A day of air-plane watching: St. Maarten wowed

Posted by IrieDiva on Feb 9, 2012 in Family | 0 comments

Don’t you just hate long airport layovers? One flight lands at 8:30am and the next flight takes off at 5:30pm??? Boooo! Well usually. But this was the best layover I have ever had. All airports should be beside beaches! We landed, we had yummy coffee, quiches and fruit for breakfast in Princess Julianna airport in St. Maarten and I started to chant “beach, beach, beach!” There was another family at a table playing cards (on of my favourite past-times) and a lady came around and handed us flyers with some very inviting massage and spa services but I spotted the beach when landing and it was looking good! We were all tired from a long night before and the thought of laying out was very appealing.

The cab charged us the tourist fare as the beach is literally steps away but we had our luggage so I didn’t side-eye him too much. We were dropped off at a spot called Sunset Bar and Grill which boasts that it was selected the number 3 sexiest beach bar by the Travel Channel. I was digging the ambiance. The bar was just opening up and we took the opportunity to catch some well needed snoozes while the staff wiped tables and watered plants around us.

Around lunch time the bar really started to fill up. A band came in to sing some reggae covers and the vibe of the place was really kicking! We went to take a stroll on the beach and then I remembered that this particular airport was featured on this list of the world’s most dangerous airports! Cool! Wanna know why? Cause you’re out catching some rays on the absolutely gorgeous beach, meanwhile a few feet up above….

People ignored the signs and were totally lining up whenever the big jets were preparing to take off so that they could feel the powerful airplane blast. It was crazy. I felt as if I were at some sporting event. I did not partake in the jet-blast party but I do have video

At some point in the day the air traffic really picked up and they were coming in back to back. You could see the planes circling up above waiting their turn. It was a totally awesome day.

There was supposed to be a plane in the background here but our kind photographer missed the mark. ’tis all good. This lady was positively pink by the time we decided to head back to the bar for lunch…too much sun!