Airport Beach
16th April 2012
We’d been planning this day for a very long time. In true
tradition, we finally managed to getting around to it on our last trip to St.
Maarten. We were heading to Airport Beach to jet blast.
Meeting up on the gangway, Steph, Mike, Ani, Kate, Inna and
myself headed out into the St. Maarten sun. Within minutes you could feel the
sun roasting your skin. No wonder people come back to the ship with third
degree burns!
The journey to Airport Beach or as the locals know it, Maho
Beach, was a bit expensive. The more people, the cheaper the taxi fare. As
there were six of us, the twenty minute drive would cost us $18 return. If it’s
just you on your own, you can expect to pay around $12-15 - each way.
Maho Beach is situated on the Dutch side of the island. Most
cruise ships will dock on the French side. The thing that makes Airport Beach
special is that it’s supposedly, the only place in the world where you can jet
blast. The landing strip at Princess Juliana Airport and the beach is separated
by two very narrow lanes for road traffic to pass through.
At first, when we arrived at Airport Beach we thought we’d missed
the big commercial plane. Luckily enough, it was delayed and we’d be there for
its arrival. In the meantime, smaller air craft were flying in every ten to
fifteen minutes. Sunbathers had worried expressions of their faces on a couple
of occasions at the sight of an aircraft coming in incredibly low. There were a
couple of times when I was dubious as to whether the plane would make it over
the barbed wire fences, barricading the landing strip off to us adrenaline
junkie tourists.
Every time a plane came into view, the beach goers would
grab their cameras and sprint along the beach, situating themselves adjacent to
the landing strip. There were cheers, people jumping around and others simply
staring in amazement at the scenes unfolding before us.
Watching a roaring plane, no matter how small or large, fly
only metres above your head, witnessing the wheels eject from the belly was an unbelievable
rush! Words failed me at the time and thinking back, they still do!
Returning to the bar, while waiting for another plane to
arrive, Ani came over, just before I arrived at our table. “Look at the
guy sitting at the table in front of us. It’s Richard Hammond!” Glancing over,
it didn’t look like it was Richard Hammond, until I got a little closer. She was
right! Top Gear’s Richard “Hamster” Hammond was sitting at the table in front
of us, almost huddled into a corner trying to keep out of the public view. With
him were two men, the three of them seemed engrossed in discussion about
shooting angles and how long the planes get when landing. By the looks of it,
they were researching for a future episode of Top Gear.
Finding Kate, I told her that Ani had spotted Richard
Hammond. She came over to make sure we hadn’t made a mistake. Obviously, he
looked very different from TV. His hair wasn’t styled, in fact it was smoothed
down as if to cover his face, large, dark sunglasses on and wearing scruffy
clothes. Although we wanted to get our photo taken with him, we resisted,
simply because, you only had to take one look at him, to see he was doing is
best to stay out of everyone’s eyesight and remain unnoticed. It wasn’t long
until the three of them left.
Airport Beach Bar
Mike was like a kid at Christmas, wishing for one of the few
474s to land. Kate being the dount that she is, forgot her swimming gear so was
walking the beach taking photos with her Canon 500D. Ani, who isn’t the
strongest swimmer, decided to chill out on the beach and recharge her
batteries. Steph and Inna were stuffing themselves with non-Mess food.
Looking at the colour of the sea, I had to get in. The waves
were high and sent you bobbing up into the air. It felt great to be in the sea,
soaking up the sun and generally enjoying life. Trying to get out of the sea
was a real challenge. I hadn’t noticed just how strong the currant was. As soon
as a wave took you to the shore and you tried to walk out, the currant was
sucking you back in again. Sometimes it felt like you were frozen to a stop
while the sand and pebbles raced past your feet and ankles, back into the sea.
Looking back, there were a couple of massive waves coming and I was right in
the breaking point. There was only one thing to do, dive into the wave and wait
until the sea calmed down again, before attempting to get out. Just as I dived
into the wave, it broke, sending me circling in the swirl and crashing against
the sand below me. The others on the beach were rolling up laughing as I
staggered out from the sea, after being hit by two breaking waves (I couldn’t
get in deep enough out of the breaking point or out of the sea all together).
My hair was all over the place and I was sporting a striking resemblance to
Cousin IT from the Addams Family. No wonder the others didn’t want to get in
the sea, especially after seeing me get chucked around. Still, after a while, I
wadded back in for around round. Sometimes the waves were so high, I lost sight
of the shore whilst bobbing up and down.
Run for your Life!
In the distance, a plane was heading our way. It was a 747,
one of the commercial planes Mike had been waiting for. Ani and I were there,
cheering and throwing our hands up in the air as the deafening roar of the
engines grew louder and louder. Steph and Inna were running along the beach to
get to us but the plane was too fast for them. Looking up the massive plane was
directly over our heads.
