Allamanda Beach Club The Valley

... a community feeling to it, especially because we visited in the low season, hurricane season. The steets were very quite, many shops were closed and not many tourists were visiting the island overnight. <br><br>We stayed for 2 nights and almost didn't made it back to St. Maarten because a hurricane was passing close by and the seas were too high for boats to run. So we ended up taking a plane.<br>

... We still enjoyed the sand and surf. And more importantly, we got to share these experiences with our baby. Not bad for having gone to the Caribbean within his first year of life. We braved as first-time parents, flying by ourselves, to an international destination, and that made us feel pretty good. So for our last day on the island, we drove around, exploring both the French and Dutch side ...

Most of our days were spent visiting the French side of the island. We spent a long and lazy afternoon at Le Galion Beach so our little one could play in some shallow water. It&#8217;s a perfect beach for families with small kids or infants due to the calm waters. In fact, even in the shallowest of waters we saw some fish ...

... for us. Grand Marche in Philipsburg is an excellent supermarket. Unfortunately, we didn&#8217;t get a chance to go here till our stay was almost over. But if you happen to need grocery and toiletry items, this is the place to shop. They carry several American brands of products as well as both French and Dutch items. I found all my baby needs here. They even have a separate area where they sell hundreds of cd&#8217;s from musicians both ...

... of the crew on the boats and followed our captains commands as we did our assigned tasks. My wife and myself had moderate tasks to perform, but others had more difficult tasks. We were assigned our crew positions because we are in our 50's we assumed. It worked for us. <br><br>We started our race with the other boats and our boat was in 3rd-place most of the time. With the final leg of the race approaching, we were still in 3rd-place. Our captain called for a strategic and bold ...

Howdy everyone, bit of a monster entry this time as I have been a lazy bugger and haven't done one for two weeks. Im afraid I cant remember very far back about what ive done...this island life gets to you and I pretty much always forget what day of the week it is. From what I can remember from two weeks ago I went out drinking with an American guy called Matt from North Carolina. He's about the first person close to my age that has stayed at the Arawak so ...

... good beach. As we got back in the car a guy appeared by the JCB, but again as he saw us he got on his phone and tried to cover his face so I couldnt get a good picture of him. He jumped in the JCB and sped off, the road was unpaved so he managed to get ahead of us and we eventually lost him. Good news is that they think they now have enough to prosecute those responsible....crime fighting aswell as managing disasters!! After that it was a pretty quiet week, had ...

... work for a long time. Started off with lunch at Zurra's, which is one of the most exclusive restaurants on the islands, government paid for it of course! Then we set off for a detailed look at the west end of the island and all of the potential risk sites. It was interesting to see all of the resorts up close...so much wealth! Also to have a good look at all of the fabulous beaches (will add some photos soon!). We went down to a place called Sandy Ground, on the north of the island ...

... the bar, and if I wasn't checking out a different beach, I wanted to see at least a different end of it. The music was great, the food and drinks even better. Word got out that I was from Minnesota, and the next thing I know there is a couple from MN wondering if I know their nephew, who lives in the same town as I do. Shouldn't be a surprise that I don't, but hey, we're on vacation, we're now friends, and its all good!

... 6 am flight (no need to check in 2 hours early at this airport!). Our boarding time comes and goes, with no staff in sight, quite a few people outside, and a waiting area full of impatient passengers. An announcement is finally made, apparently there is an oxygen leak on the plane. A quieter announcement heard only to those around me is that mechanics having been working all night on the other stranded plane. Great. The truck with the ...