St. Maarten, a hike, and Dinner at Palo Made the Day Alright!
It was our first port of call, St. Maarten. So we were up early! We received a delightful wake-up call from the Big Cheese, Mickey, himself.
DH, DD, and I had breakfast at Topsiders, and we watched our ship dock. We also watched the other cruise ships dock that morning. It was a nice way to start the day.
It was time for our excursion, Mountain Top Downhill Rainforest Trek. We met my sister, her husband, and my dad at Rockin’ Bar D at 8 AM. There, we got our sticker and the Paddle of Power led us off the ship to our tour guide. Let’s just call him, BB, Bossy Britches. He told us that this was a very difficult hike, and that if that was an issue, we should leave now. Then, the speed walking began. We all hustled to keep up with BB. He stopped in front of the restrooms and said, “If you are huffing and puffing now, the hike may not be for you.” Well, we were all huffing and puffing, but we all dared to stay. Next, he said, “You will only have two opportunities to use the restroom now and at the end of the two hour hike.” None of us moved; maybe, it was out of fear, or we didn’t know that we were supposed to do something. Then, he said again, “You will only have two opportunities to use the restroom NOW and at the end of the two hour hike.” Okay, we got the message. We needed to use the facilities now. We all scattered like ants to the restrooms. Okay, BB did not remember that we, ladies, needed to squat, which requires a bit more time. So, when we emerged from the restroom, BB was already at the bus with the majority of gentlemen.
Now, it was time to enjoy the bus ride. BB was very informative. He told us about the unique history of this island under two flags. After a 45-minute bus ride, we arrived at the abandoned sugar plantation. Next, we picked out our walking sticks. It has to be below your heart or something. I did not master Walking Stick 101. Next, we all enjoyed our E-ticket jeep ride uphill. It was a bumpy ride. Our bottoms flew off our seats dozens of times. When we got to the top of the hill, we enjoyed the amazing view. Wow, breathtaking, but no time to soak it in…We were here for a hike, remember. So we started our slippery and wet or was it slippery and loose hike through the rainforest. The scenery was beautiful, but I spent most of time looking at my feet and ground trying to motor plan my next few steps on the ancient trial.
Now, we were hiking down our first steep of many slippery and loose sections of the trial, and my dad lost his balance and fell down the hill. Crisis! It was scary at first to see your 70+year old father fall downhill: legs flying in the air as he rolled over his walking stick, which caused it to break in half. Okay, Dad was laughing and fine, so now we were all laughing as visions of the medevac helicopter left my mind. Next, up…DD fell, and my dad went to help her, and what happened again? Dad fell one more time for old time sake. Crisis #2! Both were okay, but we could not stop laughing.
By now we were in the back of the pack (Like the back of the class). We were off task and not listening to the directions: “Tall go left, and short go right.” We had no clue. The rest of the hike was uneventful. Oh, but the spiders were a bit of a crisis. There were these big spiders that made huge webs that hung over the trail. We had to duck so we would not visit the spider’s homes. I just closed my eyes and walked (praying that there were no jumping spiders). The hike came to an end with a glass of rum punch. We made it!
The family memories of this excursion were priceless…Great laughs. BB was very informative, but I could not concentrate on what he said because I was too focused on staying vertical. Would I recommend this excursion? Yes, but it was a workout. Also, Throw fashion out the window and don’t wear Vans. My DD was slipping all over the place because she was wearing her Vans.
We arrived back at the port for a little shopping. The trip was short because we were hungry, and our legs started to shake. My DH and BIL decided to have a few drinks at a local bar, but the girls hobbled back to the Magic. We grabbed lunch at Pluto’s and enjoyed people watching on deck 9. Soon it was naptime.
That evening dinner was at Palo’s with my parents, sister, and her husband. DD was thrilled that she did not have to have dinner with her family, and she could hang out in the Vibe instead. Okay, back to Yummy Palo’s. Annie Marie was our server again. The food, the drinks, and the company were fabulous. The grand finale was the chocolate soufflé and the tiramisu. Confession time: We had both!
Tired and full... We turned in early, but first, we completed our room service card for breakfast. Because if we didn’t? We would’ve gone over nine hours without food. Oh, where was DD? She was at the Vibe.
Breakfast at Topsiders with St. Maarten in the background
Welcome to St. Maarten
We are ready to hike!
Meet Mr. BB!
We made it!
Raven was happy to get back on the Magic.
It was time for Palo for one last time this cruise.
So in love with each other and Palo.
Dessert times two!
There were always surprises in our FE.
