Saint Martin Trip Report -- Day Five September 21, 2015

Good evening from Mont Vernon,

I don’t think I will ever bad-mouth Comcast again. I don’t know who the cable provider for our studio is, but they have severely throttled the upload speed. I have spent the last hour and a half uploading five photos to my photo server. My old 3g cellular service was better than this.

But what are you going to do? I guess even the electrons in Saint. Martin are on island time. Either that, or they are struggling to fight their way out of the deep gravity well of the phenomenon called ‘Sand Gravity’. You know, that’s the feeling you get while sitting on the beach. Things become less important, time seems to slip away, and the stresses of the real-world slowly dissolve, and retreat into a more, and more distant part of reality, and soon they are forgotten…

Well, I’m happy to say that Sand Gravity has us firmly in it’s grip. Suddenly the rigors of work and everyday problems that Diana and I face daily aren’t so important. That’s part of the magic of this place we call Saint Martin.

Saint Martin must be at the epicenter of the Sand Gravity vortex; for nowhere else that we have traveled do we feel it stronger.

Well, now that we have established that, please allow me to relate our day in the grip of that phenomenon.

This day started like our previous days so far on the island, except this morning instead of waking up at 4:00 am -- I was wide awake and ready to go at 3:00am. What’s up with that? Without a clue as to why I should be up and functioning at at this hour of the morning, I set about making coffee.

Eventually I wandered out to the balcony, and suddenly I knew why I was up. Somehow the stars had worked their way into my slumber and nudged me gently from my bed.

I was greeted by the mighty hunter Orion, his club raised in one hand and his shield in the other. Accompanied by his faithful dog Canis Major with his heart Sirius, the brightest star of them all as seen from our world. The little dog Canis Minor, was also present, nipping at the heels of his master, as they stalked Taurus, the bull.

Overseeing this cosmic hunt, the goddess Venus perched on high shone with a light that reflected on the waters of Orient Bay, as she preceded the coming of dawn.

As I was watching this spectacle in the sky, I realized why I was awake; I was up at this early hour to witness the beauty of the heavens, and to thank God that I was able to see it.

Soon the black of night started giving way to the deep Purples, brilliant Oranges, pale Yellows, and deep Reds of the coming dawn. I got my camera and brought it out to acclimate from the cool of the studio to the warmth and humidity of the outside world. I was not disappointed, as the sunrise this morning was one to remember.

All too soon the Sun broached the distant horizon, and the spectacle that pulled me out of my bed so early was over. Sometimes, you are reminded of your place in the universe, and this morning was one of those times.

So by the time the sky show was over, Diana was up and having her coffee, as we contemplated our day on the beach. This morning we stopped at the little bakery in the village and bought some chocolate croissants to take to the beach. They were very good, and coupled with beauty of Orient Bay, the day was continuing to be a good one.

Earlier in the week, we meet our ‘chair neighbors’ and we all arrived at about the same time. For the whole day we exchanged stories about family, and our experiences in this magic vortex of ‘Sand Gravity’ called Saint Martin.

Today this new group of friends pretty much closed out the beach, then we all retreated to our homes away from home with the promise that we would meet each other again tomorrow.

So we retreated back to our studio, for a much needed shower. We decided earlier that we would be staying in again this evening. After showering, and eating a snack, Diana was soon napping after battling the continuous pull of Sand Gravity all day.

While my dear, and precious to me, wife slumbered I prepared a simple meal in the studio. Once our evening repast was ready, I awakened Diana, and we enjoyed our meal on the balcony as another perfect day in Saint Martin wound down.

Now as write this, I feel the tiredness that comes from fun in the sun and water, making new friends, renewing old acquaintances, and sharing it with dearly loved ones.

So once again, I say to you my online friends and family, good night from Mont Vernon...

Great report, the last picture is one to remember as you said the sunrise was. Keep us posted on your adventure to the island and let the sand gravity take over as it is calming you both.

A simply beautiful report!

Thanks for another enjoyable read.

Thanks, as we read your reports we can almost feel that Gravity reaching out for us. What a great report!

Thanks folks, It's easy for me to express what's in my heart when there is so much beauty and love that surrounds me and reminds of what the most important parts of life are.

Sure we all need to toil, and struggle daily to survive, but every once in while, we all need to step back, and just enjoy life, instead of just living it...

Wonderful!

TY for your words and photos - beautiful. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Your report was so poetic! And I;d die for those sunrise photos. Great job!

You truly are an amazing writer. I am thoroughly enjoying your daily reports and cant wait for the next one.

Some of the most stunning SXM sunrise photos.

Really enjoying your reports and the wonderful pics.