Great Bay: -- They left the sounds of samba and tango in Sao Paolo and Buenos Aires, respectively, as they came to The Friendly Island for a weeklong stay, uncertain of what rhythms they may have to dance to.The eight (8) Brazilian and three (3) Argentinean journalists who were hosted by the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau during a CVC press trip quickly fell in love with the multiple rhythms that set the island aside as one of the most exciting destinations they have ever been to.
Following an Island tour the day after their arrival, the group that also included a dozen high-performing travel agents from Brazil, got to see and taste what makes St. Maarten special.
"The food here is simply fantastic," said Luciane Horcel of the Gazeta de Povo, a daily newspaper that carries a tourism section which reaches a readership of 232,000 in Brazil. The rest of the group would chime in with thumbs up for the gastronomic fare they were treated to throughout their stay. "Now, I understand why they call St. Maarten the Gastronomic Capital of the Caribbean," she added.
Gabriel Guirao, who writes for the online trade publication Panrotas that receives over 7,000 unique visitors daily, turned 22 on the very day the press group arrived on a charter flight from Brazil. Dinner at the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort's Point restaurant was followed by a night out at Tantra night club.
"Wow, I thought Brazilians could party; St. Maartiners beat them," he said without any signs of exhaustion the next day. "I don't want to leave, I don't want to go on that plane back to Brazil," he said feigning tears on the eve of their departure.
"Everything has been just perfect," said Ms. Priscilla Bures, Media Relations officer of CVC Brazil.
The group's itinerary included visits to the Butterfly Farm, the Guavaberry Emporium, the St. Martin Museum, and several fun activities such as the 12-Meter Regatta on board of authentic America's Cup yachts, snorkeling trip on the Golden Eagle and kayaking, courtesy of TriSport in Simpson Bay.
Whether dancing to Caribbean sounds dished out by DJ Ruby on the Boardwalk, or DJ Blaize at Secret; whether being briefed by poet/author/publisher Lasana Sekou about the island's literature and culture and the work of House of Nehesi Publishers or taking photos of the sunset at where else, Sunset Beach Bar at Maho, the Brazilian and Argentinian journalists "fell in love with St. Maarten", as Vera Achcar of our Brazilian representative firm said.
The shopping experience was just "out of this world", in the words of Barbara Puzoni Raffaeli Pereira of Viajar pelo Mundo travel and tourism monthly magazine with a readership of over 180,000.
"Brazilians love to shop," observed Lisa Coffi of the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau. That may have been an understatement: one of the Brazilians who came with a larger group on the same CVC charter flight returned with her luggage weighing over 80 kilos!
Apart from shopping, St. Maarten's culture was what caught the interest of Susana Vilma Marinucci of Clarin newspaper, Argentina's largest daily publication with a readership of 1.7 million.
"There is such diversity, such variety here," she said with an enthusiastic smile. "The only thing missing here is the tango," she added with a wink.
Both Vitor Hugo Brandalise Junior of O Estado do Sao Paolo daily newspaper with almost a million readers and José Roberto Serra Pinto of the daily O Globo (1.1 million readers) could not hide their excitement about the island.
"This is Paradise!" exclaimed Vitor Hugo, while Jose Roberto nodded repeatedly in agreement.