The whole thing lasted less than a minute but the
whole experience of having such a huge aeroplane fly over your head and so low
was unbelievably mind blowing!! The roar from the engines became deafening as
the plane flew overhead and only highlighted the rush. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing
up on end with anticipation as the plane lowered more and more towards the
landing strip. No matter how I describe the thirty odd second ordeal, it’ll
never be enough. Words cannot describe just how amazing, yet strange it felt to
witness a plane so low, so unbelievably close and just above your head.
Jumping around, we were all over the moon and couldn’t
believe what we’d just experienced. The others arrived just as the plane
landed. The good news was, another commercial flight would be arriving soon. We
weren’t disappointed either. We were ready this time… and so was everyone else
by the looks of it. We all dived in for a group picture and the plane flew just
behind us.
Unfortunately for us, it was nearly 13.00 and we still had
some things we needed to do. We climbed into a taxi and just as we were
leaving, a plane was just about the take-off. I couldn’t believe my luck!!
Everyone was being forced to run towards the sea as the jets started up sending
out a hurricane-like stream of wind.
I’d missed jet blasting by a couple of
minutes. As much as I was disappointed, I couldn’t help but smile at what we
had experienced. You win some, lose some. I’d missed the chance to do one thing
but, instead managed to experience something else which was just as mind
blowing. I couldn’t complain!
Back on the French side of St. Maarten Mike, Kate, Ani and
myself headed towards the shops. Our mission, to find a Canon 5D Mark II. Due
to my last batch of problems with my credit card, I was sure I was to encounter
the same. Instead of buying the Canon 5D Mark II kit (camera body and 24-105mm
lens) I’d just purchase the body and a lens at another date. It’s a pathetic
way to go about things when you have the funds to do it in one go.
Unfortunately, banks are banks and beggars can’t be choosers, I guess.
Mike is by far the best person to take with you when you are
buying cameras and/or equipment. Not only does he know his stuff, but how much
things are worth and he’s a bloody good haggler! Kate did her fair share as
well and managed to get a Canon camera back pack thrown in with a $40 discount.
Of course, there were problems with the bank. Using their phone, I rang through
the England and after about 20 minutes the problem was resolved. Their excuse:
we saw someone was purchasing something worth a large sum of money in an
unknown country and as you have next to no credit card activity history, we
blocked it for security reasons. This, ladies and gentlemen is why I love banks! Don’t get me wrong, there’s an overdose of sarcasm in that comment!!
Finally, after nearly an hour, I giddily walked out of the
store with my new camera. I am now the overly proud owner of a Canon 5D Mark II.
I felt like one of those parents who drive you insane, talking about how
wonderful and proud they are of their children while showing you endless
amounts of photos. I’d become exactly like them… but over a camera. Feel free
to judge!
Although I didn’t have a lens, I wasn’t too worried. I don’t
think my Ocean Pay, wallet and credit card could have taken any more of a
beating. Plus, I had two lenses for my Canon 400D which would fit the camera.
Yes, I know the lenses are pants compared to what is on the market, but they’ll
tie me over in the meantime, while I can save up and research some more into
which lens would be best for the type of photography I want to do etc.
Anyway,
we are going to New York soon and Mike says there’s a street full of camera
stores, one in particular, where the prices are reasonable and there’s an
abundance of stock and choice. Luckily enough for me, Mike will still be on the
ship when we get to New York City . He’ll gladly come lens shopping with me
while spending his saved fortune on more camera and electrical goods, before
going home to the Philippines.
Kate waltzed out the store over the moon with her new Macro
lens. Ani looked as if she was going to burst into tears after being told she’d
paid $250 too much for a lens she’d purchased the previous week. Who can blame
her? I, however, have my suspicions about what she was told. In many ways, I
think it was a sales pitch, telling a friend of mine she’d been ripped off, as
a way of convincing me to buy a camera through them. It made perfect sense to
everyone but it wasn’t enough to up Ani’s spirits.
Soon enough, it was time to jump in another taxi and hurry
back to the ship. It was going to be a long Pirate Night, but throughout the
night was a large Cheshire cat smile on my face. It’d been a fantastic day, one
of the best so far during this contract. The cherry on the cake was, of course,
my brand, spanking new camera. My new baby… my Canon 5D Mark II.
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| Airport Beach - Kate, Ani and Lou |
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| We didn't see that one coming... |
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| Unbelievable!! |
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| All Together: Steph, Kate, Inna, Ani, Me & Mike Behind the Camera :-p |
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| Smaller Jet Coming In (Mike's Photo) |
