Barbara, and everybody,
if you want to see picture of the aftermath of Luis go on my blog at :

Hurricane Luis, 12 years ago Today...

Be prepare there are a lot of pictures, they are not the best quality since they are scanned pictures but says a lot... click on them to view them enlarged and click the back button to go back on the blog...

and if everybody want to see some old pictures of what St Martin was like, once upon the time, go also to my blog but at :

Heritage

Enjoy the reading too!...

Kind Regards,
Philippe



[www.facebook.com]

They do bring back memories, Philippe. But I thing the picture that still tells the whole story is that satellite image of the storm. I'm just glad we didn't get to see that before it hit while we were there.

It's pretty tough to follow Oldtimer's story since it's both so beautifully written and a totally factual story of the events that led to that sad time in St. Maarten/St. Martin's history. And if I'm not mistaken, this was the storm or one of them, anyway, that caused the initial creation of all that has become GoBeach - The Friendly Island Forum. Thank you, Gert.

So let me see if I can relate a little of my very first St. Maarten experience.

We were married but a few years and my husband's business was still in its fledgling stages but somehow he managed to qualify for a free all expenses paid trip for the two of us to this then almost unheard of and mostly unknown Caribbean island - St. Maarten.

In anticipation of the trip we read every single piece of literature we could put our hands on that related to the Friendly Island - Fodors and all the other travel guide books, encyclopedias, etc. (How much easier today to just spin through a few google searches on the internet.) We knew all about the sleepy little island, from it's beautiful Dutch beaches to it's then remote and (wink wink) clothing optional French beaches. We had read all there was to be found about the friendly islanders and we were so ready for this new experience.

We awaited and prepared for this trip for almost a year and finally, early November 1973, we boarded our KLM flight at JFK along with 24 other contractors and their spouses to be whisked away to this most special place - St. Maarten - St. Martin - The Friendly Island.

Finally, with all that anticipation behind us, our destination was finally in front of us. The plane touched down on the runway at Princess Juliana Airport and as the stairs were rolled out to meet the plane we caught our first glimpses - our time had finally come. As we inched closer and closer down the aisle and toward the stairway that would lead us eventually to the arrival building, that island scent that is so St. Maarten wafted up to greet us. What a first welcome.

And finally we were on the stairway and descending from the plane to the tarmac but what the heck was this?

There, at the foot of the stairs, we were greeted by soldiers in full military dress with guns in their hands and grenades hanging off their belts, encouraging us to "Run, Run" and hurry into the terminal.

As we picked up the pace and hurried across the tarmac we spotted more soldiers walking the perimeters of the airport with big dogs on leashes and as we looked to the rooftop of the original terminal building, we saw yet more soldiers, but these with big guns mounted on the roofs and balanced behind huge walls of sandbags. What was going on and what had we gotten outselves into?

After we arrived inside the terminal, we were given an explaination of sorts.

It seems there had been terrorist threats lodged against KLM Airlines and these protective measures had been taken so that no one would be able to carry out these terrible acts on this island, but since we were on KLM, we were fortunate enough to get this special royal welcoming treatment.

Needless to say, no planes were ever blown up, thank God, but it was scarcely the arrival we had expected onto the "Friendly Island".

I've never personally run across anyone else who remembers experiencing these island times and I was almost starting to think we were having a Hillary Clinton moment and we had imagined them, but finally, two or three years ago while dining with island friends, we brought it up in conversation and he, too, vaguely recalled those days and times although he couldn't remember that much of the background of the problem either.

In any event, it was a very different first introduction to St. Maarten and a far cry from the one we were expecting, but one we've never forgotten. It was also the beginning of my personal love affair with this wonderful island, Sint Maarten/St. Martin.

mom - reminds me i need to get my hands on THAT album!! love those gowns! scanner working now!!!

Pat,
You be crazy. You never told us that story before............
First time in Paris for me in 1983, full militia with machine guns at Orly. So much terrorism back then.
xxx
i

Good to see you here irina!! You still on the island?

irina is visiting here and pretending she still lives here

[barcann.livejournal.com]

She is now a SXM wannabe!!

irina Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Pat,
> You be crazy. You never told us that story
> before............
> First time in Paris for me in 1983, full militia
> with machine guns at Orly. So much terrorism back
> then.
> xxx
> i

To be totally honest with you, Irina, I was starting to wonder if it was just a figment of my imagination. Well, mine and the other 48 people we travelled with on that first trip and the only KLM flight we ever took to SXM. And I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was the same terrorist group necessitating the Orly armaments when you made it to Paris ten years later.

