By Arabella Horsfield
We woke up in the early morning. We were on an island blooming with nature and beauty not too far from St. Maarten. We were tucked behind the multiple hills positioned perfectly to block the wind from blowing onto us.
When entering the marina ready to go into town, you would be towered by the masts of each and every boat as if they were skyscrapers. Once on land, you would be cursed with the need of having to go buy something. Though before going shopping, we needed to fill ourselves up with fuel to last us to lunch. This is a French island so why not go to a French bakery. After munching down the flakey and warm croissants, we were ready to go on a spree. On every street, you would find shops selling swimwear, summer dresses, and casual outfits. If not, then small boutiques selling hats, sunglasses, shoes, and other odds and ends. After being in the Caribbean for so long, it was such a luxury to be able to find shops we hadn’t seen since Hong Kong. After buying several bags full to the brim with clothing and accessories, we carefully took the bags to a safe place so that we would not be lifting weights for the rest of the day.
We had used up all our energy shopping and our stomachs were grumbling waiting to be fed. My favourite place to go there is this poki bowl restaurant, it sells the best of the best poki bowls. We ordered at the counter and watched our food be made. While talking to the people there, we realized the French are incredibly friendly and relaxed here unlike in other French islands such as Martinique, Guadeloupe…
After lunch, why not walk to the other side of the island and relax on one of the many beautiful sandy beaches. We walked up the road which was bordered by trees and flowers of every shape and colour. We look up to the trees and see a million shades of green. Walking down the slope towards the north of the island, we saw an airplane come in at full speed towards the runway. We walked over and waited for the next plane to come down so that it could fly straight above our heads. It was surreal!
We were almost at the beach but then a squall hits us, we run over to a store and stay there for cover while the raincloud passes. Unsurprisingly, we get sucked into the shop and don’t want to leave. Our body nudges us along wanting to swim right away, so we navigated ourselves away from the swimsuits and toward where we use our swimsuits. We arrive at the beach and it’s magnificent. The ocean glitters when the sun hits the water and the waves crash down creating foam and bubbles. We hopped into the cold water and it rapidly resets the temperature of our body. Getting out is the hardest, I tried and tried until I finally force my body out.
Time passes so fast that the sun was about to disappear on the horizon. We pick one of the many restaurants to dine at and are excited to eat. I feel as though all food the french make tastes good but when I hear dessert my excitement pops out immediately. I try to calm myself down but it’s truly hard. The French make the best dessert and I was excited to see the menu. Creme Bruleé! I ordered so many that you were in complete shock. They would say my eyes eat more than my stomach can but that sure isn’t true. When we’re talking about creme bruleé, I could eat that forever and I sure did finish it all.
Once we finished eating, well once I finished eating, we started the trek back to the boat. Before the boat, we went over to Fort Gustave. It’s recognizable by the red and white stripes going across the lighthouse. Up there, you can look over the whole harbor and I spotted Arabella in the distance.
Finally, we arrived back on Arabella. It has been a long but incredible day, thank you for providing us with this wonderful experience St Barthélémy.