This is the 10th post in a series by author Susi Sahlman. This post was originally published on Susi’s blog, Sahlman Art Blog. You can check our her beautiful St. Martin themed original artwork here.
December 17, 2017 – Relaxing after a long day filled with activity, we sat on the terrace of our hotel with a cold drink. Soon the owner asked to join us. We enjoyed good conversation until he had to carry his daughter to bed. When he returned, we joined him and his wife on the lower terrace. The sky has never been so dark here on the island and the lack of the moon’s presence helped. We decided to bring our chairs down onto the beach facing them away from the water. There were so many stars, even speckled in the distance. At home light pollution has blotted out all but the brightest ones.
Our hosts told us that it was even more dark after Irma. Sadly, they could see Marigot on fire. It burned from exploding gas lines and loose live wires. It must have been a terrible sight.
We sat talking, laughing and gazing upward for several hours. This night the sky was alive with shooting stars. Some burned long and bright. Flashes sometimes two or three, one after another. They went in different directions too. Some were faint and farther away. A couple times they seemed just overhead. Different sizes, shapes, brightness, color and duration; they went on hour after hour. I’ve never seen anything like it.
We all grew sleepy and the evening ended. It had been magical. In the morning when I awoke I thought it all had only been a dream, except Bill had the same dream.
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