Hey Guys,
Next stop on my trip around the world was to St Maarten in the Dutch West Indies. I spent about a week frolicking on the beach, taking long walks, having crepes and croissants from this cute little french bakery every morning. I went ziplinning, para sailing, I hiked to the highest point on the island, I went to a nude beach, worked on my tan, got sun burnt, got lost driving around the island, went shopping in the local market, made friends on the beach who showed me how to play in the waves.. and overall had a great time. The small island has amazing views from any single point of the island, it was almost like being transported into a magical land where the hills were endless, the water was a beautiful blue, and you were constantly reminded of the beauty in the world.
Enjoy the pictures
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| Airport selfies because... why not. |
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| First full day and off to work on my tan |
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| View from where I stayed.. It was great always having such a beautiful view to come back to. |
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| Favorite Breakfast spot- Cafe Atlantico |
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| I had crepes or croissants for breakfast everyday.. deliciousness. |
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| View from Simpson Bay |
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| Warning sign at Maho Beach |
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| It was truly amazing watching the planes land |
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| Welcome to St Maarten, and I was hyped because Kevin Hart and his buddies took pictures here like a week after I left.. |
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| Finally working on my tan at my absolute favorite beach Mullet Beach.. |
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| You can see the planes landing over Maho beach to the left, and I believe that is St. Barth's to the left |
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| I wandered off somewhere at Mullet beach.. the view was amazing |
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| I off course was not shy about asking people to take pictures of me.. everyone was nice so why not.. Do you see how blue and clear the water is. |
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| So I had this great idea of driving up to the highest point of the mountain.. Let me just tell you after i passed those cars, I drove up for about 2 minute, and by drove I mean I attempted to climb rocks with this tiny car. I got stuck after about 5 minutes .. on the side of this mountain or rock.. I looked to the left and welp... it was a very long way down .. to my right was a wall of trees and all other unknown creatures. I took a very deep gulp of air and then started cautiously baking down the mountain. You see i had to climb back down all the little rocks I had driven over while trying my very best not to fall off the side of the mountain.. Phew.. the longest 15 minutes of my life. I eventually made it back down to those cars, parked and then walked up. Say no to danger guys. |
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| Hiking up to Pic Paradis |
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| View from the top.. |
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| Mandatory Selfie.. |
Off course I had to use my self timer and go selfie crazy..
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| A lovel couple form Florida eventually made their way up on those 4 wheeler thingys and they helped me take some pictures,. |
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| Back on the beach.. gotta get this tan right |
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| Sunset |
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| Fresh juicy mangoes... takes me right back to Nigeria. I also had passion fruit which I bought from Marigot Market |
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| Another day and off to the beach |
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| A little rain during my morning run.. |
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| A little eye candy |
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| My last day was crazy.. the water was so rough, and the waves were choppy.. there were actual surfers at almost every beach. It was really cool and I met this lovely lady Rose, and she and her brothers were so friendly and came to ask me if i needed company. They taught me how to play in the water with the waves, and how to make my body move with the waves. We got washed out by the waves, we laughed, and had a good time. |
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| Yep!! add sun burnt nose and ears to the list... |
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| There was a carnival or street party my last night |
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| Bye ST Maarten, thnaks for being awesome |
I had a really amazing time. I met so many different people who were so sweet, and very welcoming. I drove around the island, got lost, went zip linning, (although i don't have any pictures because my pants didn't have any pockets and i wasn't going to lose my phone), para sailing (watch out for pictures of that in the next blog post). I ate good food, spent a lot of time laying on the beach, having random conversations with strangers, and just enjoying the island and her people. I didn't jump off a cliff, or go island hopping so i know I will be returning to St. Maarten.
Solo travel gives me a different experience from what I'm used to. I find myself reaching out to strangers, and exploring, and being adventurous and just learning and enjoying my company. I also spent a lot of time just reflecting on what i wanted the next couple of months in my life to look like. When i left i wasn't sad, I wasn't stressed out I was just fine with leaving because I made use of every single moment exactly how i wanted to spend it. I literally stressed out about nothing.
I cant wait to go back to St. Maarten, probably not this year but in the near future. A big thank you to my lovely host.
XOXO
Bella Joya
