Golden Beach Day

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

The island of Saint Martin is divided into two countries. One country - also called Saint Martin - is a “collectivity of France.” I am not sure what that means, but we did not go to that part of the island. We went to Sint Maarten, a “constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.” (Of course we did - this is a Holland America ship.) Our ship docked in Philipsburg, the capital of Sint Maarten.

We were taken to another dock, a five-minute walk away, where we boarded our catamaran, Golden Eagle III. This is probably our third time going on a tour with this tour provider. This tour is all about relaxing and enjoying the sun, sand and beautiful azure water.

There were about 50 or 60 passengers joining the tour on the Golden Eagle III today and the catamaran did not feel crowded. To start, we motored to a nearby reef for snorkeling. Ken and I did not wish to snorkel, so we just lolled on the deck while about half of our complement snorkeled for 45 minutes, accessing the water via a ladder at the back of the boat.

Just look at the color of that water!

During this break, I started thinking about catamarans, and about the word “catamaran,” and I made up a little game for myself. 

How many words can I think of that begin with C-A-T-A?

The words can’t be different forms of the same word. For example, if I were thinking of words that begin with C-R-U-I, I could count cruise, but not cruising or cruises or cruised. By the end of our visit to St. Maarten, I had 10 words. You are invited to play.

After snorkeling, the catamaran sailed to Mullet Beach. Getting off was optional, but we did and loved it. We climbed down the ladder into water too deep to stand up in. I borrowed a noodle from the catamaran and we swam to shore. One of the crew from the catamaran was there with a zodiac for anyone who might need help. 

We managed to swim to the beach without needing to be rescued, and we sat in the sand and let the warm waves wash over us. Aaaaaaaaahhh.

Meanwhile, back on the catamaran, it looked like this:

We were served rum punch (or beer) by the crew, along with sandwiches, while we sailed back to the marina. Everything about this excursion was just right, and I would readily do it again.

Upon disembarking from the Golden Eagle III, we decided to take a taxi into Philipsburg so we could look around and look for a couple of geocaches.  Philipsburg is a cute, tidy, slightly Dutch-looking little town with a lot of shops catering to tourists.

The main shopping street

This clock might be wrong

We decided to walk back to the cruise terminal, about a mile and a half away. It was pretty hot by this time. Approximately every thirty seconds a taxi passed us and wanted to know if we needed a taxi - all the way back. Sometimes the driver would shout to us through the window, but often the driver would stop his taxi, jump out, and run back to us to see if we might possibly want a taxi. We found one of the two geocaches as we walked back, so it was worth it to walk.

In the evening, we attended a concert by pianist David Howarth. He played my favorite movie themes. Well, actually they weren’t my favorite movie themes, but that’s what they wanted me to think. 

Upon returning to our room, we were greeted by some new towel art:

Today’s fabric is Pink Catamaran, by mia_valdez for Spoonflower.