We mentioned this memory to D at dinner a year or two ago and he vaguely recalled the time and the problem although he was not really all that aware of how things were actually being handled at the airport, as was the case with many islanders at the time, I'm sure. And to be honest with you, once we left the airport itself, we would never have known there was anything going on there.

You have to remember, it was a very different St. Maarten back then. We were staying at the relatively new Mullet Bay Beach Resort and we rented a car only one day of our vacation and we were very content with that. We toured the island as best we could, although much of it was really pretty inaccessible because of the state of the roads, and we did P'berg in that same one day and probably still made it back to the resort for cocktail time. Would you believe, parking in P'berg was no problem and as memory serves me, you could still park on Front St. if you got lucky. We used to park the next street over and walk through an alleyway which is how we made our first acquaintance with Polly the parrot.

And as I recall, the only traffic issue we had (beyond that of goats, sheep, cows, chickens and donkeys...) was waiting for the construction crews to wave us up and over the hill where they were constructing the road that still causes such havoc to this day. They were moving the earth and it was still a dirt road under construction from the infamous Midass intersection all the way up Cole Bay Hill and it was pretty nerve wracking to be on the outer edge of that hill looking down at the valley and ultimately the ocean below you without even benefit of a guard rail.

We couldn't find many of the beaches because the roads were but paths in so much of the island but we did manage to make it to Orient Beach and that was an area beyond description. Peacefully undeveloped and pristine - no bars, no restaurants, no water trampolines or jet skiers and most important, NO CROWDS and only the occasional swimmer taking a peaceful and undisturbed swim.

These were still the days when you placed your phone call in your hotel room and had to wait a half hour or so for the operator to call you back with the connection. Or you could always drive into town and make the call from there. The stores and shops in both Marigot and Phillipsberg still closed down midday for the afternoon rest period in the height of the heat part of the day.

We didn't have TVs at the resort yet - I think they arrived in about 82-83 or so. And if you chose to leave the resort to dine most of us drove around the island and made our reservations in person because it was quicker and easier and most places didn't have phones - just a book you wrote your name and dinner time in. And yes - at the resorts at least, you dressed for dinner - full dress with ladies often in long gowns or dresses, heels and stockings and gentlemen in suits or sports jackets and some even in tuxes, and heaven forbid a gentleman attempted to enter a casino without a jacket!! And these were the days, the glorious days, before time sharing discovered St. Maarten.

And the ultimate island shocker - the departure fee to leave St. Maarten in 1973 was a whopping $2.00 per person. And yes, there were some who complained about paying it even then.

It's amazing to see how much things have changed in the last 34-35 years.

Respectfully,

pat

Pat,
so wonderful to hear of the old times. I wonder why some think I am trying to act as if I still live here. Hmm.
Cheers baby. The Orly thing was because of all the hijackings in the 80's. We went to Italy right after Achille Lauro and it was crazy I tell you.
Say hi to the brat for me.
i

irina
how does Pat remember all this stuff?
she doesn't have CRS like the rest of us?

[barcann.livejournal.com]

No. Seems like she is a good girl and that's why she can remember this stuff.
I can't remember yesterday........
Cheers
irina

Barbara, How about SXM's Lands Radoi for long distance. When we needed to call NY the LADIES would answer and say I'll call you back.Then it would take them about an hour to ring you back with your line.They also would interupt your conversation to tell you how many minutes you have been talking.They were very friendly and added so much charm to the island. In those undiscovered DAYS we really felt like we were on a carib island.Great memories. Bob

Oh God, yes, I remember those phone calls Bob.
I knew many of those ladies..all happily retired now.
It was the strangest system.
But they were the nicest women

[barcann.livejournal.com]

Barbara,Great stories from the real undiscovered SXM before the 90's & the horrible hurricians.During my first trip to SXM in the 70's SXM still had the charm of a carib airport. I'll never forget being inside and watching everyones luggage being thrown threw the rear window. The luggage fell down onto the very small carouselwhich didn't work anyway.All of us had to search for our stuff in that huge pile on the floor.Then we would run outside by the front entrance where the 4 car rental outfits had their sales windows to rent our car. Everyone ran because in those DAYS there was only a certain amount of cars to rent.When the planes left SXM and we were outside the airport it was so quiet you realized time didn't matter.There was no way to leave until the following day if a plane was coming in.We really felt like we were on an island in those DAYS.