A New Chapter is Opened

I have been living and working on St. Maarten now for just over a year. Coming back in to low season was hard, almost all of my friends that I had made during high season left as their yachts make their journey across the ocean over to the Mediterranean (which is now in full swing of high season). The island is now taking a much needed breather from the chaos of the last six months. As things began to slow i began to think about my options. I love diving and everything that surrounds it but after a year I am beginning to get tired, not of diving but of the tourists. I have learned that common sense is not very common at all! Diving is my passion but by the end I really did feel like I was going to work, something that I never wanted to happen. So I have decided to take a break from diving, and from my island, for the summer.

My first thought was to turn to yachting, after all, most of my friends from this last season were "yachties". That was a plan short lived. I got an offer on a 156ft yacht that is heading down to Venezuela for hurricane season. It seemed like the perfect option! Starting salary $3000 a month, free room and board, free food etc etc. It was exceptionally good because they were willing to hire me with no experience and no STCW (a course that is mandatory in most of the yachting world). My job title: Stewardess. I was extremely excited about the opportunity and planned to do that for three months then travel. It was a wonderful plan, an incredible opportunity...that all came to a screeching halt at the end of my first day. I have always said that I could do anything for a year, I have recently been humbled and am now enjoying a delicious meal of my own words. I have to say I have a huge amount of respect for the work that a Stew does. Basically I was asked to clean the shower every time after it is used, toilettes three times a day, when serving a meal never look them in the eye, new toothbrush every day, if they try on five shirts and choose one rewash the other four and reiron them, iron boxers and swim shorts, don't speak unless spoken to etc etc etc. On my first day they had me polish a brass bowl for four hours with special rags and earbuds, turns out that bowl was for fruit in the CREW quarters. If you know me, even a little, you will be able to understand how I turned the job down. I was almost in tears at the end of the day realizing that I was going to be paid $3000 a month to kiss rich peoples asses and be a slave. Thanks, but no thanks.

By this time I felt I was running out of options. I no longer had my house on the beach so pretty much was couch surfing through whoever was still on island. I had quit my job and so no longer was making money so couldn't reason renting a new house. I had no plan, little money, no place to stay, and no job. And that was when Gypsy Cat found me...

seeing orange

about a month ago a good friend of mine, manon, flew me to holland. i was there for two weeks and had a wonderful time. manon is originally from holland but works on a mega yacht that during the summer is based out of st. maarten (hence how we met). her family is in lieden which is where we stayed for most of the time.

she toured me around on her scooter and we visited many of liedens historical places. it is a beautiful place.

after the first few days we took the train to amsterdam and stayed in a small hostel just off the main area. we were there for queens day and i have never seen so much orange!!! everyone had something orange on. it was a bit overwhelming going from my small caribbean island to a big city with SO many people (over 300 000 appeared in one square over the course of the day). there were times when i could hardly walk!! but the music was great and it was definitely a fun atmosphere to have experienced.

after the queens day weekend we toured around doing lots of different things. beaches (which were FREEZING), going to different festivals, and trying every kind of dutch food manon could think of to give me.

just before i left i was able to travel inland and up to the west end of holland to visit my friend yasmin. we met in st. maarten and had a lot of fun together, i was very said when she moved to holland so it was wonderful to have the opportunity to go and see

her. it was just like when she was in st. maarten, lots of laughter and silly pictures. we rode her bicycles everywhere and did lots of exploring. shes now living in a very small town so it was really nice to get out of the city and away from so many people.

overall an amazing trip and a nice chance to get off the island for a little while. it was strange to be back in "reality" and having everything running smoothly and working well. lots of fun, freezing cold (even though everone else was in shorts), good food, and good times!

HURRICANING!

So you’re in a hurricane…what are your plans?
a) prepare all shutters and doors and lock yourself in
b) take a shower because you know you may not be able to for up to a week because water will be off
c) charge all electrical items knowing power will definitely be off
d) go for a walk

Answer: D!

I have officially played witness to my very first hurricane! Hurricane Earl hit the island of St. Maarten at a category 3 and moved up to a category 4 while on the island.

It’s pretty crazy in the days before the storm. The island is a fury of work…everyone is preparing; work places are closed, people buying food and supplies, boarding up windows and doors. At Ocean Explorers we moved everything from the shop into a safe storage container and then built support beams for the shop. We actually had chains holding the roof on!

Once everything is ready all you can do is wait. In the evening before the hurricane hit it was incredibly eerie…no animals or birds were out, the island was quiet, everything closed and boarded up, and the kind of “calm before the storm” weather you see in movies.

By the time the hurricane hit we were already pretty bored. You are stuck inside with no power or water so usually you just have bunches of people hanging out together for four days. We had the eye pass directly over us and I have to say that was the weirdest part of the whole thing. It was as though the whole island was holding its breath waiting for the next set of rage and when that rage hit…wow. Shout out of respect to mother nature. Racing winds and flying debris made it certain adventure to step outside. But we did manage to go for a couple of walks. On one we found a stray dog who we adopted as our “hurricane dog” aptly named Earl. Earl hung out with us for the hurricane period and then was let back out after it had passed.

Post hurricane was another adventure. The island goes in to “lockdown”, a period of time where even though the storm had passed you are not allowed out of the house. Anyone caught outside can legally be shot on the spot by a police officer, no questions asked. This is because much of the island has been damaged including shops. It is a prime time for looters to take advantage. After lockdown was lifted that’s when the rebuilding began. It took a couple of weeks for things to return to normal. Our shop faired pretty well all things considered but it was as though the storm shifted it just slightly so now all of our windows and doors don’t shut properly. The running joke is that we needed another storm to shift it backl!

Here are a few pictures from the hurricane Earl...

