tales of a sea gypsy.....st. maarten

we had reached the last day....st. maarten
another docking area that has been modernized
and rebuilt since i was last there more than 15 years
ago.
i passed through the new shopping area, and
took a taxi to orient beach.  when i arrived, i was
disappointed that it wasn't more beautiful than any
beach i had visited in the past few days.  (my recollection
was that THIS beach was the most beautiful in all of
the caribbean).
the public area of this beach had expanded and was
jam packed with 3-4 deep lounge chairs for as far as the
eye could see.  the seas were rough, the seaweed was
plentiful, and there was wall-to-wall people (in various
states of being clothed)
so within an hour, i was back at the ship taking the
water taxi to the old dock in phillipsburg.

i love visiting the islands in the caribbean
but am saddened that tourism has changed them,
and will probably continue to change them.
the interiors of the islands, where life is less dependent
upon tourists, is of much more interest to me.

my camera died....another camera that has bitten the dust.....what is it with me and cameras this year??
but there's always the iPhone, used here on the next day in san juan