St. Maarten
06 February 2010
We made it to St. Maarten - yeah. We waited until it was only blowing 5-10 knots, but is was still upwind w/ lumpy seas - but it could have been much worse! Every time you leave and enter a country you have to check in and out w/ customs and immigration. Depending on where the office is located, it takes anywhere from 30 minutes to 1/2 day. When you enter a country on a boat, you need to fly the yellow flag, and after the captain checks in w/ his crew list you fly the flag of the country - i.e. courtesy flag. This is will be the 7th new flag we've flown. Here in St. Maarten, we had to choose b/w the Dutch and French side. The small island is divided into two countries. St. Martin was named by Columbus in 1493. In the early 17th Century, the French and Dutch arrived, built small settlements and eventually drove the Spanish off the island. Divided between two countries for 350 years now, St. Martin/St. Maarten is harmoniously shared by the French and the Dutch. The Dutch side has most of the sailing stores, etc. so that is where we are. This place is mega-yacht central! We are anchored in this large lagoon that we had to enter via a draw bridge (like Alameda!) We're not sure how some of these super huge boats got through the bridge! We are currently at a McDonalds - the first we've seen on our trip so far - which is not a problem for us. Leo was excited about the play place - and we're really just here for the wifi and had some shakes while we're here. No Starbucks yet.