Customs Sucks

- Traveling alone? Check.
- Female? Check.
- One way ticket? Check.
- Been out of the country for over 9 months? Check.
- Traveling light? Check.
- Under 21? Check.

Apparently I was a perfect candidate for the lovely officers at the Canadian Customs in Toronto. I got pulled in to the little room in the back you never want to go in to, my bag was torn apart and every item laid out on the floor. A sniff dog came through. I was strip-searched. I was interrogated. And after what felt like hours (thank god my connection wasn’t until the next morning) I was told I was clean and let through.

I hate customs.

Vacation Home

So I ended up doing a surprise visit home last week. It was so strange being back; everything from driving fast in TWO lanes of traffic, to stop lights (we have one on the island), to seeing the copious amounts of food selection in grocery stores, to being back in the land of $4 coffees at Starbucks and donuts at Tim Hortons. The biggest difference was the pace of life. Everything there happened so FAST! People drive fast, they talk fast, they eat fast. It’s like we are all in some kind of rush to get to wherever we are going next instead of enjoying the moment. The other thing was that it was all planned out. It seems everyone loves to make plans even if it is for something happening days from then. I guess the island life is wearing off on me! :) Also I FROZE!!! It was FREEZING in Canada! I woke up one morning to snow!...needless to say I was not very impressed..



I was able to surprise my grandmother, good thing we had doctors present! She was very happy to see me and it was good to be able to spend some time with her (going to Cirque du Soleil) and my Opa (working at the ranch with suicide willie…a squirrel). I spent most of the week in appointments and with family and was able to see only a few people. It was still nice to be home and eating wonderful home cooked meals. After I flew to Victoria to see Amy for a day, we spent most of our time sitting on a set of steps by the ocean. It was incredible to see her after over a year and realize that so very much has changed in my life, in me, but it has not changed us. I then took a ferry to Seattle to see Catherine, we found a troll under a bridge (it’s the one from the movie “Ten Things I Hate About You”). Then a flight to San Francisco, San Francisco to New York, ten hour layover in the airport in which I made friends with the security guard, then finally back to my island!

It was strange to be away but also strange coming back, it made me realize, more then anything, that I am meant to be here. Kelley picked me up from the airport and we screamed and bounced around when we saw each other. Everyone was happy to have me back and I realize how much of a life and community I have created for myself here.

Now that I am back Kelley and her sister and I have moved in to a new house together. It is back in Simpsons Bay and half a block from the beach. We live in a three bedroom on the third and final floor of a beautiful old building. It’s got distinct “island style” and I love it! We have a balcony, full kitchen (with a gas burning stover which means we will be able to still cook when its hurricaning), and two bathrooms. The neighbourhood is not wonderful but it is more that it is just poor then anything else. We joke that we wont ever get into trouble because this is where all the gangsters grandmothers live. I am happy to be back!

Routine Island Dream

I have fallen in to a new group of friends and a somewhat normal routine. I am close friends with Kelley Mae. She works at Dive Safaris, which is our main competitor so, its pretty funny. We will be out after work, both with out work shirts on, and people give us the strangest looks. We do crazy things and have a lot of fun together. Alex is a carpenter for the ships but an all around handyman kinda guy. He is an incredibly talented musician when it comes to just about any instrument. Dominique works with the beach horse riding for the tourists in Cay Bay and her and Alex have a parrot named DC who I love. Jammie is another friend and he works for Alex. Kelley’s little sister, Karie, has recently come to the island as well so its out little group that travels around together. It’s pretty funny doing introductions now “Hi I’m Cayley, this is Kelley and this is Karie. Now repeat that ten times fast!”


Our group is pretty active. We sea kayak a couple evenings a week and adventure to the French side to go surfing most Sundays. We hang out on the beach by LaBamba most nights and have a big bonfire and bring out the guitars and jembay drum. DC, the parrot, will sit on our shoulders as Dom spins her fire balls to the beat of whatever we happen to be playing. We've often had tourists come walking by and ask to take our picture or be in a picture with us...I guess we look like a bunch of island rug rats! :) The ocean tickles our toes as the moon rises and I often find myself taking deep breaths and feeling how happy I am to be living this life.

I've Been Adopted

06:50- hear constant mewing from under the equipment container...can't see anything.

07:40- see a small blur run out, across the sand, and into some shrubs.

10:30- Lu tells me she has called animal control for a kitten and that I should try and catch it.

11:15- catch kitten who turns around and bites me(damn kitten teeth are sharp!!), runs away.

13:00- catch kitten for the second time, put her in a box with some water.

13:01- decide she shouldn't have to stay in the box so long so take her out and discover she is the thinest, mangiest, dirtiest
kitten I have ever seen, and trust me, I've seen some bad ones.

14:15- decide I can no longer take the smell. Find some baby shampoo (which we use for mask defog) and give her a bath.
The entire time all I get is constant purring.

14:32- realize she's not the only one who got bitten today.

16:02- tell Lu to call the Animal Welfare people off, I will take her home for the night.

17:20- get off work and bring the kitten out to my car...she tries to climb up in to the electrical wiring.

17:23- get kitten out from a tangle of electrical wires and put her in my backpack to keep her contained.

17:25- realize I need groceries. Think "here goes nothing" and pull into the store, put my backpack on and start my shopping.


17:40- grocery attendant asks if I have a cat in my backpack, "uhhhh....no?" "then why is it moving and purring?" "uhhhhh...okay-i-just-found-this-kitten-and-dont-want-her-to-be-put-down-so-im-taking-her-home-for-the-night-but-cant-leave-her-in-my-car (said all in a rush)" "oh. do you want a bag of cat food?" "yes please"

18:08- get home. release "cat from the bag"

19:00- fall in love.




Now what?