Christmas spirit everywhere in Philipsburg, even the local elves are dressed in quite revealing Sinta Claas outfits to the delight of the male contingent of tourist visitors.
Wandering off just past the main Straat, where the usual alignment of stores invite to "spend, spend, spend" one enters the real Philipsburg: old tin roofed shacks, wooden churches, uniquely coiffed local residents, street-people slightly under the influence of 'something or other', cold weather dogs shaved for hot weather climates, overgrown graveyards, and maybe a handful of intrepid tourists searching out local peace and solitude.
After a few feet killing hours of back street exploring in torrid heat, I joined the queue at the Barefoot Bar to indulge in the cheapest beer in the Caribbean - 99 cents for a Bud.
