Stranger in a Strange Land

I'm wearing a red bracelet. It's basically a piece of string with a small wooden label that reads "sonesta". Normally you wouldn't look twice at this bracelet... but just a few days ago it held immense power. I could walk into any bar and demand whatever drink I wanted, and the bracelet used some kind of jedi mind trick to force the bartenders to give me the drink for free. Of course, this was in a far away land called St. Maarten. Since my return, I've worn the bracelet to Dunkin Donuts, 7-11, and my local cafeteria... but they always make me pay. I guess the magic wears off when you leave the island. Just in case, I think I'll keep it on a bit longer.

This past week, I traveled to the Caribbean for a destination wedding. Most of our time was spent at a private resort filled with swimming pools, private beaches, and beautiful sunsets. But if you walked just a few blocks away you'd find yourself in another land. You would suddenly be in a third world country; filled with poverty and dilapidation. As we drove around in our high-class tour bus, I was shocked to see the people and houses. How could such a beautiful island be so ugly and poor? I always imagined life on a tropical island would be filled with hammocks and drinks in coconut shells.

For the rest of the trip, we stayed on the resort. Here are some highlights of St. Maarten:

1. The pool had a bar attached to it. All you had to do was swim up and order something. Combine that with my Jedi mind-trick bracelet and I never wanted to leave. Of course, that resulted in some serious sunburn after a few hours.
2. They have Cuban Cigars. Cheap Cuban Cigars. On average, I smoke one cigar per year (I know...I'm a wild man) but I felt the need to indulge this once.
3. The island is filled with nude beaches. Enough said.
4. After our first meal (of a burger and a sandwhich) came to nearly $40 in the resort, we went in search of cheaper cuisine. And we found it. About half of the meals we ate on the island came from Subway. It looked just like the Subways we have here except they serve beer.

Overall it was a good trip, but I don't think I'd want to go back. Next time, J-Love and I will stick with a cruise. That was a much better trip.