Jana on St. Barths

Our first stop on the trip was St. Barths, a French island only a few miles from St. Maarten. It was a good primary place for a number of reasons but the largest being its close proximity. It was a decent enough distance that it would take a few hours, four was

what it ended up being because of a lack of steady wind, giving everyone time to find their sea legs and get adjusted to the boat. Martin and Marketa left Czech around six months ago and have been traveling in France and then, more recently, the Caribbean. Their English is still very much a work in progress so for ease of communications and speed we made a subtle arrangement that they would be doing more of the interior work (cooking etc.) while Chris and I would be doing most of the sailing. As such, the sail to St. Barths gave me an opportunity to learn about Gypsy Cat and how she sails.

Shorty after we arrived and cleared customs we went to the place Jimmy Buffet famously sings about in his song “Cheese Burgers in Paradis” although if I am to be truthful, they weren’t all that wonderful. St. Barths is one of the most expensive islands in the Caribbean, the cheeseburgers were seven euro each and a soda four euro!

While we were eating we bumped in to one of Chris’s friends who he hadn’t seen in about two years. Jana works and lives on St. Barths year round and she opened up her heart and home for us. The following day when we arrived on shore

she was waiting for us in her Jeep to take us to her home. She lives in a private villa outside of town complete with a backyard

and swimming pool. She made an exquisite breakfast with fresh baguettes, special French cheeses, homemade jams, tea, coffee, and fresh orange juice. We spent a large portion of the day their relaxing and splashing in the pool. And of course, me being me, I fell in love with the cat who has adopted them. Jana’s parting gift to us was a leather bracelet for each of us made in front of our eyes.

I am always astounded by the generosity I have found while traveling. When I talked with Jana about it she brushed my thanks off by saying “When I start traveling again I am hoping others will treat me the way I have treated travelers.” She deserves all this and much more!