#i watched a youtube video of olivia at this festival in this very outfit and couldn't get this idea out of my head until it was fullfilled

[sheprotec]

do you or do you not feel bonita? i feel bonita.

[jdotavenue-blog-blog]

This spring proved to be one of exploration as I jetted across the waters to the beautiful island of St. Maarten/Sint Martin. I have even included a video of my trip at the very end of this blog.

St. Maarten is one of the islands that fall under the Netherland Antilles bracket. The island is situated in between St. Eustatius and St. Barths.

My purpose of the trip was to experience the wonderful annual carnival festivities. St. Maarten carnival reigns as one of the longest drawn out carnival weeks ever…emphasis on weeks! It starts in the beginning of April with pageants and parties and then ends on the heels of May with nightly soirees in the Carnival Village.

I got there just in time to visit my family, eat delicious island delicacies, and do a little sight-seeing first.

Maho Beach

As soon as we touched down, we headed straight for Maho Beach and ate food while listening to a local DJ scratch records. The best part of it all was watching tourists linger on the beach while planes landed. I am sure you have seen the videos on YouTube. There are signs posted all over “CAUTION! Do not stand here” telling people not to stand by the gate. Of course, people do not heed the warning and they find themselves being thrown by the gust of wind from the landing planes. And I find myself taking videos and pictures of these crazy adrenaline-filled stubborn people.

It was a nice view watching eat plane land and I was even more surprised that happy hour consisted of two mixed drinks for only $5. In Miami, you’d be lucky if one mixed drink during happy hour cost only $5…I got to enjoy TWO for that price. It’s too bad everyone was ready to leave so I didn’t even get to get myself tipsy.

Walter Plant – Boardwalk

This journey was by mistake. We actually had a sleu of radio interviews that were scheduled all over the island. One of the radio interviews wasn’t too far from the boardwalk (driving wise), however, we ended up wandering while looking for a family friend’s establishment and was tricked into walking what was to be a short distance…3 blocks later we realized that we actually had a long way to go. It was bad enough my feet were already swollen. However, when in Rome…

We finally reach the establishment and ran into some friends and decided we might as well keep trekking towards the boardwalk. It was a lovely view, but one that would have been lovelier from the inside of a car.

The funniest part is that we continued walking all the way to the courthouse and eventually ended up at the KFC. While others ate, my primary concern was finding A/C and a chair. I think somewhere amid all of the walking we forgot that we had parked the car all the way back by the radio station.

Orient Bay We finally got a day to unwind and recharge for the busy end of the week ahead of us. A team of us gathered at Orient Bay to enjoy watching tourists parasailing and we got to enjoy the beautiful island waters. Not to mention, we were right on the same sands as the infamous nude beach and yes topless women did confidently stroll over to the other side. It’s a good thing my son isn’t gullible and knows a lot for his age.

We visited the site near Orient Bay that is known for welk-catching. Unfortunately, you can only catch welks during a certain season but the view was beautiful from afar. I say “afar” because I am far from Indiana Jones and sharp slippery rocks are not something I look forward to walk on. I am an island girl but I am also a little bit clumsy. Nor am I a skinny Minnie��and I like life so far so “ISSA NO!”

Westin Resort & St Barths Vantage Point

The best part of the trip for me was hanging out with close friends and family amongst bottles of Hennessey, great island music, food, and hilarious stories and conversations. We made sure to do that numerous times throughout the week. We partied right outside of the Westin Resort and got to get a nice distant view of the neighboring island of St. Barths (yes, the island known for celebrity visits).

French Quarter & Anguilla Vantage Point

In St. Maarten the island is split into two different sides that represent and are governed by two different countries. There’s St. Maarten (the dutch side) and Sint Martin (the french side). If you happen to take a cruise to St. Maarten you will dock on the Dutch side. The French side is where you’ll find the luxurious hotels and resorts. You will notice the difference being that the French side has all the 5-star dinning options and it is reminiscent of downtown New Orleans. You’ll also notice the difference because the French side is riddled with police presence (which they refer to as the “Jean Damme” (yes, think Jean Claude Van Damme the actor and martial artist). I’m guessing it means Justice Department (goes to Google to fact check).

I also got to see the infamous filming location for Speed 2 which I found out was built only for the movie and the island decided to keep it as a landmark. From this side of the island you can also spot the neighboring island of Anguilla. It’s too bad we didn’t get to go to Anguilla as planned due to last minute changes. I had my outfit ready and all.

