Last Day in St. Maarten

We think we picked the later flight at 4:35p because it was cheaper, and also so that we would have most of the day on the island. Glad it was cheaper, because there sure wasn't anything to do! We had to check out of the resort by 10a, and give up the beach towels. The vast majority of the shops were closed on Sunday, and even if they had been open, were we really going to buy diamonds or expensive watches?! I didn't want to go to the beach and rent chairs/umbrella because I didn't want to get on a flight covered in salt/sand. But we made the most of our remaining time in paradise...

We went to a little French cafe to get some breakfast, and lo and behold, an accident occurred directly in front of me on the road. A car was going straight, and a man on an ATV (yes, we saw locals use them to get around) turned left in front of him, and the car ran right into him such that the man flew off the ATV and landed face down by the car. It was very traumatic to watch, especially when the man did not move for a few minutes and I was so afraid he was dead. Within a few seconds a crowd had gathered, the cafe owner had called 911 (yes, it's the same # there), and people were helping the man. Not being locals, and because there was plenty of help, we did not intervene. The police showed up, a lot slower than I think they should have considering that had to be the only incident on the island! They actually did good, old-fashioned police work by marking where the car was, etc. before asking him to move. I think at the end of the day it was the ATV driver's fault for driving too fast and turning when he shouldn't have, and he did not have on a helmet. He got up and walked around and the EMS checked him out. I think he was very shook up, but was not obviously bleeding or anything worse.

We then went to Maho Beach and sat at Sunset Beach Bar to have drinks (hey, why not?!) and watch airplanes land. Close to 2p, we filled up our rental car (paid ~$5.50/gallon), returned it and headed to the airport. An uneventful 4 hour flight, and a ride from the airport (thanks, bro!) later, we were back to reality, trying to appease a cat who was none too pleased that we had been gone so long!