Zipping through St Maarten

I woke with a gentle breeze flowing through the windows, the duck down quilt encasing me in a cuccoon of warmth and the mattress below me sunk just that perfect amount to make it feel I was sleeping on nothing at all. By far the most luxurious setting I have woken to in St Maarten, the mansion that my Canadian friend E lives in made up for its eery emptiness in one sweet morning.

Feeling a little sketchy from the previous night's debauchery, we took our time having breakfast and surfing the net. I ran smack-bang into an angry boyfriend, concerned about my behaviour when drunk (long story) but he was drunk this time so probably a bit more animated than he would've been. Eventually he retired to bed and I could get on with my day, hoping to rectify things the next time we spoke.

So today was to be our Loterie Farm adventure day, because our Rock n Roll Rhino tour was cancelled due to lack of numbers. Except that E was held back at the mansion to meet her boyfriend online from England, annoyed that he was taking up so much of the day she wanted to spend hiking and exploring the island with me. I was also getting a bit impatient, not wanting to waste the day, and eventually figured I would have to get to Loterie Farm myself. I was determined to do that zipline!

E dropped me home to shower etc and I called N to see if she was able to come to the farm with her car. After another no, I begrudingly resigned to getting their on public transport, not really my ideal as the hill I have to climb to Loterie Farm is HUGE from the bus stop and in this heat.... grrrrr.

As it happened, as things happen on this island, I ran into a friend on his motorbike who said he was going to the French side and would take me. Yay! Except that he fucks around lik,e an old nanna doing everything, so I had to accompany him to his boss' house (the old English guy from a while back with the speedboat), wait while he changed, then stop every few minutes to get diverted somewhere else - "Oh,I forgot my keys! Shit, we need helmets for the French side! I need to buy a car battery." I felt like we'd never get there.

In the end, I got there. Almost 2 hours after I saw the guy in the street originally. Weaving in and out of traffic, mostly with no helmet on, clutching him for my life (he told me to relax). Craziness. I walked in and was half an hour early for the last zipline ride of the day. The guy at reception gave me an icy introduction and ended up being my guide - this will be fun, I thought.

I tried to warm him up on the truck ride to the peak starting point, and eventually he started to thaw. Turned out to be quite a nice guy, just more reserved and "speak when I'm spoken to" kinda vibe. Built and quite handsome, I was glad I wore the t-shirt most likely to get sweat marks and got all hot from the humid tropical forest around us. Well, I'm not picking him up so really, it doesn't matter. I am still a girl, though, at the end of the day!

I was a bit worried about the zipline, thinking I'd get scared of the heights or burn my hand trying to slow down with my glove on the cable. None of that happened. In fact, I was not one bit worried about how high up I was and picked it up really quickly. It was so fun, whizzing through the trees and looking at the stunning view of the French side of the island. Couldn't look too much, though, or I'd run into the tree at the other end!

The guide ended up being my personal assistant, as I was the only one riding that afternoon. Pretty sweet! I gave him a tip at the end, but I couldn't afford much. I just hate when residents come to ride and don't tip me, so I didn't want to be the same. He offered to give me a lift into Marigot which would save the hills again and just mean a simple bus ride back to my house. Actually, he also offered to let me come back to use the zipline again for free for some exercise on a Sunday. I just may take him up on that!

I'd had a guavaberry colada waiting for him to finish work, and it was awfully sweet so I felt a bit sick afterwards. After all that activity I guess I should have stuck to the water. I laid down on my bed and read a book at home, still a bit shaky from the night before. I called it a night early, cooking dinner and just chilling, even though it was a Friday. Well, I usually just chill on a Friday, hell no to getting loose and having a heavy head on a Satuday at work! We're almost always busy.

A called me in the night, when he'd sobered up, and we talked things through. All is well once again. I'm glad, I hate fighting with him. I think he's the same, so we usually straighten things out fairly quickly. And then it was sleeeeeeeeeeeepy time for me. A nice, quiet night in.