Normal
When I go to St Maartin I cab it to the town of Marigot on the French side and find a nice cafe for lunch. At Marina La Port Royale, numerous such places with varied decors line the yacht harbor. Great quality at decent prices compared to major US cities. I'm a bit of a foodie, so the supermarkets en route from Phillipsburg (where most ships dock) to Marigot provide options to pick up prepared (i.e. you can bring them back to USA) foods from other parts of the Caribbean, Holland, and even Indonesia (because of the Dutch connection).Aruba has fascinating desert scenery and we enjoyed the bus tour offered by the cruise line. But I also talked to people who rented cars and said the driving was easy and less harrowing than some of the other islands. It is a very dry climate - think Arizona. They seem to have a good thing going there. The island was developed long after the suger slave trade set the tone on so many other islands, and you can tell. If you get off the beaten path, some Spanish would be handy. The local creole langage called Papiamento is fun to listen to. Many people consider Aruba their favorite port. The Dutch cheeses in the local markets made my mouth water, ha ha, but of course there is no practical way to bring home such treasures!
When I go to St Maartin I cab it to the town of Marigot on the French side and find a nice cafe for lunch. At Marina La Port Royale, numerous such places with varied decors line the yacht harbor. Great quality at decent prices compared to major US cities. I'm a bit of a foodie, so the supermarkets en route from Phillipsburg (where most ships dock) to Marigot provide options to pick up prepared (i.e. you can bring them back to USA) foods from other parts of the Caribbean, Holland, and even Indonesia (because of the Dutch connection).
Aruba has fascinating desert scenery and we enjoyed the bus tour offered by the cruise line. But I also talked to people who rented cars and said the driving was easy and less harrowing than some of the other islands. It is a very dry climate - think Arizona. They seem to have a good thing going there. The island was developed long after the suger slave trade set the tone on so many other islands, and you can tell. If you get off the beaten path, some Spanish would be handy. The local creole langage called Papiamento is fun to listen to. Many people consider Aruba their favorite port. The Dutch cheeses in the local markets made my mouth water, ha ha, but of course there is no practical way to bring home such treasures!
