Residents of St. Maarten/St. Martin did not let trials faced in 2017 dull their welcome of 2018. In the absence of large-scale fireworks displays over Great Bay, Maho and Simpson Bay Lagoon, merrymakers in neighbourhoods such as Pointe Blanche put on a display in the sky with fireworks and on the street with noisy firecrackers.
The same held true for other areas where residents embraced the changing of the year with hope for better in their hearts. While humans had fun, many pets still traumatised by the horrors of Hurricane Irma were scared by the noise and several were reported missing by their pet owners via social media.
