Philipsburg, St. Maarten

March 15, 2008

The small island of St. Maarten has the unique distinction of being the smallest inhabited sea island divided between two nations. Divided roughly in half between them, the southern Dutch half is part of the Netherlands Antilles and the northern French half is an overseas collectivity of France. Both sides offer beautiful beaches and a full range of resorts for tourists. The Dutch side is famous for its lively nightlife, casinos and exotic rum-based guava berry liquor drinks. The French side of the island is famous for its nude beaches, shopping and delicious French cuisine.

Local legend has that the island was divided by a race. The French and Dutch communities each chose a representative for the race. They were put back to back and when the race started had to walk, not run, along the coast in opposite directions. At the point where they met, a line was drawn across the island, connecting the starting point with their meeting point. This became the dividing line between Saint-Martin (the French side) and Sint Maarten (the Dutch side). The difference in size – the Dutch side is slightly smaller -- between the two halves is attributed to the French representative walking faster than the Dutch . Legend has it that the Frenchman drank wine beforehand, while the Dutch walker drank beer. Wine, with it “restorative” effects enabled the Frenchman to move faster! Who knows! The bottom line is that these two people, who carry French or Dutch passports, live and work on the island as though it was one island. The only difference I could see is that the Dutch side seemed a bit wealthier...the signs all in English.

I was reminded of being here once before when my friends, Ralph and Virginia Neely rented a house for a few weeks on the Dutch side and invited me to join them for a few days. Of course, I had no idea of exactly where we were...but it was fun to come back and see this charming island again.

My day began with a nice bus tour of the Dutch side. Mega yachts dot the harbor with its “front” street and “back” street...the two main shopping areas of the Dutch side. We soon boarded a very nice catamaran and for over an hour toured the harbor seeing the lifestyle of these islanders up close and personal. Very nice! Eventually we docked in Marigot, a small harbor on the French side where there was time for shopping and strolling through the quaint village. I sat at a charming dock-side café and had a bite to eat and watched the rich and famous lounging on their yachts.

After another hour on the bus, driving through nice residential areas, we eventually crossed the “boarder” back into the Dutch side just in time to board the ship before sailing. Although fast, my time in St. Maartens was good...I feel as though I got reacquainted with this charming place....now, when can I come back?

Now we head across the Atlantic for six sea days as we make our way toward Africa. I can’t wait to see all that awaits us there....stay tuned!