. He even has an inflatable buckeye mascot out front.

We then returned to the ship and did our dinner and walking laps routine.