Sunday, May 20, 2012

Our Little Trip To Paradise – Wrap-Up

It was a great trip to Sint Maarten and I’m glad I went this time but I don’t yet know if I’m at the “been-there-done-that” stage or if I’ll need another trip or two.  I thought I’d wrap up with a little geography using Goodge Earth beginning with a close up and working further away so you can see where we were.  But first here are a couple of shots of cruise ships that passed by nearly every day.

The first Google Earth shot is a close up of the Royal Palm Beach Vacation Resort at Simpson Bay in the center of the shot (V shaped).  The bay and open sea is at the bottom and the lagoon and boat moorage are at the top - note the large motor yachts.  Our room was just left of center and we watched the boat parade down the canal after the draw bridge opened.

This is a wider shot, with the resort still in the center showing more of the lagoon and the airport.

This view shows the entire Dutch side and part of the French side, including the Dutch capital of Phillipsburg and the French capital of Marigot, where we took the water taxi across the lagoon to dinner at the French restaurant.

This next shot is of the whole island including Grand Case where we had lunch at LOLO’s and Orient Beach.

Then a little bigger shot showing the islands in the immediate area.

An even wider view.

And finally a shot showing most of the Eastern Caribbean – that’s Cuba in the upper left. 

The island is about 1200 miles ESE of Miami.

I hope you’ve enjoyed going on vacation with us and I would definitely recommend a trip there if you like the islands.  And if you want a little more upscale place to stay, there is always La Samanna Luxury Resort and Spa on the French/Dutch border over-looking the ocean.  You’ve just got to check out their site (above link) for the shocking sticker prices starting at $995/night for a room.

Remember the chili powder giveaway.

All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.



Larry

8 comments:

  1. Thank you Larry. Nice perspective. I always have to look at a globe to get my bearings of where places are. I feel like my life is on hold with things the way they are with my mom. It's been two years since we've been able to take a vacation ... one of these days we'll get back in the swing of things.

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  2. Great perspective Larry. I love Google Earth. I love google maps too. I've walked all over Paris on my virtual tour. Looking forward to next week.

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  3. Thanks for taking us with you to the islands, Larry. As you know, we went on a cruise to the South Caribbean and even had some time at St. Maarten. It's a gorgeous area. Not sure we'll ever get back there again...

    Happy Sunday.
    Betsy

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  4. Larry, We love islands...and we'd love to explore them all in the Carribean and elsewhere...on our time schedule. Of course, we'd have to come into a bunch of money first! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

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  5. We've never been to St. Marteen but it's a place I hear and now can see through your photos that it is quite beautiful! All island escapes work for me! Nice that you and Bev get to travel so much!

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  6. I've enjoyed this entire series. I like the way you've used Google Earth to show us where you were and where the island is. The whole series was wonderful.

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  7. Larry, I'm a bit of a geography and map nut so these photos are always cool... I still love the runway for the airport...starting right at the beach and headed directly at the mountains! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

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