We arrived in St. Maarten, the Dutch side of the Island, early in the morning and were greeted by a simply beautiful day.  We took a motor coach tour of the Island which gave us a real picture of this tiny island.  St Maarten, (Philipsburg is its capital with only 4 streets, Back Street, Front Street, Center Street and I’m not sure of the other street name) is governed as though it was Dutch, using the Guilder as its currency.

On the other side of the Island is St. Martin, which is French.  Most of the signs are in French with lots of French bakeries and those fabulous pastries and they use the Euro as their currency base.  The capital is Marigot which has the boutiques, bistros, cafes and art galleries

When you pass from one country to the other, there is no checkpoint and you don’t have to show a passport.  The population is about 102,000 and it is the smallest island occupied by 2 different nations. 

The French side is a bit larger than the Dutch side, but everyone appears to get along as they are fair in the competition, ie.  Most fast foods are on the Dutch side

This Island features many interesting details, the home of America’s Cup, beautiful Orient Beach with its pristine white sand (including a nude beach if you are so inclined and over 40 different species of butterflies.  On the French side, the policemen where the kepis, which is the cap of the French  Foreign Legion.  I saw a policeman but he wasn’t wearing his cap.

So after doing some shopping (there is always shopping to be had), it was back to the ship to depart for St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands.

St Marteen Plaza

View of the Harbour

On the French Side