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.