December 5, 2024

St. Maartin's & Anguilla 

I heard the best way to see Anguilla was from the water - so I set up a chartered boat for 10 of us to do that on black Friday November 29th. So much fun!! Any day on the water is a great day and this group was a great mix and lots of fun! On the left is my cousin Cathy and Tripod ROD (new nickname he is trying out), my neighbor on ship, Dr. David Austin and his visiting girlfriend Suzanne and Peter Devine (who we found out has not been in water or swam in over 50 years - oopsie!) On the right, is lovely Holly Hennessy (self- proclaimed mother to Captain the Sailing Kitty), the super well-traveled, retired attorney from San Francisco, Scott Hauswirth, Me, Terri Chmurak (nicknamed Wendy Terri by Cathy and I, because we forgot her name and she allows our goofiness!) and Sherrie Cornett - who like Peter didn't care about snorkeling just wanted a fun boat ride! Captain Allen and first mate Andy who kept the drinks flowing rounded out the fun. 

We meet at a marine close to our Ship's mooring and had 7.5 hours to tour. First, we came out of south side of St Maartins, on the Dutch side, past the airport and headed north to Anguilla, across the canal, with French side of St Martins in the distance. We first went to Rendezvous Bay for a swim, then onto Little Bay to swim and snorkel. We had a lunch stop at Roy's on Sandy Ground Beach,  and another snorkel and swim stop at Meads Bay. The weather was good with a quick shower hitting while we were at Lunch and again on our ride back to the marina. We stayed a little longer at each stop than was planned because Shoal Bay, the furthest out destination was experiencing high winds and waves. 

By Pat Patrick August 25, 2026
Next stop on the VIETNAM FUN TOUR is HOI'AN - The City of Laterns! I had arranged a private car to take us between all the major locations and towns for the 5 days we were touring the interior. He delivered us to Hoi'An in just about an hour from Ba Na Hills . Here we stayed 2 nights and had lots of relaxing time built in. Again the heat was oppressive! The driver recommended below tailor to me as I mentioned I might want to have a dress custom made as that is another thing the town is known for with 24 hour turn around.
By Pat Patrick August 25, 2026
Coconut Boat Tour sounds perfect to keep the Fun rolling! The hotel offered a tour, with pick up and return, so easy peasy!
By Pat Patrick August 24, 2026
I had dubbed this the Fun Tour of Vietnam! We could have gone to all the historic war memorials and museums, and I totally respect and am grateful to All those who gave so much. I just didn't want that, to be my only insight into Vietnam and it's lovely people. In the morning, we again explored more of the village and our room stay included a huge buffet breakfast. We checked out by 10:30 am and took the cable car back down by 11 am to meet our driver and head to our next stop.