We may miss being with our family over the holidays, and yet here we are. Our biological clock alerts the need for a warmer climate with turquoise seas. We answer gladly. Most of the people who live or visit SXM are relaxed and in good moods. Slow paced living certainly has its rewards. Each trip back home is fraught with the stress of driving on highways and roads with stressed out drivers! The rat race is a wheel that has no destination. Shopping for more of everything sucks the life out of us. On top of that, we “need” bigger houses and closets to store it all in. Stuff, that at first excited us, becomes the clutter we must later deal with. Fashion has lost its quality while changing ever faster. Most of our life’s purchases are disposable. All the while we work to keep it all going. Unfortunately we have been forced into a fight for our lives. Our food system is making us sick and the health care system seeks only to manage it with drugs that have side effects and are expensive, making insurance a costly necessity.

It is a fight to stay unencumbered. It is a fight to find quality food to maintain a healthy diet. Gone are the days of healthy meat, eggs, and dairy. The water we drink, the air we breathe are also polluted. Moving toward simplicity is rewarding. Stress levels go down as the clutter dissipates. Less is more….is true, with food too. Clean eating with simple ingredients is freeing. It is the joy of simple things that make life worth living. Enjoying the daily sunrise or set, taking in all the colors and sounds surrounding us is a great gift. The sham of the hectic life we’ve been tricked into is revealed throughout nature.

Thank you SXM for continually reminding me of all the simple joys. It is a magical place…as all places should be.

The simplicity of nature keeps us coming back to this little gem. We’ve crossed over from Cul de Sac via kayak a couple of times and spied a sea turtle near our boat. This time we took the ferry with an early morning yoga class. Mats were spread out over the frontmost decks of Karibuni. The morning session awakened students with stretches and strengthening postures. After class we were all provided chaise lounges, where a French breakfast of croissants, baguettes with butter and jellies, fresh fruit, fresh squeezed orange or grapefruit juice, and tea or coffee were brought out with flowery sprigs to complete the presentation. The lounges were ours until 11am. We could’ve stayed for a price but opted to hike all over the little island. All the rain drastically improved the flora and fauna.

Upon our early morning arrival, the beach was covered with hermit crab tracks. After Irma they seemed to have vanished. It was wonderful to see they had made a strong comeback.

Part of the trail was so well protected from the windward breezes, that the sun‘s heat made it difficult to breathe. The highest point invited back the refreshing wind, cooling my overheated body. Views of Anguilla, Tintamarre, St. Barths, and St Martin were a welcome reward of the climb. Heading toward the beach opposite of Anguilla, the tall green grasses swayed in the breeze trying to obscure the visibility of the path. The beaches were more open since Irma and the sea grape bushes have grown back forming primitive shelters for overnight guests, who’s presence was evident. I settled with my beach towel in the shade of one such “hut”. Relaxation almost overtook me until a rather large hermit crab brushed against my foot. Hunger had set in and it was time to head back for lunch. We enjoyed watching the sugar birds, people and fishermen delivering a fresh catch of lobster.

Time on Pinel seems to stand still, but the last ferry run always comes too fast. The lighting on St. Martin’s mountains changes the mood throughout the day ending in glowing silhouette. The whole experience, once again, was magical.

This particular trip got off to a rough start. Our flight out of Fort Lauderdale hit a few snags. Since we had a bag to check, we were forced to purchase a return ticket and our credit card stopped working. We tried several times to buy gas before returning the car rental, that tripped the hold on the card. The TSA didn’t like the fact that we brought bricks of coffee which were swiped and X-rayed individually. In the back pack, Bill inadvertently placed a half drunk bottle of water that caused hands on screening. Thinking we finally were settled at the gate, I glanced over the tickets and noticed our chosen seats defaulted to none. The woman at the counter must not have liked my questioning, and we found ourselves in the upright position in the last row afforded. To boot, this row had no window. This was our first ever trip in which we were unable to observe the approach to the island and runway. The recent winds had diverted a flight to San Juan. Our initial attempt was aborted just as we were about to touch the landing strip. We were unable to see that our landing came from the rare opposite direction. (We were able to watch a friends video of the landing on Facebook.)

We finally landed safe and sound on SXM and all the stress of the travel melted away as we breathed in the warmth of the island. Twenty-two years of trips and we’re still happy and thankful to be here.