Just checking in to see what the wind conditions are on St. Maarten. It's blowing like crazy here - so much so that after about an hour and a half of getting sand blasted on Shoal we moved inside at Gwenns for lunch and spent the rest of our afternoon at our pool visiting with some other regular visitors.
The beach situatiation on this small part of Shoal is pretty sad. Last year at this time we were shocked to see the beach had eroded more in front of Gwenn's but you could still put a lounge chair on the beach if you really wanted to go to the trouble and you could still catch a little shade under a remaining palm tree or two. This year you cannot even walk on the beach in front of Gwenns; a few of the palm trees are gone and a few more are close to it; the spa there is totally undermined by the wave action and the management is afraid it's going to be gone one of these days. It's sad to see and quite truthfully, while Sunday afternoon at Gwenn's is still the place to be, I fear for them long term because people can't walk the beach like they used to - perhaps the wind is a contributing factor - but I can't see how this end of the beach can prosper given the current state of things. I'm glad Tap and Gwenn still have their hammocks and tables in the cocanut grove there but it's not able to get the same overall exposure it used to get.
We had seriously considered staying at Serenity right next door to us this year - it's a beautiful property but the fact of no pool was a minor turn-off to us and the deciding factor in our not doing so, and as things have turned out, I'm so very glad we're where we are since the weather/wind conditions here have really turned us into pool people yesterday and today.
But for sure, I'm definitely thinking about the crossing back to SXM on Wednesday if the seas are still running like this. It's never been an issue for us before but I can't help but think about it...... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Sick.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Sick.gif" alt="" />!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" />
