On Island

Life on island is a little different then life in Canada, as you can probably imagine. For one, going to the grocery store is always a guessing game. Most everything here is shipped in so many things might not always be available.

You buy a delicious avocado one week and go back for more the next and there are none. You search three different stores for potatoes…none to be found.
Skim milk? Your choices are whole and 2%.
“Can I please have a green tea milky slush?” “No green tea sorry” “Okay no worries, can I have coconut?” “Sorry, none of that either.” “Mango?” “Nope.” “Guava?” “Sorry!” “Haha okay, what do you have?”

A little on St. Maarten:
At 18.02 latitude, 63.07 longitue, sandwiched between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, St. Maarten is the smallest land mass in the world that is shared by two sovereign nations. The island is 37 square miles boasting 37 of “the worlds unofficial greatest” beaches. There is a population on the Dutch side of 41 000 compared to the 36 000 on the French side, a lot of people for a little island! Most are illegal immigrants who have lived here for year without notice. There are over a hundred nationalities that can be found so the streets often buzz with different languages all working to express themselves. The currency is Euro on the French side and either US or the Netherlands Antilles “Guilder” on the Dutch. The island is duty free on both sides.

The weather lately has actually not been that great. As a result of high winds and rough seas we’ve had to cancel a few dives. But we are officially in hurricane season, which started June 1st, so this is to be expected. I think I have been away from home for too long though, I wore my jacket out last night and have been wearing my long wetsuit lately. The guys at the shop always make fun of me, I am apparently “impersonating a Canadian” because, in their minds, there is no way I can be this cold and be from where I claim to be from.