Pat's report - which had a comment about the dump fire - has prompted me to post a supplemental rant to my report.

On Friday, April 15 -we had gotten back to Divi from the snorkel excursion. The wife (of course) wanted to snorkel more at Divi - I walked up to Fort Amsterdam. When I got up there, what attracted my attention was the fact that the dump was blazing - real blazing flames shooting into the sky - heavy black smoke pouring into the air. A little smoke - sure - that is a very frequent and common thing to see. But this was a rather spectacular fire. The fact that the dump is situated right in Philipsburg - an incredibly ugly eyesore - spewing out heavy metals and God knows what else into the air - is absolutely unbelievable. At least it is unbelievable if you believe that the government of Sint Maarten has any sense whatever. The people of Sint Maarten who live and work downwind of this horror have been incredibly patient - resigned to another situation for which they feel completely helpless. I wonder how long that can last. I wonder what the effects on tourism would be if there were accurate reports of air quality downwind of the dump when a fire of this nature occurs.