St. Maarten/St. Martin
The island of St. Maarten/St. Martin is unique as it is
divided into two countries – one French and one Dutch. St. Maarten is the Dutch side of the island
and St. Martin is the French side of the island. You can spend US Dollars on
either side but the prevailing currency on the Dutch side is Dutch guilders and
on the French side-Euros. Most people on
the Dutch side speak English whereas the prevailing language on the French side
is, of course, French. The Dutch side of
the island is more commercial than the French side but I think the French side
is prettier. There are some wonderful
resorts and beaches on the French side and great dining. It is interesting to visit one rather small
island and have two different cultures to experience. The sunset photo was
taken from the beach on the French side at the Mercure resort. A lovely dinner
there was enjoyed along with a very relaxing evening of music at the bar with a
guy who played the trumpet and sang old standbys – Inglebert Humperdinck, Herb
Albert and the Tijuana Brass, Dean Martin and others that some of you will be
too young to recognize.
The capital of the French side is Marigot (mar-ee-go). A recent visit to the open market near the
harbor featured locally made items, t-shirts and general tourist stuff. I
bought a sarong which I think is very pretty and can wear as a wrap over my
bathing suit, a shawl for evenings or as a skirt-very handy!
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A delicious lunch at a local Creole restaurant included
Creole shrimp, peas and rice (kidney beans and rice-a staple in the islands),
fried plantains and, salad. While you might associate Creole cooking with New
Orleans, the style of cooking is a blend of island and African brought to the
States by slaves from the West Indies.
Usually somewhat spicy and almost always featuring some kind of rice as
a side dish. Having dined on Creole
cuisine in New Orleans (one of my favorite places in the States) I was thrilled
to find it here.
The capital of St. Maarten (the Dutch side) is Philipsburg. This is where the large cruise ships come in and
there is plenty of high end shopping including many jewelry stores as the
island is duty free.
There is bus service from around the island to Philipsburg
and goes over the mountain with lovely views:
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