MEETING ᴍʏ BROTHER ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ CARIBBEAN

Once this was just one of my wild imaginations, I never thought it could really happen.  I feel that I don't have the right words to describe the experience, it was too strong but I will do my best to convey it.  During our last vacation in the Philippines my husband first met Dodong Owen (one of my brothers) who is working in a cruise ship that travels from Europe to the Caribbean and back and my husband told me perhaps it could be possible to meet Dodong at one of his ports of call.  I giggled at the idea but it was too good to be true so I didn't really entertain the thought so much.  Then we arrived (me and my husband) in Martinique and enjoyed discovering the island together.  Every now and then my husband asked me to check my brother's schedule.  Then he promised we will really catch him once he's in the Caribbean.  We were hoping to see him in St. Lucia by November of last year but then we were disappointed because there had been some delays in the validation of my "Titre De Sejour" (permit to stay in France) so I couldn't leave Martinique at that time.  It was very sad and frustrating because from the south of Martinique we could see St. Lucia, it is that close....and yet we couldn't go there!  My husband saw my frustration and he promised we'll meet my brother another time since he is scheduled to go to some french islands (St. Martin and Guadeloupe) a few months later.

 

We had no other choice but to wait.  What's adding the frustration is that the delay wasn't even our fault.  My husband did all that he could to have the process done faster but sometimes things are just so impossible in this island. 

 

Then came December and we've finally decided to meet Dodong in St Martin.  My husband had been scouting for the best vacation deals, air tickets and hotels that he could find.  One day he got home a little soaked with rain yet with a beautiful smile then he gave me the receipt of the hotel reservation and plane tickets to St Martin.  I was jaw-dropped surprised!  I was so happy and excited for it yet I have to wait for a little over a month.  Thankfully the Christmas holiday changed my mind :)

 

By the 18th of January (Friday) we headed for St. Martin.  We thought it would be a direct flight but we had a stop over in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe.  The flights went well.  We arrived in St Martin at past five in the afternoon, it was already dusky yet it was still enough to appreciate what we could see when we landed.  A car from the hotel was waiting for us and the driver was very kind.  He explained to us some things about the island. 

 

This small island is divided in two parts, the French side and the Dutch side.  We arrived and stayed at the French side until Sunday morning.  We stayed at the Mercure Hotel, it was very nice...so huge and the staffs were polite and very professional.  Our room was very huge, inclusive of breakfast, with balcony, a view of the beach, very calm and the price was very interesting.  We then maximised our stay!

 

The next day (Sunday) we woke up so early, had our breakfast and left the hotel to go to the Dutch side (St Petersburg) where we will be meeting Dodong.  I couldn't contain my excitement!  The island is filled with hills and when we were on the last hill looking over St Petersburg our driver told us that the two gigantic ships we could see from afar were the cruise ships, one of them must be AZURA (Dodong's ship)....Oh my God!  I was jumping in the car!  I was like a little girl who is soon to receive her first Christmas present :)

 

There was a little confusion with our meeting place as there were two possible gates where Dodong could possibly arrive so I left my husband at one gate and I went running to the other one.  After some minutes of walking and running I saw a man who I was so sure and later have confirmed to be a Filipino.  After speaking for a few minutes he confirmed that he knows my brother.  My cellphone got busted so I had to leave him a message in case he sees my brother.  Then I continued to walk half-running with lots of blisters on my feet and I saw a group of Filipinos who recognised me right away as the sister of their colleague and they pointed me his direction.  I was so overwhelmed that when I saw my brother I jumped at him and grabbed him sooooo tight while crying some tears of joy.  We were both laughing and crying at the same time.  We walked back to get my husband then back again to visit MS AZURA (one of today's biggest ships in the world). 

 

Inside the ship was another world.  Everything was beautiful.  We were so mesmerised!  There were a lot of restaurants, bars, swimming pools, Jacuzzis, a casino, a huge theatre and God knows what else.  We couldn't possibly visit the whole ship with our very limited time.  I was so happy to see where my brother was working and staying at the same time.  His cabin is small but very nice, he has only one room mate and the space is just enough.

 

After visiting the ship we went out and had lunch at the Hard Rock café.  It was so perfect though time went by so fast.  My brother surprised me with a souvenir t-shirt from the Hard Rock café, it brought me to tears...i was soooo touched.  Ah! we also bought some gifts for the family since Dodong will be going home at the end of February.  My husband had a crystal skull bottle of Vodka, he's not crazy of Vodkas but he likes the bottle so much.

 

Another interesting thing about St Martin is their prices of things because it's tax free.  It is a perfect shopping destination.

 

We went walking for a few minutes after eating and we saw a lot of shops of everything, from simple souvenirs to electronics and expensive jewelries.  In the end it was not easy because we wanted to stay longer yet we were so far from our airport and we didn't want to miss our flight.  It was bitter-sweet but it was perfect!  Yes I cried so much again when we left because I hate goodbyes and I brought my husband to tears too by seeing me crying.  Dodong did his best to be strong, I was afraid he broke down in the arms of a complete stranger when we were out of site!  LOL...

