Bibliography

• "Experience St. Maarten/St. Martin - Plan, research and go.." Experience St. Maarten/St. Martin - Plan, research and go.. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.experiencestmaarten.com/>.
• 

  
  Fodor's. Fodor's Caribbean 2011 (Full-Color Gold Guides). New York: Fodor's, 2010. Print.
• 

  
  "Travelocity Travel: Airline Tickets, Hotels, Flights, Vacations, Cruises & Car Rentals." Travelocity Travel: Airline Tickets, Hotels, Flights, Vacations, Cruises & Car Rentals. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://travel.travelocity.com>.
• 

  
  "Villa Rentals on St. Maarten and St. Martin: Villa Rentals, Condos, Apartments, Vacation Properties." Villa Rentals on St. Maarten and St. Martin: Villa Rentals, Condos, Apartments, Vacation Properties. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.st-martin-vacation.com>.
• 

  
  "XE: (EUR/USD) Euro to United States Dollars Rate." XE - The World's Favorite Currency and Foreign Exchange Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert.cgi?Amount=1&From=EUR&To=USD>.
• 

  
  "__.:| ALAMANDA RESORT |:.__." __.:| ALAMANDA RESORT |:.__. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2010. <http://www.alamanda-resort.com

Departure

• 
  

Day 5

Today is Epiphany, a Christian hoilday celebrated on the island. It is also the day of a huge kayak race around the island. Ninas grandmother said that when she was young, she used to count down the days to Epiphany, the way many children count down the days to their birthdays.We arrived at Ninas for lunch, after lunch Ninas mother brought out a cake, called La galette des Rois, the traditional cake eaten on Epiphany. Ninas mother said had hidden a bean inside the cake and whoever found the bean inside their peice would becomes the king or queen of the day and get to pick his or her king or queen. The cake was cut so that there was non left over. Kruz found the bean and picked Ninas Grandmother to be his Queen.

Day 4

Today we went diving. We saw great barracudas, sharks, turtles, beautiful hard and soft coral, and a ship wreck. When we saw the first shark,d I was so afraid but he just ignored us. Our guide took us down twice. I thought it would be hard to breath, I was surprised when I found out that my breathing controlled if I went up or down. The ship is an intact 200 foot cargo ship which sunk in a 1996 (the year I was born). We got to go into the pilot house and the engine room, it was incredible.

Day 3

Today Mom and I went shopping with Nina, and her Mother and Grandmother. While Kruz and Dad went golfing. The stores in St. Martin costs about fifteen percent less than stores in the U.S. The french side of the island uses euros, the dutch side uses dollars. The currency exchange from dollars to euros is currently 1.40371 USD = 1.00 EUR. I purchased a small French flag, which is the flag flown in St. Martin, and a necklace. Nina and her mother invited us to their home for epiphany. After shopping we said good bye to Nina and her family, then met back up with Kruz and Dad and went zip lining through the forest.

Day 2

Today we went deep sea fishing. The weather was wonderful, dolphins played in our wake. As I was watching the dolphins, a girl came up to me and intoduced herself. She said that her name was Nina and that she was the daughter of the Captain.  The Captain, Ninas father, told me that he used to work on a commercial fishing boat, where they netted huge amounts of tuna fish. Often they would pull in dolphins, he left the business, came to the island, met Nina's mother and bought his boat. He named it after the dolphins and started his business taking tourists out to go fishing. Everyone caught a fish but me, because Nina and I were too busy talking. She invited me to go shopping. Mom caught the Mahi Mahi in the picture above.

Day 1

We woke up at 10h30 this morning and went to frog legs cycling where we rented mountain bikes which we took on one of the many trails which curve around the island. We packed a picnic and ate it on the edge of the lagoon. We saw sugar birds, egrets, great frigatebirds, and swans. The island is so beautiful after our ride we went down to the beach and then out to dinner at la playa. The restaurants in St. Martin usually lots of seafood and spicy indian creole. The food we ate at La Playa was delicious. I ate a sword fish kabob. We are staying at the Alamanda resort Bale Orientale B.P. 5166 Grand Case 97071 Saint Martin F.I.W.