Saint Martin/ Sint Maarten: Impressions

I had written about our trip but I decided not to post it because it just went on and on about what we did and ultimately I did not find it very interesting. I will, though, tell you about things that stayed with me as we ponder our possible future there.

1. The island comes across as a dump in a lot of areas. I'm really surprised at this. I know all Caribbean islands have the tourist areas and the local, much poorer areas, but St Maarten seemed even more out there, and even more so than how I found the island five years ago. We saw this on both the French and Dutch sides, but it can be a toss-up which one is dumpier. The Dumpiest of all, the Mullet Bay area on the Dutch side, is a disgrace. If someone ever put pics of that area in a travel magazine, it would def serve as a wake-up call to the Dutch Antillean government.

2. The French and the Dutch sides are completely different. Even though there are no "borders", you can immediately tell the difference, in the landscape and the road conditions. French roads are, for the most part, unbelievably smooth - a welcome relief to the car from all the potholes on the Dutch side. There have been no over-building on the French side, so it is more rustic and charming, I found. Marigot (the French capital) is still busy and appears disorganized, but not on the same scale as Philipsburg (the Dutch capital).

3. The Dutch side is American for all intents and purposes. Some areas are gaudy, loud, neony, like mini Las Vegas. The positive is that you can use the dollar and find most familiar things in the supermarket - this should not be discounted for me, I found it very exciting to be looking at Nilla Wafers and Dr Pepper cans in the shelves!

4. The illegal immigration population is apparently HUGE. From Haiti, Domican Republic, Jamaica, etc. Locals believe that this is responsible for a lot of the rising crime levels. It's a shame for an island that relies so heavily on tourism.

5. The Sunset Beach Bar & Grill was still a lot of fun! A definite must-do - it sounds cheesy but it really is impressive to watch the planes land and funny to watch the people struggle as they try to withstand the jetstreams of the departing planes. The constant chatter of the watch tower radio adds to the ambience. See pic below - taken by PeeWee:


6. The best pina colada of the week was at Taloulah Mango's in Philipsburg!