Hello from St Maarten

It has been 10 days since leaving everything we know to set off on our adventure around the world.  We arrived in St Maarten, never having been to the island or knowing much about it, except for the fact that this was where our boat was and therefore, this was where we would start our journey.

We rented a car online before we left the states.  With it being "off season", we found really great deals.  The rental car is $7/day plus $9/day for insurance.  Yes, the insurance was more than the rental car, but we looked at it as $16/day total and that is a pretty great deal.  They guys at the rental car place were extremely helpful, and although I had read horror stories about renting cars on the island, our experience thus far has been incredibly pleasant, economical, and efficient.  

Our Airbnb was the cheapest one I could find basically at $60/night so I was a bit worried, I will not lie.  We could not be happier with the location, the unit, and the people.  There is a large pool for the girls to swim in, the property is on the beach so we wake up every morning to the clear blue water out our back door, and everyone here is a local and speaks French.  What makes us even happier is that the girls have made friends and although neither speak each other's language, they all play together, figuring out how to communicate by pointing, etc.  Children are amazing.  

The boat broker who we purchased Kanaloa from, has been a saving grace throughout the entire process.  He could have sold us the boat and told us, it was a pleasure doing business, goodbye.  However, he did the opposite and has helped us find people and schedule boat maintenance which has been so very helpful, especially since we were in the US. Reginald Bates from Weather Eye Yachts, we love you :)  

Other than that, we have been learning about the best places to get groceries, wifi, boat gear, etc.  So far, we absolutely love this island.  We prefer the French side, mainly because of its authenticity and our love of France in general, but also because of its slower pace and way of life.  The French have living right.  The Dutch side, however, is where you go to get wifi and do work...so I think they compliment each other well to give you the best of both worlds within one 7 mile long island.

I will start to write more now that we have our footing here.  

Let's Talk Immigration (People and Pets)

Hi people.  I hope you are having a wonderful day :)  

Let's talk immigration...

When you purchase a vessel in a foreign country and plan to sail it around the world, immigration gets confusing.  It is even more confusing when the island is controlled by two separate countries, such is the case in St Maarten where half the island is Dutch and the other half is French.  Most who come to St Maarten fly into the Dutch side and either go to the French side or stay on the Dutch side, but SXM is the main airport and it is on the Dutch side.  Our boat is on the Dutch side, however we are staying in an Airbnb on the French side until we launch the boat.  Confused yet, because I am :)  Something important to note, there is free movement between both sides between people and goods.  Okay, so get this...

The Dutch side only allows a US person to stay for 30 days.  The French side allows a US person to stay for 90 days???  You also need a return ticket, so it will be a long customs conversation on Sunday I am sure.  If anyone knows what we will need, PLEASE email us.  I plan on bringing our "Bill of Sale" for the boat, and I have all contact info and the Airbnb address...am I missing something.  I hope it will not be too much of a hassle, but I fear already that it will...

Next, Pet Importing...

I think the USDA pet import is a scam.  Yep, I said it.  I'll lay out the process below and you make your own opinion, but to me...scam.  The below steps apply to many countries, but not all...I am only referring to St Martin since that is where we are going.  Okay...

1 - You have to get your dog cleared within 10 days of landing.  Not 14, not 11...10.

2 - To get your pet cleared, you need to go to the vet and get them to fill out the 20 pages of forms required for International travel.  Anything the pet does not have, you will need to get, such as flea and tick preventative, heart worm preventative, etc.  The total cost for the exam is about $50 and the cost for the International Paperwork is $80 (at our vet).  In addition, it took a good 1.5 - 2 hours.

All that is fine, I understand having to do that...here is where I have an issue:

3 - THEN you have to head right on over to Fed Ex and take the paperwork the vet just filled out and signed and OVERNIGHT it to USDA (since I am in NC the USDA is in Albany, NY) and on top of that, you have to purchase a prepaid return label so they can overnight it back to you AND write them a check for $38.  WHAT?!?!?  

WHY does the USDA have to validate a form for my pet that they do not even look at??  Think about it, it makes zero sense.  You end up spending over $100 for the USDA to sign a document?  Seriously USDA, I call bullsh*t!  I can only imagine the USDA telling other countries that they need to be the final approval, just so they can keep government employees employed.  Ridiculous.

