So we’re coming into the home stretch of week two. Things we’ve noticed along the way.....

There is construction and construction debris everywhere but the goods news with that is things are still happening. Perhaps not as fast as some would like but they are happening.

Wrecked cars are everywhere you look and I’m not talking damaged but still drivable cars. On the sides of the roads almost everywhere there are junked vehicles so I’m guessing disposing of them is not feasible? Hopefully down the road.....

Traffic has been lighter than we usually experience this time of year but in all fairness our travels have been more limited than usual. You don’t encounter too much going from your room to the pool here at Royal Islander but we got a late start this morning and the traffic from Sandy Ground to Triple Gate area was very heavy with lots of road construction going on all over the French side.

I think they need a few BIG utility companies to come in and straighten out the utility services, particularly on the French side. How anyone can figure out what they’ve got and what they’re doing is a mystery. Some of the poles look like a spaghetti pot of wires dangling. Simply amazing......

Oops - getting late and we've got important people to see. My shower is calling me........later!!

Pat,
I think you were an owner at Alegria? I noticed a couple of weeks ago during our visit that alot of activity is going on over there. Do you think you might be making your way over near there to see what's up...perhaps when you visit the casino? smile. I understand they (owner") is re-branding the property but that's about all I know....Enjoy your reports. Thanks!

Pan,

No, not an Alegria owner. Never was nor did I ever have any intentions to be one. That’s an I’ll-fated location and IMHO, always has been as far as time sharing goes.

We were over there the other night at the Dunes and went by another day in daylight. I didn’t see a lot of activity going on during the day, nor did I see a lot of cars in the lot or lights the night we were in the casino. I tried to play real dumb and asked one of the casino waitresses if the mess that would be Alegria was from Irma or if she knew what was going on and she pleaded total ignorance. I was actually thinking about you when I asked. We’ll be staying over that way in a few days and if I do see or hear anything worth sharing I will certainly let you know.

Pat, I thought y’all were owners at the towers, by the golf coarse. If so, we’ve not heard a lot about the construction going on over there from your reports. (If your still an owner) Just asking, it was always a nice looking building. Really just curious about your observations. Sounds like y’all have had a great trip, enjoy the rest, have fun and enjoy!

hmmmm. Sorry, I thought you were an Alegria owner. My apologies. Anyway, the saga continues...thanks for your note though. Enjoy your time on St Maarten.

SXMFOX,

We are Towers owners. I haven’t said much about construction going on there because, though we’ve gone over or by there several times, and we have been told construction has resumed, we’ve not seen any sign up it happening. No cranes to the roof and no workmen up there that we could see, which isn’t to say we couldn’t have missed the activity but we saw nothing.

The new high rise being built just beyond but on the same side as the Towers after their driveway but before med school has cranes and workers galore as does the Cupecoy Beach Resort across the road and you can see physical activity everywhere, but not at the Towers. The STARZ Casino has a new main level of ‘green’ concrete poured and curing, but not the Towers.

Panman,

No problem. I wish I had something good to tell you but I don’t want to start any rumors or spread misinformation.

Thanks pat, we too have seen a lot of construction in that area. We were just curious, have a great vacation!

I am pretty sure the road construction and 'spaghetti' wires on the French side are related. There is a big push on that side to run fiber op throughout the French side, and I think as long as they're at it, they are running electric service in the trenches they create running the fiber op. We were there for February and March and the electrical service was as good as we experience in the states; no outages.

We haven’t experienced any outages, power or water, since we’ve been here. Would they ever consider putting everything electrical underground?

I believe underground is safer and less likely to be effected by weather (read: hurricanes). Since the fiber op is being run underground, all the utilities are in the same location for maintenance.

I don't think so since it's been that way since last year just after Irma. In some places (Marigot) it was that way before Irma. Hubby always remarked as we passed one of those messes that we couldn't get away with that in USA.

Just a note to those who are tempted (as U.S. citizens) to feel superior: When the task of burying utilities is completed on the French side -- assuming it is -- then the French side of St. Martin will be way ahead of most neighborhoods in the U.S., where our overhead lines are vulnerable to wind storms and ice damage.

Absolutely. We don't have underground utilities here where I live in Florida.

We do! Yay.

I can’t speak for anyone but myself but I am doubtful any of the U.S. citizens posting here are tempted to feel superior just because they have underground electrical services.

Fortunate? - yes. Happy? - sure. But superior? I used to work for NYSE&G and to most of us who worked for this power company, underground services were indicative of newer properties but certainly nothing to feel superior over. Am I missing something here?

And I only wish we all had underground services, particularly last May when we experienced that devastating microburst that swept through our town and left us power-less for weeks and did so much damage in our community.

Don't know where this came from but I for one don't feel "superior" to any other nation. But I do expect, as an American, to be treated with the respect duly earned from the blood shed during two World Wars.