Happy Holidays from a little island

Living in St. Marten has made me realize just how different each of the caribbean islands are. St. Marten is a larger island that is divided by two countries, France and the Netherlands. Because of these two cultures in addition to the high tourist volume and the local caribbean flavor, there is always a lot going on here. Here are some examples of why I live in the caribbean;

*The gate to our hotel and Marina is always closed as you go out, the gate in is always open. 

*The Grande Marche had christmas music play over the loud speaker, but only when their live reggae cover band wasnt playing. 

*You can also taste test booze in the grocery store. 

*At the checkout they have single beers in the cooler instead of Cokes

*The path I run on is in habited by goats and cows... lots of them. I often end up hearding them as they run away and dont think to run the other direction. 

*You can get almost everywhere you need to go (bar, marine

 store, internet cafe, pharmacy) but dinghy, which is a very good thing as the traffic is terrible. 

*You can eat proper french gourmet or out of a chicken truck (which is literally a truck)

The question arose of what we do for fun. Not that there is ever a lack of it just living with the people I live with, but let me think of some examples. 

-Happy hour is always on the menu. There is a bar here that has 2 for 1 drinks but you have to get 2 so drink up. The same bar has a pool that you can swim in and sit at the bar in. 

-The airport is very close to the water (everything is, its a

 small island) so when planes come in and out you can get quite close to the runway. As any good buisnesman would do, someone built a bar there. Its called the Sunset and faces west but the main attraction is facing east or windward. People stand at the gate to the runway, hold on and get lifted by the after burners on the big jets. Sand gets blasted and people fall

down, its down right hillarious. 

-Then there are always watersports to take part in. I rented a windsurfer the other day and Jenna and Brooks took their first kite lesson so we'll all be partaking in that soon. (its way easier to pack onto a boat). 

-When all else fails get into your car and drive around the island. I havent made it all the way around in one go yet but I've done it in a weekend. You should also drive to the top of the highest hill you can find. We found a pretty good one that overlooks Phillipsburg and Marigot and looks south. 

That's all for now. We do have to work sometime! 

Happy New Year!