Adventures of the Juju belt

[jujubelt-blog]

They'll judge you anyway St. Martin still surprises me. Even though I haven’t been living here my whole life, I still consider it home.. Well sort of home I guess. I’d like to think that I know the island, that I know the people, the atmosphere and even the skanky little alleys in Dutch quarter. But there are these moments that I’m just amazed how different life is here. How different from the one I have been living for so long.

Take yesterday for example. Saturday the 20th was a busy day. Since it was one of my last free days before my trip to Holland (Yaaay, it’s official! I booked my ticket!) I wanted to run as much errands as I could. I consider myself a fast shopper. I know what I want and nine out of ten times I can get everything I need under sixty minutes. So there I was, strutting the streets of Phillipsburg. Buying liquor and cigarettes, trying get home as fast as I could. It’s crazy how fast time goes when you’re spending money.

The rest of the day passed by swiftly. We celebrated Savvy’s second birthday and went to the official launch of the Nour O foundation. (Visit their website http://www.nour-o.com) By the time the night had introduced itself we were all dressed up and ready to party. It was a fabulous night. I can’t express how much I love my girlfriends and how amazing they are. But after a night of being Mrs. Social I always enjoy my walk home. Not talking to anyone for a good ten minutes and being the grumpy little pessimist I so enjoy to be. So far everything seemed like the usual St. Martin Saturday.

The thing I didn’t expect, was getting this tiny little bag filled with white powder pushed in my hands, accompanied by the words: “Here you go sweetheart, go have some fun with it.” I wouldn’t say I’m a shy person and even though I don’t take any “forbidden” substances, I’m not anti-drugs, but this just surprised me completely, which resulted in me laughing my way home (so much for the grumpiness). It’s funny how nonchalant people are here with cocaine.

But that was all.

(photo: weheartit.com)

[jujubelt-blog]

Rolling in the deep

It's been a wicked week for me. It's still so unreal that in less than a month we are going to travel the world! I've been trying to keep my mind focused on other things. Things that still need to be done, like getting my Padi, looking for a decent backpack and getting some proper walking shoes. I just heard that the trip might be moved another week, which would mean I can extend my Dutch visit! So excited! 

Here on St. Martin you can see that the low season is coming. Yachts are going back to the Meds or Fort Lauderdale, Tantra and Bliss aren't ass packed as they were and the crew bar I'm currently working in is getting empty. But even though the clubs aren't ass "hot" as earlier in the season, the current temperature is killing me! It's getting warmer by the day and a constant line of sweat has stationed itself in between my eyebrows. 

I'm still on the hunt for a cheap ticket to Holland. I've sort of decided to just book a direct flight, instead of a cheaper one via Curaçao. Comfort over Cash in this case. My plan is still to leave on thursday the 25th, which means I'm going to be in Holland at the time our new king is being crowned. Yet another reason to visit home.

As for the Juju belt, it looks like I'm picking that thing up myself. 

(photo: weheartit.com)

[jujubelt-blog]

A leap of faith. I spoke to my dad on the phone today. Told him that I wanted to come home to see him and mom before I would disappear for a while. The anxiety I feel about leaving without a proper goodbye was fed by his enthusiasm for my return. So there I was smiling to him through the phone like an idiot, instantly making up my mind. I'm flying home in two weeks!

The battle of finding the cheapest ticket began. I have my list of flying agency's bookmarked, but was shocked to find that prices had gone up once again. It's ridiculous! I could be backpacking for three months and not spent this amount of money! There were a couple of "less expensive" tickets available, but to travel for 36 hours instead of the normal 10 wasn't exactly what I was hoping for either. I find myself in yet another dilemma, but my search continues. I'll keep you posted.

(photo: weheartit.com) 

[jujubelt-blog]

So why the juju belt?

The word: “Juju” or “Ju-Ju” was previously used by Europeans to describe everything they didn’t understand about the West African culture. Nowadays it’s commonly used in reference to anything superstitious, like: spells and amulets.

Before I can tell you about the Juju belt, you have to know that my mom considers two places in the world “home”. Half of the year she’s in Holland, while the other half she stays in the Gambia. I wouldn’t say she’s a superstitious woman, but when she heard about my plan to travel the world she got a little nervous. Maybe that’s why she decided to see a “Marabu” (a medicine man) to check if he would see prosperity in my future. I don’t know exactly what words were told in that sacred conversation, but my mother sounded a lot more at ease afterwards.

Here’s where the Juju belt comes in. The Marabu made me a leather belt, sort of like a Talisman, which I should wear during my journey. It should protect me against evil and help me return home safe. 

And now here we are. I am currently in St. Maarten and my mother just arrived back in Holland. We are more than 4000 miles apart, but before I start traveling the world I must have this cincture to guide me through. What’s it going to be? Fedex? Or a quick visit to Rotterdam before the adventure begins?

(photo: weheartit.com)

[jujubelt-blog]

Allow me to introduce myself

It all started 21 years ago. In one of the most reinventing cities in the world an amazing person was born. Doctors, priests and medicine man had been waiting for this day for many decades, and on August 16th 1991 it had finally arrived. A tiny little girl blurted out her first joyful howl, which filled her lungs with the sweet O2 of life. 

Yes, I am talking about myself. My name is Maria Merckens and I was born and raised in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. I don’t know if the part of the Doctors waiting for my arrival is true, but I’d like to think it is. I’ve been living a pretty exciting life so far. Traveling to different places, meeting amazing people and trying to squeeze some family and studying time in between. I don’t want to bore you too much with my awesomeness so lets just cut to the chase.

The reason I started this blog is because four friends and I are setting sail this May to travel the world. We’ll be boarding sailboat Corina 4 (a Beneteau Oceanis 523 for the boaty experts under us) to visit over 60 countries in 5 different continents. It all happened very fast and still feels very unrealistic to me, but in less than 5 weeks I will call this tiny little 52 feet boat my home. 

For more information about the trip visit: www.readysetsailnow.com