We’re not sure yet how Easter is celebrated in St. Martin.  There is a veritable smorgasbord of church services to chose from, but no talk of the Easter bunny, nor is there any evidence of rabbits on the island.  There are an abundance of green iguanas though, especially in the mangroves around our marina.  These enormous prehistoric looking creatures can be seen lazing about on the rocks along the shore solemnly gazing at us with an indulgent eye as we scurry to and fro on the pontoon.  Our favorite is a magnificent beast, at least 4 feet in length who we have dubbed ‘Iggy.’  

Our fascination with these new neighbors of ours prompted me to do a little research about them.  Allow me to share a few things I've discovered about them with you:

There is loads more, but I realize that I’ve probably already bored most of you, so I will end this missive now, but not before wishing you a very happy Easter.  May the Easter bunny fill your basket with joy and may the good Lord bless you and your loved ones today and always.

Time is a funny thing when I consider that the two weeks we needed to cross the Atlantic seemed to take forever at times, but the four weeks we have been here in St. Martin have just flown by!   In any case,  it is high time that I share with you a little about Taka Trois' home. 

This island is unique in that has been shared peacefully by France and Holland for over 350 years with English as the dominant language.  The Euro is the official currency on the French side, while the Netherlands Antillean Gulden is the currency used on the Dutch side. Both countries however, will accept the U.S. dollar with often widely varying exchange rates--crazy!  It is a mystery to us how these two countries continue to exist side by side, apparently so comfortably. The border between north and south, usually marked by a discreet signpost, is hardly noticeable and we never cease to be amused by how seamlessly we cross back and forth between the two countries by land or by sea often several times a day.

Ok, here's your history lesson:  First settled by Arawak Indians who arrived from South America and the Carib Indians eventually followed and they named the island "Soualiga," or Land of Salt.  Christopher Columbus (on his second voyage to the New World) spotted the island in 1493, on the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours, thus the modern name. 

The Dutch arrived in the 1620s and began to harvesting and exporting the island's salt ponds. Salt being such a valuable commodity, the Spanish and the French arrived soon afterwards to get a piece of the action and for the next 20 years, the three countries fought over control of the island.   In 1648 the French and the Dutch drove the Spanish off the island for good and agreed to divide it between themselves.  

Local legend says that to divide the island, it was agreed that a Frenchman would walk south, starting at the northern tip of the island while a Dutchman would walk north, starting from the southernmost point.  Where they eventually met, would be the dividing line.  Apparently the Frenchman brought a bottle of wine to drink along the way (but of course!), while the Dutchman drank beer while he walked and as he had to make frequent stops to pee, the French got the larger share of the island!

Until the end of 18th century, the island's main economy came from salt and sugarcane but today the island’s main industry is tourism, not surprising considering its many beautiful beaches and surrounding blue turquoise seas.  The Dutch side is a lively place with an abundance of high rises, beach resorts, bars, casinos, shopping venues and nightlife. Philipsburg, the capital, hosts the port and large cruise ship docks.

The French side, where Taka Trois is moored, is more under-stated and relaxed with a touch of sophistication. The resorts and beaches tend to be quieter and more secluded.  Marigot, its main town, has a Mediterranean atmosphere with open-air markets, shops, cafes, and excellent restaurants lining the waterfront.  It is a place where we love to walk around enjoying the atmosphere and have a hot chocolate and a croissant or a glass of rosé wine in one of the charming little cafés.  It's a taste of home, France that is, with all the warmth of the Caribbean--sheer bliss!

Next post coming shortly:  Why St. Martin and what’s next for Taka Trois and her crew?

Just saying the word Barbuda makes me smile and think of Johnny Depp saying it with his immortal Captain Jack Sparrow’s voice. Now that I’ve been there, saying it makes me smile all the more.

 
When we arrived in the Caribbean after the crossing, we landed in Antigua, which is actually the country or ‘state’ of ‘Antigua and Barbuda.’  All sailing vessels upon landing must go to customs and immigration to check in and upon leaving, check out again.  When we left the island of Antigua to come up here to St. Martin, we opted to check out of that country via the island of Barbuda.  This entailed sailing roughly 30 miles (48 km) north, anchoring in Low Bay off of a pristine, 11 mile, largely deserted beach, landing our dinghy there, tracking down a local water taxi man to take us across the lagoon to Codrington, the capital of Barbuda (population 1,000) and seeking out the dignified, albeit somewhat humble customs and immigration facilities there.  

We embarked on this expedition with another cruising couple, Nicole and Jean Paul of Julina, who we met in the marina in Jolly Harbor.   None of us minded that we were strongly encouraged to eat the excellent daily lunch special (seafood pasta) at Cerene’s eating establishment across from the customs office at 11:00 a.m while we were waiting for the agent to appear, which he did, just after we finished our meal... Nor did we mind walking a few blocks across town to the immigration office and waiting at a local bar for the officer to get out of bed to clear us out of the country.  All in all, it was a delightful process; simple in fact, once we figured it out.  

Check-out completed, we took advantage of the services of said water taxi to take us to see the renowned Frigate Bird Sanctuary in the north of the lagoon.  We were in luck as it was nesting season and the sanctuary was hopping with frenzied activity.  The birds were in various stages of breeding and courtship.  The males were in full-blown regalia sporting their inflated red ‘gular pouches’ on the throat while the females swooped around them, carefully and determinedly making their choice while friends and neighbors and even children looked on.    It was madness that we have only seen equalled in Trinidad during carnival!

As the lagoon is well protected, they had absolutely no fear of us so we had a front row seat to this incredible spectacle.  My photos could not do it justice, but they will give you an idea of the various players in the breeding process.  Before I end this post let me give you a few fun facts about these magnificent and somewhat unusual birds:

• Firgatebirds are also known as Pirate birds as they get some of their food by stealing from other seabirds even steal their chicks!
• They cannot swim, walk well or even take off from a flat surface or water, so they snatch prey from the ocean surface or beach while flying.
• They have the largest wingspan (up to 2.3 meters) to body weight ratio of any bird and can stay aloft for more than a week, landing only to roost or breed on trees or cliffs.
• They only take one mate in a season, but they nest in colonies. 
• A single egg is laid each breeding season.
• The duration of parental care in frigatebirds is the longest of any bird
• Both parents take turns feeding for the first three months but then only the mother feeds the young for another eight months. 
• It takes so long to rear a chick that frigatebirds cannot breed every year. 
• It is typical to see juveniles as big as their parents waiting to be fed. When they sit waiting for endless hours in the hot sun, they assume an energy-efficient posture in which their head hangs down, and they sit so still that they seem dead. But when the parent returns, they will wake up, bob their head, and scream until the parent opens its mouth. The hungry juvenile plunges its head down the parent's throat and feeds at last.¹  I know some human kids who behave like that with their parents!

¹ Wikipedia