 

It was a very unforgettable gift from my husband!  The happiness that we all felt when we were all together was priceless and every single day of my life my heart will always be filled with gratefulness.

 

Now we're thinking where to catch him next?hmmm....we'll see :)

 

 

 

 

ɪ ʜᴀᴅ ᴀ GREAT 2012

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end, a very famous line of one of my favorite songs.  As I'm writing this, one year is ending and a new one is coming.  Year two-thousand-and-twelve has been a lot to me.  I've had a lot of changes in my life, a lot of things just happened but my health has been not at its finest though.  At the start of the year I had my tonsils removed and it took so long (many months) for my taste to come back, it got me so scared at some points.  Then I've been having allergies, insect bites were not healing quickly and some minor illnesses which had me see a doctor more often than the previous years but I still thank God because they are just minor problems.

 

Aside from the health issues everything else is beautiful!  If I have to some it all up I'd say this is a year of vacations, travels and a lot of learnings.  I've had the longest vacation of my life so far which soon is gonna change since I'm going to attend my language school.  I've had the most beautiful trip of my life with my husband (so far)  from Cebu to Hong Kong to Paris to Martinique.  I've been travelling around Martinique too, my husband is so good with showing me the best like he is with a lot of things.  I am so lucky to have such a loving, caring, romantic and responsible husband, it's a real blessing, it's a work of miracle as I call it!

At the beginning of this year too I took the chance of learning and improving my French language skills and I had a great opportunity learning with a bunch of amazingly nice people.  It was a very good start, something so worth it!  It wasn't easy since I was working the night and studying the morning but it paid off, I arrived in France a little equiped with my basic conversational French level.

I've also had this great opportunity of learning and practicing to cook.  I knew how to cook a few dishes before but I haven't really been in charged of the kitchen for the longest time ever.  Now that I'm here with my husband in Martinique I got this very beautiful chance and I'm enjoying every second of it and a chance to be able to take care of him too physically, finally!  As we've been deprived of that so much when we were thousands of miles apart.

It had been a very blissful and colorful year filled with love, laughters, forgiveness and many other emotions along the way. 

May this coming year be another colorful year filled with love, courage, blessings, adventures, happiness, good health and peace!  May God bless our 2013.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
 

ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ ᴅᴀʏs ɪɴ THE NORTH

My husband is finally on vacation after around seven months of working.  His last vacation was in the Philippines and this time we'll spend it just here in Martinique, no airplane rides.  He's been here for more than three years so he knows the island and he's been showing me around since I arrived in May.  We live in the south and he's been telling me about showing me the northest point of the island which we have decided to do in this vacation.  He's a very good guide and the best in planning vacation activities.  He invited two of his colleagues to join us in the longest trekking of the island, at the north.

 

Since we're from the south he offered me a three day vacation in Grand'Rivière, the northest and last city of the island facing the Atlantic ocean.  The first day we'll enjoy to ourselves, the second day we'll spend trekking with his colleagues and the third day will be to relax a bit before driving back home. 

 

Indeed, we left home at ten in the morning and started hitting the road.  We made a few stops along the way; first was in a grocery store at the city called Le Lorrain to buy us some bottles of water.  Then at Basse Pointe (where Aimé Césaire was born) for lunch, we found a good native restaurant called Petit Palais, the price and food were correct and the waitress was very kind.  The last stop was at JM rhum distillery in Macouba, the last small city before Grand'Rivière.  It's a small distillery which is being renovated at the moment.  We bought a bottle of an old rhum and a few rhum glasses. 

 



At last we arrived in Grand'Rivière at a little past four in the afternoon.  The city is very small, it's just like a small barangay back home (in the Philippines).  There's only one hotel/guest house in the city, my husband booked a room a week ago-which was pretty challenging because he had to call back around five times before it was actually done-.  The name of the guest house is Chez Tante Arlette which is also a very good native restaurant.  When we arrived we found a parking lot facing the Atlantic ocean where we could also see Dominica, the next island, it was very nice then we walked a little towards the newly built dock to enjoy the view even more.  After enjoying the view, the sun and the Atlantic wind we went looking for Chez Tante Arlette which never took long at all, it was just a few blocks away from where we parked.  When we arrived at the guest house it was kind'a strange, they were all looking at us like we're some kind of zombies..lol...but a few minutes later Tante Arlette welcomed us so warmly and we felt better.  We then moved the car and parked it in front of the guest house.  There are only three rooms in this guest house, at the second floor and the first floor is their very good restaurant and it's where they live too I suppose. 

We settled in our room and went out after a quick shower for a sunset walk.  Then at the same time I suddenly felt sick, I couldn't stop peeing and it's painful...a Urinary Track Infection for sure and it scared me.  Well, we still went for a walk...the sunset was very beautiful and we went to the church too.  They have a very beautiful church, small but beautiful and there's a huge christmas tree across it.  Unfortunately we didn't enjoy the afternoon so much since I was feeling so sick.  I started drinking a lot of water because I know it can help, then my husband called one of his colleagues whose coming the next day to try to drop by at a pharmacy to see if he can get me something. 

