Remember that post on St. Thomas, USVI about how plans can change and you have to make the most of it? WELL, our excursion for Philipsburg was cancelled as well. Literally minutes before we were walking out the door, they called and cancelled due to high winds. I was super excited about this excursion too. We were going to be crewing an America’s Cup 12-meter sailboat in a race with other sailboats. But high winds came in to ruin the day. Darn it! But unlike St. Thomas, I didn’t have any other ideas for this port. Basically, we were without plans for the first time in a long time on a trip. So what did we do? We followed the crowd of people that just chill in town and off we went, on the water taxi, to Philipsburg.
This next picture pretty much sums up Philipsburg for me. These people are working it! We were approached constantly trying to get us to go on this excursion, buy this article of clothing, sit in our lounge chairs for this much money. I am not a fan of this kind of thing. I have a hard time telling someone no to their face and it makes me uncomfortable to do so. This was my least favorite part of the whole trip. 🙁
I took pictures as we walked through the town to the beach. There were lots of shops and places to eat. I heard people talking about some fun drinks they had while relaxing in the bars. There was even a church right off the beach if you needed that. 🙂
You can see the difference in weather from when we arrived till when we left. The winds really did start rolling in and I was glad I wasn’t on a sailboat! Especially with a whole bunch of people that didn’t know what they were doing. Like me! It was time to head back to the water taxi and get on the ship before the rain came.
On the way back to the ship we saw the 12-meter sailboats sitting in the water.
It would have been fun to participate in a regatta, but we ended up having a great time on the beach: jet skiing, getting massages and relaxing (pictures in my next post). Besides, we were all together in the Caribbean on vacation and we were not going to complain about that! 🙂
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I've walked through Philipsburg (hello shopping!) but have never gone to the beach there. It sounds like you had a great time!
The last time I went to St. Maarten I noticed these "vendors" were on the rise. But compared to most islands, they are very pleasant/receptive, even if you say no. Still a hassle though.
I checked out your shopping haul from Philipsburg…nice watch! St. Maarten was the only island where this happened to us. What other islands did you experience the "venders"?
The Blue Bitch Bar, what kind of name is that!
Like you I hate it too when people try to pressure sell things to you, it's like a form of aggressive begging. They should just sit/stand there showing off their wares and you'll go to them if you want a look.
The pictures make it look like a lovely place.
Isn't that a weird name? That's why I took a picture. 🙂
One of my favorite places to visit! I love Taloula Mangos and the Blue Bitch Bar! Great pics!
Thanks, Marian! I enjoyed chillin on the beach, but I would really like to do the original sailboat excursion when we go back.
Sorry to hear about your canceled excursion. I'm glad you made the most of it by having a great time on the beach. My memories of St. Maarten are vague. we were there 8 years ago with a toddler and took a tour through the town and also headed to St. Martin. That area seemed a bit more laid back. Your excursion sounded so fun! Sounds like another reason to get back to St. Maarten 🙂
Always good to get back to the Caribbean! 😉
The water there looks so beautiful! So sorry you missed your excursion, but the beach sounds like a very relaxing place to be. Thanks so much for linking up to Inspire Me Wednesday! Love finding other travelers.:)
Thanks for hosting. I'm glad I found it, lots of interesting stuff. 🙂
Great place to visit 🙂
I am not a big fan of vendors walking up to me to sell their wares either! Thats one thing I really don't like about Mexico. The regatta would have been fun but the beach here looked great too.
I like to be philosophical about things going wrong. Glad to had a great day on the beach anyway. It looks like a nice casual place.
That's what travel is all about – and I think expecting the odd blip to happen changes your mindset. Looks like a beautiful place to wonder around.
I hate when things change but it seems you recovered well.
The beach looks so inviting. Love all that vibrant color.
Love cruising and ports of call – love snorkeling the best visiting from Photo Thursday
That's too bad that your excursion was canceled. The beach looks nice, and the town looks extremely quiet.