4 - 24 hours upon landing in the country, you have to take your pet to a vet in St Maarten to get them examined...AGAIN.  

There HAS to be a more efficient and/or better way to do this people.  

So, those two elements are what we have been working through over the past 2 days.  Sunday cannot come soon enough....

Renn

Writing makes me want to stab myself in the face with a screwdriver

I'm more a math kinda girl.  Writing has always been incredibly unpleasant for me...borderline painful.  I'm a smart girl so I did great in school, but deep down inside I plotted the murder of book reports and essays.  Anyway, needless to say, that is why my "blog" is not a daily activity for me and that is what made me choose to "vlog" instead.  For those who have no idea what a vlog is, it is merely a blog in video form.  So, you would receive my writing topic in a video instead of reading it.  I'm pretty sure the person that started the vlog concept hated writing as much as I do...either that or they were a bit narcissistic...hmmm.  Either way, this is the reason I started to make vlogs and I am super stoked to begin the daily vlog of our Adventure around the world, on October, 16th.

Anyway, just came on to let everyone know that i just posted my blog entry via "vlog" for today, so head on over and check it out when you're bored.  It's pretty much the best 6 minutes you've ever had....ever ;)  If you know me, or you have any sense of humor, you know that was a joke.  However, it is made with love and for your enjoyment, so I hope you enjoy.

If you have not already subscribed to our channel, do that so you can stay updated on our adventure.  I am much better at posting there, promise :)

The link is www.youtube.com/c/svkanaloa

Thanks for reading.  You guys rock!

Love,
Renn

12 days of Christmas...or something like that

Update:  We did absolutely nothing today.  Hopefully someone else feels accomplished with their day, because I most definitely do not.  Robbie went to DC for work and the girls and I did a whole bunch of nothing, with the exception of homeschool and an exciting 20 minute walk to the beach.  It was an eerie feeling walking down to the beach with Hurricane Matthew out there somewhere.  Even as far north as VA Beach, the ocean just looked angry and being so close to it, you feel incredibly powerless...it is a very humbling place that will soon be our home.

On a lighter note, I feel like I am 6 years old again, counting down the days until Christmas...where I was so excited I could not sleep, and where time seemed to stop and days would seem endless.  Flash forward to my 34 year old self, and I am back there again.  12 days until we leave, 12 days!!!!  Our new floors should be in by the end of the week and our dodger frame should be up.  This is exciting stuff people, because these few things signify the last little bit we have to get done (by other people) before we move on board.  I need a 12 day hobby to occupy my a.d.d mind.  Any ideas??

Until tomorrow...

Happy Hump Day,

Renn

What remains of my to-do list

Okay guys, countdown is on!  We are less than 2 weeks away from departing and seeing our boat for the first time :)  I can't wait!  In the meantime, we are trying to fill our days with preparation in order to distract ourselves...

Here is what my to-do list looks like for the next 13 days:

- check on visa process for places we are visiting in first year

- change phone plan to international phone plan

- purchase a sat phone

- take my dog to the vet to get him cleared

- look into any international shots we may need 

- sell our car

- flag boat in St Maarten

- get any prescriptions filled we may need, such as antibiotics for the girls, ear drops, etc.

- open new bank account with a more global bank

- get hotel room for St. Maarten

- head to Costco to stock up on anything that may be tough to get in St Maarten 

- get rid of more stuff...ahhhhh

- say goodbye to family

We started this list with about 70 to-do's and as we get them done, we get the satisfaction of checking them off.  These are what remain, so, this is what my next 2 weeks look like.  I am sure I will need to add to it...

On top of that, right now we are getting into a home school routine that the girls like and I do not lose my patience with :)  It is a work in progress.

If you are wondering where we have been, I have taken a break from daily v-logging until Sunday, Oct 16th - the day we leave for St Maarten.  I only did this because our current daily life is one of transition and is just not that interesting :)  So, I will post updates daily, here on the blog and will post weekly videos until next Sunday to keep you all updated.  Daily v-logging will begin again in 13 days...I will give you a countdown :) If you have NO idea what I am talking about, head on over to our Youtube channel and subscribe so you can join our adventure that way.  www.youtube.com/c/svkanaloa

I hope you all have a wonderful Monday!