Road Town, Tortola

WE SPENT NEARLY the entire day in port yesterday at beautiful St. Maartens where, for the first time since Sunday, our feet touched dry land. Both staff and cruisers had the day off, so I went ashore with Victorino Matus, Catherine Lowe, and Tina Winston. We rented a Jeep, took the top off, and set out in search of a pristine beach and a good lunch.

Tina and Catherine were in charge, respectively, of driving and navigation, which suited me just fine since the islands don’t have traffic laws so much as traffic suggestions. Cars go where they will, when they will, with little regard to safety, courtesy, or common sense. St. Maarten is a little like Los Angeles in that way. (Our ship’s tourism summary puts the situation more romantically: “the activity remains distinctly Caribbean–evident in the un-orchestrated rhythm that seems to course through the streets.”)