At seven-thirty we went downstairs for dinner and I asked my husband to inquire if they have coconut water because I know it's good against the UTI too.  Unfortunately they don't have it available at the moment but Karine, the daughter of Tante Arlette called someone to ask for coconut water for breakfast.  We were so happy and amazed with their kindness because we don't see that a lot in this island.  They also gave me a glass of half beer and half water, apparently it could help too.  For dinner we had grilled fish, the best grilled fish in the world!!hahaha...  It was marinated and prepared by Tante Arletter herself, she's most likely over seventy years old but she still does what she does best, cooking and welcoming guests.  During the meal I forgot for a moment that I was sick, it's that Delicious!!! 

After dinner there's nothing else to do there so we went back to our room and I was feeling worst.  It was like a nightmare, at some point I peed more than a dozen times in an hour.  It's not making us sleep and we had a very long hiking to do the next day.  It was scary and frustrating at the same time.  There's no doctor or pharmacy in this part of the island so it was very challenging.  At around midnight I wanted to sleep on the floor because I didn't want to bother my husband since I kept going to the toilet every three or five minutes but the moment he noticed it he didn't allow me.  Thankfully the urge to pee and the pain somehow decreased allowing us to sleep a few hours and in the morning I felt a lot better and I was sure I could go hiking with them.  During the breakfast I had my coconut water and it indeed helped so much!

We met the colleagues of my husband at the tourism office of the island where we had to pay for the boat which will pick us up after the 18 km hiking.  There was another guest from Tante Arlette's who had to join us because no one is allowed to be alone in the forest.  We started walking at eight-twenty, the first hour and a half was pretty challenging because we had to climb a little but it was fine, we stopped a few times to take some pictures.  We walked and walked until we were totally inside the huge virgin forest, where you could almost not see the sun.  It was so beautiful, I love the smell of the ground with dried fallen leaves, the fresh cool air, the sound of the birds and the wind and in a way I was forgetting that I was even ill.  After hours of walking inside the forest all the time we started seeing the ocean every now and then, the view was amazing!  At eleven-thirty we stopped for lunch after a short tunnel.  Fabrice made and brought a cocktail for everyone.  It felt so good to fill our empty stomachs after three hours of walking.  As we continued the view got even more and more beautiful but the last hour was a challenge again, our feet felt so heavy and it was so much more for Fabrice because he was carrying two back packs, he didn't want me to carry my back pack... great husband I have, I know :)

We arrived at the beach in Anse Couleuvre where we could see the bottom of the mountain touching the sea directly, it's very beautiful!  We walked five hours and thirty-seven then we spent about an hour and a half at the beach waiting for the boat.  I didn't go for a swim, the sea is too wild and besides I thought it was not good for my UTI.  The boat arrived at four forty-five and I found the boarding funny and scarry at the same time.  Since the Atlantic waves are so strong we had to be very quick in boarding the boat and since I don't swim it scared me so much.  I ran like crazy, got on the boat and sat very quickly then I saw the others doing the same thing like we were running away from a mad man...LOL... While on board the boat the challenge continued for me because the waves were so wild and big.  I still got scared even if I was among some sailors because sometimes I felt like we were flying.  Nonetheless, I still did my best to look at the view and oh my God!  It was so beautiful seeing the forest that we walked, we saw the very beautiful landscapes, the very high cliffs falling directly to the Atlantic ocean.....breathtaking!

 

The boat ride wasn't so long, thankfully.  When we got to the guest house we had some drinks, they had beer and I had my coconut water again.  Fabrice's colleagues then left as they gotta work the next day, Xavier (the other guest from Tante Arlette's) stayed for the night like us.  We took long showers and relaxed a little before dinner.  At dinner it was a feast!  I had a plate of La Grillade du Pecheur which is composed of a half crayfish, lots of shrimps and grilled conch with rice and local vegetables on the side...hmmmm.....It filled my very hungry stomach.  Fabrice had a plateful of giant ouasous (local fresh water shrimps) with rice and local vegetables on the side too!  Everything was delicious and we enjoyed our dinner with our new friend, Xavier.

 

The next day at around mid-day we left for our long drive home and unfortunately on the way I was so road-sick.  I hate long drives :(  Because I was so sick my dearest husband surprised me by sending me to a very good restaurant again for lunch in Depaz rhum distillery called Le Moulin à Cannes.  We had another very delicious meal!!!  Then the next and last stop was the Neisson rhum distillery.  It's a small distillery and they're so good with white rhums.

It then felt soooo good to be home, in our own little paradise in Les Papayers.

The trekking map (image from http://internes-au-soleil.over-blog.com/5-index.html)

Parked just in front of Chez Tante

 The room.

 With Tante Arlette herself :)

 Keeping up with them :)

 Breathtaking view of the Atlantic ocean.

 Some coves you'll see along the way :)

 Matoutou Falaise - a native huge spider.

 My plateful of seafoods...hhhmmmm.....

His plateful of giant native fresh-water shrimps...yummmyyyy!!!