Lundi 02.04.07 Double Dutch
Bring. Bring. Ohhhh. Our hotel phone is ringing. Should I answer that? It’s Nic next door. She has been sick all morning and is going to stay put for the time being. She misses out on a spectacular breakfast but there’ll be plenty of time to play catch-up. John, Heather and I regroup to plan some excursions during our trip. I want to go to Saba but unfortunately the boat service has stopped as not enough people want to go there. Anguilla and St. Barths are our other options so we take notes and prices of Jean-Claude, who reminds me so much of Basil Fawlty – without the crumbling surroundings.
John calls home to see how the cattle are doing. The weather in Ireland is only wonderful and his little pregnant calf has finally calved; teenage pregnancy exists in the animal kingdom too it seems.
Nic’s feeling well enough to make a move so we take a taxi with Romano into Marigot. Money is exchanged and we browse around a few shops before deciding to hit the Dutch side and its capital Philipsburg. We hop unto a local taxi-bus, The Rolling Stone, to listen to Jesus radio and his disciples who manage to wriggle money out of Nicola. We’re soon gathering speed and passengers as we zip along the immaculate roads past cheesy election posters and advertisements with ridiculous slogans. Welders have a hot rod! Outside the shopping capital we spy a Heineken plane pub, pigs and goats at loggerheads and plenty of flag-waving election campaigners.
Philipsburg is a shopper’s paradise. You can snap up the best brands and swankiest labels without giving your credit-card a migraine. I’m not really in the spending or tourist-shoving zone so I snoop around the jewellery stores trying on ridiculously €XP€NSIV€ bracelets and rings. We wander around and get lost numerous times before regrouping for grub at the Blue Bitch. It’s soon time for a dip so it’s out with our baps and snorkels before hopping back on a bus to Marigot with our bags of goodies.
Tonight is Casino night at the hotel so we decide to spend some more at Casino Royal in Maho Bay. Stanley’s courtesy taxi drops us off in the hub of bright lights and high heels. Although we’re here for a flutter we don’t want to spend all our dosh on food before hitting the jackpot so we opt for a modest dinner of egg-fried rice and Cantonese style chicken… There’s more shopping done in The Barter Shop before we actually set foot in the Casino. It’s only after two beers that John and I find out that the refreshments are free. I have some luck of the Irish on a Leprechaun themed slot machine and then John and I strike it lucky with our $10 bet at the roulette as we pick up $88 between us! We stop while we’re ahead and rescue the girls who are trying to master the dice-rolling green carpet game. They’re green with envy at our win but we’re all in high spirits at the hotel bar as we knock back more Baileys and munch on complimentary spicy sausages; they’re free for a reason.
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