St. Barths.

It's normal to arrive in St. Barts on Saturday and pick up your luggage on Monday. We had no ride from the airport since we flew in early, no worries. We hitchhiked our way around. It took a few days for our bags to arrive, but whatever. We like traveling light. No worries is the motto of this trip. We went to Le Select (the local burger joint/hangout) and quickly made friends with an array of people.

On Sunday we upped the anchor and went to Colombier for a couple hours to relax and enjoy the absolutely stunning water. The anchoring was a new experience for us since people seem to anchor really close to each other. REALLY CLOSE! No worries though, right? We survived the close anchoring and made our way back to our original spot before heading ashore to Shell beach. Shell beach....wow, we saw some of the most beautiful people imaginable. The DJ rocked the trance and the people all moved to the rhythm.

I was lucky enough to get a tour of the island by hopping on the back of Richard's motorcycle. Every turn of the island reveals a place more beautiful than the last. The views are breathtaking. I love that every home on the island has one either a red, green or white roof. Nothing flashy, but very purposeful homes that are constructed well. We toured the surf spots, beaches, salt plant, fancy bars, stores, and everything else in between. The coolest part is that it took maybe an hour and a half. We did stop for a while since it started raining so it was probably only an hour around the island.

Drums pounding constantly. It is intoxicating to be in such close proximity to the constant rumble of the drums. Primal and animalistic feelings course through our veins. The smell of pot in the air. Costumes, laughter, confetti and conch shells all mean one thing...Carnaval/Mardi-Gras/Fat Tuesday! The streets are packed with people of every age, sex, color, costume and there are no police (Gendarmeries) in sight. Flatbed trucks with music, dance brigades and flocks of followers slowly move around the town. We were all in the best of spirits and immersed in our new experience. We turned in early...maybe midnight and the festival was still going!

The following day there was a ceremony called the burning of Vaval. Vaval symbolizes the white man. That being said there were tons of whities there, us included, cheering them on to burn the man. The fire chief is the fire starter but apparently he was never a pyro. I guess they have a hard time lighting the man every year. Maybe its because fires usually get started from the bottom to become successful. Once Vaval went up in flames it was truly a spectacular sight. We danced in the firelight as the flames licked upwards into the dark sky.

After Carnaval was over the town quieted down considerably. With no need to hang around town we decided to take a sail. We ended up anchored in the crystal blue waters of St. Jean. One of the spectacular things about St. Jean it that is it right where the runway ends onto the beach. Seriously, right on the beach. So we hug out at the Pink Parrot at La Plague and watched the planes land. David and I walked back toward St. Jean the following day so we could get pictures of the planes coming in. One plane came in not six feet above David's head!

As you can all see, we have been very busy enjoying every last thing the island has to offer which is why the blog has been put off so long. Sorry for the delay and check back often because we might have more coming soon.