Jouvert

I got 3 hours of sleep before being woken up at 3am in the morning to get dressed for Jouvert. Yes, it started at 4am and we had to be on the truck. Jouvert is a celebration that happens before the main event of Carnival (parade day). It usually consists of everyone swarming the streets to dance behind trucks that are made of speakers and you dance behind the loud truck for miles until the end. Keep in mind, there are 19+ trucks and they are all going at a speed of less than 1 mile per hour. So yes, jouvert was over 6 hours long. The dress code is extremely casual and it is preferred that you wear something that can be disposed of right after being that paint, oil, water, powder are all on the agenda to be thrown around without notice and land on your clothes.

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I even borrowed sneakers because all my shoes were too nice to get dirty. I had on a head tie although I had originally planned to wear a shower cap as I did at Sunday’s wet fete. It was a great thing that we were on the truck since my husband was set to DJ. My feet were nearly damaged from all of the walking and strain that looking back, I wouldn’t have been able to walk for 6 hours dancing straight in the blazing hot sun. I can only imagine the thousands of people who did just that.

Rum & Peas Caribbean Restaurant

We had our second event at Rum & Peas restaurant in Simpson Bay and it was a brunch filled with soca music and a great menu. We even had some surprise live performances from local artists. I got to enjoy the chicken wings (flyers), oxtail spring rolls with a curry mustard dipping sauce, and curried stewed chicken accompanied with coconut rice (it was served inside of a coconut shell). With admission, we all got a complimentary cocktail which was a Bellatini a smooth wine cocktail. Of course, I ordered a mixed drink being that all mixed drinks were made with fresh ingredients. My drink of choice was the signature Rum & Peas punch which consisted of three different liquors and fresh ingredients and topped with red peas (that were soaked in rum for a period of time).

I felt nice and tipsy and enjoyed myself. I went straight to sleep as soon as I got in the car. And continued to sleep when I got home. I missed the beginning of the Friday night extravaganza but it was worth it. The price of getting lit just to be an overly supportive wife and get the party started right.

Carnival Village Nightly I got to sample tasty ribs, chicken saté (with and without peanut sauce), johnny cakes, oyster soup, and strong mixed drinks that were budget friendly. In one week, I got to enjoy the sounds of the Grandmasters & Small Axe bands out of St. Kitts; Dominica’s own Asa banton; Zouk sensation Carimi, Oreo; Trinidadians Farmer Nappy, Patrice Roberts, and Destra; Antigua’s own Ricardo Drue; local talents like Kenyo, King Vers, King James, Mighty Dow, Singing Olivia, Shadz, Niqo, and Rumer threw down on Tuesday night at Soca Rumble.

Soca Rumble was the main night being that two artists would be crowned as the Groovy and Power Monarchs to represent the island in two different competitions. The Groovy Monarch was Kenyo who performed one of the biggest songs on the island, “Who Yuh Fuh” and King Vers winning the Power Monarch for his hit “Everything (Yap Yap)”.

Souvenirs & Travel Tips

Honestly, when I travel to the islands my souvenir list is the same: liquor, perfume, jewelry, ingredients to make a damn good tea, and a tan of course. This time, I brought back some nice herbs for tea making. I am a tea fanatic and being that I don’t have a garden, if I need moringa tea, green tea, or chai tea, it was heavenly to see the bush right in front of me. And now my mornings are amazing. And yes, as always, I got a major tan. The woes of having to wear makeup nowadays (but that’s a whole other blog post).

I did manage to bring back a bottle of Guavaberry which FYI, is better to get in the airport because you can just carry it on the plane without going through the hassle of checking it in. You can also purchase gouda cheese in the airport without the checking hassle. You just have to give them your flight number. Another FYI, when traveling try to carry a child. I say this because my son was treated like VIP and I got to skip the long TSA lines because I was the mom of the child….children had their own line which of course was empty. Not to mention, coming in to the island, I got to beat the horrific line for international travelers since my husband is from there. All hassle-free.

I took the usual Saturday to Saturday flight courtesy of Spirit Airlines. It was the most cost effective option and I have become a pro at the numerous restrictions this airline offers: the miniature-sized personal carry on to avoid outrageous fees at the check-in desk, the cutbacks on seating space while on the aircraft, the lack of complimentary snacks, the last row of seats that fall right by the back engine where you feel all turbulence 10x over. I must say that the 5,000 free miles is a nice idea and could be one of the few things that salvage the Spirit experience.

  St. Maarten Carnival 2017 This spring proved to be one of exploration as I jetted across the waters to the beautiful island of St.