In Search of the Hidden

Secondary to sporadic wireless connections and inept Internet installation workers, my connection to the rest of the world has been somewhat intermittent so the post are not coming as frequently as i like.

Yesterday was a day of searching for the hidden and secluded beaches of St. Maarten, so me and my sweet Dihatsu 4 banger went tooling around the island's back roads with a handheld gps and a less than poor road map.

With nothing more than a backpack full of bottled water and a few green apples I struck out, following miles of tiny paths through deserted resorts, decaying sea grapes and rocky terrain; but the rewards were worth the efforts and exertions as you can see. The beaches were all quite deserted, it was kind of nice not being around the civilized world for a little while--while i wait on the bear to show.

The beaches I found are named Plum Bay, Long Bay, Coralita Beach and Happy Bay; I have yet to find the one named Petities Cayes--it is on the extreme north end of the island and directions by land are difficult and hard to come by--it is a 20 min boat ride from the nearest beach and after an 1.5 hr hike I decided I was in the wrong spot since i couldn't get over the mountain.

After a nice early morning run and a swim, I spent a good portion of the morning doing the tourist thing by watching the planes land and take off from the airport, and also watching the silly folks standing behind the jets upon their departure.

So pretty much a sedentary day, everything is closed down because of Carnival, of which I could not summon the energy to go and partake of. The traffic is bad enough on the island's one road between Cupecoy and Phillipsburg so I had no desire to partake of the increased throngs of Carnival maddened motorists.

My vacation time is ending soon, registration for school starts on Monday, Orientation on Wednesday and the first day of formal instruction on Thursday. The fun ends there, so I suppose I will have to suck up all the sun and sand and other pleasantries while I am able. See you soon.

Arrive'

I'm not sure what spurs a person to forego all of their belongings, their career, and most everything and everyone they know to move to a foreign land to start over, to begin again--regardless of the source of the spur, the spur has struck, or inadvertenly and unknowingly been left under the saddle by some passing ruffian.

I have arrived!

What began as a fleeting thought at the suggestion of good friend has resulted in a new beginning. (thanks mike)--i'm finally doing what i set out to do 30 years ago, i'm in med school (a perpetual student now it seems), the kids are enrolled at an international academy here on the island that begings in August, Leah is going back to school while on the island to work on her masters/nurse practitioner. 4 unemployed students in foreign land, at least one of us should undergo some type of psychoanalysis to discover if this is all really real or not.

Anyway this is day 2 of the transformation: I left a 2,000 sq. foot house, a definite and productive future in a nationwide company, dogs, vehicles, friends and family to chase a dream. I have transformed into an unemployed long haired, bearded pepetual student living in a 750 sq. foot apartment, that isn't too bad yet, I have a place to get out of the rain and running water and lights (although they sometimes aren't both functioning at the same time) but being able to get up and go for a run to the cliffs overlooking Cupecoy beach seems to compensate for any lack of modern necessities (i'm also discovering that all the former necessities really aren't necessary at all), which brings another thought into my mind:

William Faulkner once wrote about a character named Ike McCaslin who had a long and tumultuous life, but as a child he was an avid hunter in the fictitious woods of Yoknapatawpha County, in those woods there was this enormous bear named “Old Ben” that all the men had tried to kill for years there, it is a long and tedious story to read but the point of this verbal wandering is that Ike could never see the bear until at one point he gave up all his belongings at the suggestion of his mentor and friend that was a half breed Indian tracker, by repudiating all of his worldly possessions Ike was able to see clearly for the first time, he was finally able to see “Old Ben” and I do believe that is what is happening here now, repudiate the fast life, repudiate the damn blackberry, repudiate the need to serve everyone’s needs and wants---I’m waiting to see the bear.

So much for the philosophical side of the blog, chew on that for a little while and see where it takes you. I’m writing this from the Sunset Beach Bar on Mullet Beach where the runway of the Princess Julianna Airport ends (or begins depending on your flight plan), I just watched a 747 take off from directly behind it and felt the blast of 224,000 lbs of thrust. WOW!

I’m not sure why I like this bar so much but it just has a nice kinda laid back atmosphere;-)
well my mahi mahi sandwich is here, so long--I’m going to watch the sun to set and ignite the green flash.