Flying from BWI to SXM is never easy. A 5:45 am flight with AA on Sunday, April 22 got us to Miami. Our flight to SXM got in 10 minutes early fight before a big KLM flight arrived. Immigration was slow as we were in the back of the plane. Then a lot of the KLM passengers were residents so they got served quicker than us tourists. Interestingly, most of the KLM residents were men. Our bags were already on the floor by the ropes when we got there. After that we got our rental car and drove to Marigot where we were staying with friends.

Monday was very cloudy so it was a day to get organized. The Super U in Marigot was well stocked with food, but very crowded. It also requires a euro coin to get a cart. We went inside and a security guard gave us a token to use. We had to pay 10 cents for bags as well. We had to wait 10 minutes to exit as it was pouring outside. Later I took a long walk into Marigot for exercise and to see the damages. The old pier was in pretty good shape, but the new curved part that protects the big yachts was a bit beat up. Someone must have saved money by not putting in reinforcing rods in the 8 inches of concrete walkway. But it looks like the breakwall really saved some of the downtown areas. Other sections of town South of the breakwall got hit really hard. Parts of the cemetery wall were missing as well. Marigot had major issues before Irma. Now it has more.

Tuesday was better weather, so after some chores we headed to Orient Beach. Good crowd at Perch Lite. We got there after noon and got the last umbrella. There were plenty of chairs. Two chairs and an umbrella cost $18. They were doing the euro 1 to 1 with the US dollar. There were a lot of textiles cruising the beach when we got there but three vans took away most of them. I also saw taxis waiting for customers at the Perch tables. The day was good until I backed the rental car into a tree at the Club O parking area.

Wednesday my wife had more chores to do, so I drove to Orient Beach by myself. It was more like the Club Orient Beach that I am use to. I would say the beach was about 98 percent nude. I would say that there were about 30-40 umbrella there. Up the beach past where Pedro's used to exist I could see two small areas with umbrellas. My wife had heavy rain in Marigot. Lucky for me I only had a few drops of rain.

Thursday was another late start to Perch Lite. There was a ship in port, but the crowd was almost entirely nude. It may be that some cruise ship excursion are bring people by to see the famous nude beach at Orient Bay. But I did not see any today.

Friday another big shopping day at the Super U and after we went with our friends to a buffet lunch on the Dutch side. I took a break from the sun. I also spent a lot of time on the phone with my credit card company making my claim for the broken fender.

Saturday was a beach day for me at Perch Lite. Not as many people were there. Mostly nude. Saturday must be a major day for people coming and going. I walked the entire length of the beach. The seaweed got heavier the farther North I walked. The area by Mount Vernon had about 20 feet of thick sea weed on beach and at least that much in the water. I saw two groups of umbrellas just past Pedro's. After that I saw maybe 20 people scattered along the beach. It was not inviting past the pile of rocks. All the beach bars are completely gone. Palm Beach was a concrete structure so some of it is still standing, but not the roof. I saw no sign of life at Mount Vernon.

Sunday was family day in Marigot with our friends. I took advantage of the light traffic to report the damage to the rental car at Hertz.

Monday started out rainy. My wife dropped me off at Perch Lite and had a ladies day getting her nails done with her friend. After a brief rain it was a windy but good beach day. No umbrellas up anywhere else but Club O. I walked the beach again. There were so few people on the beach I decided that I could walk nude from the pile of rocks to Mount Vernon. I only passed 4 people after the rocks. This was carnival day on the Dutch side, but I do not think may locals come to Orient Beach.

Tuesday. What a difference a day makes. It was a holiday on both the French and Dutch sides, May 1, Labor Day. Plus there were two cruise ships in port. Another great day for the beach. Almost all of the chairs and umbrellas were in use. Plus other people came with their own chairs and umbrellas. Van loads of cruise ship people came and went. I did not leave the Club Orient Beach area, but I saw about 20 umbrellas North of Pedro's. I would say that about 80 percent of the people were nude at the Club O area. I did my best to help out Club O. I rented chairs 6 days and had lunch at the Perch 5 days.

Wednesday time to leave. I heard that a major front may be moving in. It was cloudy early, then it cleared up. By the time we left for the airport it was pouring. Fortunately for us, the rain was light when we got to the airport and when we boarded the plane. The flight was on time but the 1:45 we had to make our connection in Miami was hectic.