http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Netherlands-Antilles/Sint-Maarten/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Central America Caribbean , Netherlands Antilles , Sint Maarten en-us Sun, 03 Jan 2010 03:19:02 +0000 Sun, 03 Jan 2010 03:19:02 +0000 Well it looks like we have been stuck in St. Martin for about a month now. Although that isnrsquot necessarily a bad thing. We love St. Martin It is a fun and lively island with great shopping and beautiful beaches friendly people and great food. Plus the anchorage here inside the lagoon is one of the best in the Caribbean protected from all weather. It is so convenient to get everythi http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Netherlands-Antilles/Sint-Maarten/blog-461822.html We left Barbuda at first light and had a beautiful trip to St. Martin. The wind and seas were calm and the fishing was amazing We caught 3 yellowfin tuna along the way which is awesome It definitely was the best fishing day all year. Unfortunately we havenrsquot caught much fish in the Caribbean. Most of the time it is too windy and thus we are too busy sailing to throw out a line. Bu http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Netherlands-Antilles/Sint-Maarten/blog-432077.html Irsquove been wanting to get out on a tour and Jody and I decided to do one together in St. Maarten today. His only request was that it was something to do with water. As luck had it today a crew tour was happening so we managed to get on that. It was the Americarsquos Cup Regatta one Irsquove done before and loved. Today was no exception. So much funFor the Americarsquos Cup Regat http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Netherlands-Antilles/Sint-Maarten/blog-393280.html So I guess I have two things to write about. I'll do so in two posts.I've been getting quite a few emails from Mom asking about the boat show so I guess I should post about it. Unfortunately I have almost nothing to write about. The boat show is a very exclusive event. It's easier to get in to Chretien's bedroom then it is to get into the boat show but I guess that isn't saying much. The four day http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Netherlands-Antilles/Sint-Maarten/blog-352607.html Days 13 St. MaartenSt. Martin February 1618 2007What can you say about a month out of the cold Wersquore good at being snowbirds How about we went sailing on a big boat err ship in the French West IndiesI think everyone has a little bit of a pirate spirit in them and sailing on a Windjammer ship is a good way to bring that out One thing Windjammer employees will tell you is that l http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Netherlands-Antilles/Sint-Maarten/blog-351253.html On thursday morning I woke up and decided it was time to get up. I climb bed out of bed and stumbled into the common area and lied down there to have a nap. Steph's phone started to ring and whoever it was just kept calling and calling knowing someone would eventually pick it up. Finally I got fed up woke her up and gave her her phone. Five minutes later I had day work. Apparently they needed a c http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Netherlands-Antilles/Sint-Maarten/blog-349834.html Yeah mom I'm still alive.There really isn't much to post about. The bridge into the lagoon has been down for repairs since I got here and it's not supposed to be up for another week. As a result there are no boats in the lagoon and subsequently no work for anyone. It's supposed to pick up pretty soon since the boat show is coming up. One issue we face as well is that you can't dockwalk. For thos http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Netherlands-Antilles/Sint-Maarten/blog-346417.html And now More pictures. http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Netherlands-Antilles/Sint-Maarten/blog-344505.html Thank you to all our veterans today Michael John Uncle Don and anyone else that has served us. We are so grateful to youYesterday we did enjoy our happy hour at sunset on the top deck. The pictures are beautiful and I will share with you soon. After dinner we went to bed we want to be rested for St Maarten.We had breakfast on the back deck and then went back to our room to pack our backpack fo http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Netherlands-Antilles/Sint-Maarten/blog-344439.html Alright So I guess it is time for another post. Pictures forthcoming. We'll start with the rest of the course.Most of the course has been a lot of common sense stuff they have to teach you anyways however we did get to do some fun things like practising with the life rafts and immersion suits. To do this we went to a pool and had to jump in and tread water for 15 minutes. We weren't allowed to j http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Netherlands-Antilles/Sint-Maarten/blog-344406.html I'm pretty busy right now so I can't do a full post however I'll put up some updates. I shall call it And now some questions from MomFirst off what do you think of the course are you learning new stuff or is it same old same oldThe first aid was kind of useless. I thought it would be oriented somehow to a marine environment however it was just another first aid course which by now is quite http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Netherlands-Antilles/Sint-Maarten/blog-342731.html Alright well I guess you wanted some photos. How about a video too. This is Day 1. http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Netherlands-Antilles/Sint-Maarten/blog-341422.html Where to start. How about the flight. It was cramped. I have never been that cramped on a plane before. My shoulders were too big for the seat and therefore it was pressed up against the fuselage. I can't really comment much more on the flight since it was uneventful and you couldn't really see anything because of the clouds. Dad I couldn't get my own seat because the plane was pretty much full. http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Netherlands-Antilles/Sint-Maarten/blog-340889.html St. Martin had allot of diversities. It's like little Europe in the Carribbean. There are so many different nationalites living harmoniously together. The Airport as well as the Cruise ships are situated on the Dutch side of the island. Along with the Casinos Nightclubs and lots of shopping in the town of Phillipsburg. The main street had scores of shops with gorgeous jewelery as the most popul http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Netherlands-Antilles/Sint-Maarten/blog-335577.html An excelent tryp to St Maarten during this beging of the fallOfcore at this time as the radio station advertise all over St Maarten Is Hurricane season Thankx God that we had clear sky and only a few moments of hot shower rainWe arrived later on 21 of september with a flight from Paris. Secconds after we step out from bagage claim area we found a huge selection of Renta Car services from an http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Netherlands-Antilles/Sint-Maarten/blog-333917.html This weekrsquos teen tour was set for today in St. Maarten The Americarsquos Cup Regatta. I did this tour back in my first contract on the Legend and loved it. Yoursquore put on racing boats given a task to help sail the boat and then you race against others. So much fun. So I was very excited to go again this week.I got up got ready went outside. The sun was shining. Perfect day http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Netherlands-Antilles/Sint-Maarten/blog-323180.html preparing for the the trip to curacao hopping through some of the islands http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Netherlands-Antilles/Sint-Maarten/blog-290545.html Love Marigot Bay. The French really know how to make you welcome. 5 Euro to check in...Didn't even look at our passports...Went for lunch at L'Armantine took Non Linear. This restaurant offers specials for lunch everyday. These particular day they had Carpaccio de Beouf for those of you that do not know French it is raw beef with a caper sauce topped with Parmesan cheese for 10 Euros per p http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Netherlands-Antilles/Sint-Maarten/blog-288425.html Carnival continues in Phillipsburg St. Martin http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Netherlands-Antilles/Sint-Maarten/blog-271582.html We went to the street party in Grand Case Sint Maarten last Tuesday. There was plenty of food drink and music. http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Netherlands-Antilles/Sint-Maarten/blog-269737.html