Yes, one island, but two nations! That’s St. Maarten (Netherlands)/ St. Martin (France). It is the smallest island, 37-square-miles, in the world to be shared between two countries.
The first known inhabitants were the Arawak Indians who prospered until the warring Caribs invaded and conquered them. Columbus spotted the island in 1493, but Europeans didn’t populate it until the 17th century. Then claimed by the Dutch, French and Spanish, the Dutch and French joined forces and booted out their common enemy, the Spanish, in 1644.
One can freely travel and conduct business from one side of the island to the other, no customs with which to deal. However, all of the casinos are on the Dutch side as are all the fast food restaurants. The economy of each is centered almost completely around tourism. Our bus driver told us that beer is a dollar a bottle, but a gallon of milk costs about $7.50. Calling an island home isn’t inexpensive.
We spent the morning strolling through downtown Philipsburg, the capital of the Dutch side, and I enjoyed the plethora of jewelry stores and souvenir shops. The area had really grown up since our last visit, and little looked familiar. In the afternoon, we took one of the ship’s shore excursions to the Oriental Beach (Baie Orientale) on the French side, considered one of the island’s most beautiful. The sand was white, and the water was turquoise. We were given chaise lounge chairs (packed like sardines) and rented an umbrella, but even with that and two heavy showers, I managed to look a bit pink…probably because I enjoyed walking on the beach and venturing into the waves. Our location was between the family-oriented and clothing-optional sections. We saw a few topless women and a couple of men wearing thongs. It wasn’t a pretty sight, but I wish that Americans had fewer hang-ups about bodies.
It had been another day in paradise, with soft trade winds, lots of sun, and 80-degree temperatures. We sailed off into the sunset.
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