St. Maarten

I am sitting poolside at a small hotel on the French side of St. Maarten, watching palm fronds sway in a heavy breeze. It's beautiful and calming.

My wife and I decided to come to St. Maarten when we realized it represented the ultimate combination of excitement for the both of us: beaches for my wife, and airplanes for me.

St. Maarten's Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) is renowned by airplane enthusiasts around the world as one of the best plane spotting spots on the planet.

A thin strip of beach at the edge of Maho Bay abuts the very tip of the airport's runway. The beach is open to all and home to the lively Sunset Beach Bar, where airplane enthusiasts congregate, there are cameras aplenty, the grill and bar are quite delicious, and topless women drink for free.

And all the while, a wide variety of airplanes swoop down, nearly skimming the surface of the water, and then land on the runway, just feet from the enthused beachgoers. And we're not just talking about the small stuff: 737s, 757s, A340s, MD-11s, and even the occasional 747 land at SXM.

Check it out (not my photos).

It's paradise.

I've got some video to share, but it's going to take some time, due to the laid back nature of the Internet connection at my hotel.

More to come...