St. Maarten/ St. Martin, the romantic island in the Caribbean - Travel #10

Dear Steemit friends, Gemma here, let me take you on a journey to one of the most romantic places on earth, St Maarten. I have travelled a lot in my short life so far and romantic destinations have never been a priority, single life and all. St Maarten in the Caribbean pleasantly surprised me as not only an adventure island but one fit for a fairy tale. St Maarten is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is an extremely unique place as it is the smallest island in the world to be spilt into two countries. The southern part of the Caribbean island is Dutch and called St Maarten while the northern part is called St Martin and is French. Confusing, I know.

The capital of the Dutch side is Philipsburg and the capital of the French side is Marigot. The actual land mass of the island is divided roughly 60/40 with the larger French side covering only about 20 square miles. There are many stories about how and why the island was divided dating back to 1648. Local folklore is written that the division of the land began with a walking contest between a Frenchman and a Dutchman. Before the gentlemen began, the Frenchman drank wine while the Dutchman drank a much stronger drink, Jenever which is Dutch gin. This allowed the Frenchman to cover more ground and therefore claim more land. To this day the Dutch still say he cheated. If only all of todays problems could be solved with a simple walking contest after a few drinks.

To find me look for my Chihuahua's face

As you can see the line dividing the southern Dutch and Northern French sides.

Welcome to St. Maarten

As an island in the Caribbean, there really is only two ways to get to St Maarten and that is either by cruise ship or by flight. As you may know by reading my previous travel blogs that my transport of choice is cruise ship. I love the convenience, luxury and security I get from the floating resort. It also takes a lot of the stress out of travelling. The Dr. A.C. Wathey is St. Maarten's pier and cruise terminal. It is conveniently located less than a mile from the heart of downtown Philipsburg , the Dutch capital. The cruise ship I sailed in on was the Carnival Sunshine, a truly magnificent ship.

The Carnival Sunshine

The sail in

Cruising is not everyone's cup of tea so luckily there are two airports that service the island. One for each side of course, Princess Juliana International Airport on the Dutch side and Aéroport de Grand Case or L'Espérance Airport on the French side. Now could you have guessed which one was French by the name. If you are flying in from the United States then you will most likely be flying into Princess Juliana International Airport. This airport is like none other in the world, it literally is right on a beach, yes you read that right, it is know by the locals as airport beach. The airport has extremely low altitude landing approaches over Maho Beach, a huge tourist attraction. People just love having jet blasted sand all over them, if you're wondering, it does sting when the sand hits you but the unparalleled surreal view is more than worth it.

American Airlines coming in to land over Maho Beach- Airport Beach

Princess Juliana International Airport

So now you know how to get here, what is there to do you ask. Both Philipsburg and Marigot offer extensive shopping and dining options however, I love an adventure. I got some advise from my cruise ship's shore excursion team and they recommended I do an ATV tour out to what they called the "worlds most romantic beach". Now, romantic beach didn't particularly strike my fancy but being able to drive my own ATV around the island, now that sounded fun.

Driving ATV's out to the most romantic beach on earth off road

and on road

Views of luxury million dollar yachts, among them, Justin Beiber's yacht. St Maarten is a celebrity hot spot

Our convoy of ATV's ruled the road

Driving along the beach

These things don't have windscreens so the off road tracks got us covered in mud

Driving was a lot of fun, don't worry, there is a guide at the very front of the convoy navigating us, thank goodness as they do drive on the right side of the road and I am definitely not used to that. I tried to do a few donuts and I certainly put the pedal to the metal, only when it was safe to do so of course. After driving for about 20 minutes, the convoy pulled into a small carpark where we were advised we were about to learn about the islands diverse ecosystem. For as much as we know about our oceans it is said that the greatest variety of marine plants anywhere in the world is found around the Dutch islands. The shores home to more than 35 endangered species including 5 variety of marine turtle, bottlenose dolphins, and other marine mammals. It was time to get up close and personal with some of the regions unique species.

Short pit stop to look at some interesting shells

Our guide passing around shells

A long dead starfish

He literally called this one a cute sea urchin, fascinating, of course none were alive

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Long spine sea urchin, imagine standing on that........ ouch

Educational speech on how important it is for us to preserve our oceans and marine life

My favourite shell, you can hear the ocean no matter where you are if you take one of these home

Of course a photograph of a true island local, the green iguana.

After learning about the funky sea creatures living off the shores of the island, it was time to hop back into our ATV's and hit the road. The guide promised that the romantic beach ahead had a great bar and restaurant to satisfy our appetite built up from the fun driving. The scenery on this island is just stunning, every stretch of road or off road track just exposes more picture perfect views. Everywhere your eyes looked was postcard worthy. We drove for another 15 minutes in what felt like every direction until we hit a dirt track lined with tall lush palm trees. This had to be the road leading to the beach and it was more breath-taking than I could have imagined.

Back on the road

As you can see, we have gained freckles from the dirt and mud picked up on the off road tracks

A little bit of mud never hurt anyone

The island boasts 37 different beaches and all of them are open to the public. Some family friendly, some clothing optional beaches and some beaches with an airport on it. I can safely say that there is a beach to cater to everyone's tastes. The beach we had arrived at was called, Orient beach. Orient Beach is St. Martin’s flagship beach and is often referred to as the “French Riviera of the Caribbean “. This stunning 1 mile beach is home to many beach bars and restaurants. The Kontiki Beach Resort was the "Shangri-La" of them all, such a gorgeous place that would be perfect as a honeymoon destination. This resort screamed romance and indulgence, now I understand why it has the title of most romantic beach in the world.

We made it, Orient Beach

Kontiki Beach Resort

Jakob and I after we decided to swim in the sea and wash off our newly acquired mud freckles

Swings instead of bar stools.... genius

Beautiful restaurant

Rooftop of the restaurant

The smiles say it all

Stretch of bars and restaurants directly on the beach

As stunning as the beaches were, it was time for me to satisfy the history buff in me and check out the tales of the island's rich past. Both the French and Dutch sides are rich in culture that has been influenced by Europe, be it different parts of Europe. Each side has an intriguing and intricate culture of both shared and individual aspects seen in the religion, language, cuisine, and music. Even though it is one island, both sides are very different from one another. If you have ever had the goal of being in two places at once, you now know where to go. Even the currency is different, on the Dutch side it is the Netherlands Antillean and on the French side, it is the Euro. However, like most of the islands in the Caribbean the US dollar is widely accepted and used, otherwise, it can get very confusing.

The French side, this is a French shopping mall

Cafe sign

If you ever forget for a minute which side you are on, the signs will quickly remind you

Back streets to a church

Marigot's conflict wall of a time long passed

old cannons protecting the French Capital

The views are just as stunning on the much less visited French side

Corey standing in front of a French colonial abandoned building

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Exploring new places is my favourite thing to do, I learn so much and I love sharing my experiences. Travelling is always going to be a huge part of my life. A part from being in love with history and being an adventure enthusiast, I am also quite the nerd. I was delighted and surprised to find out that the guy who created Yoda, yes the Yoda from the infamous Star Wars franchise, not only lived on St Maarten but had his own museum. When I found this out, I had to go, I couldn't possibly let something so cool slip by me.

That Yoda Guy Movie Exhibit has displays that span six decades of movie making, relics from Alien, The Terminator, Men in Black and of course Star Wars. There's also an incredible collection of lifecasts, the actual faces of Hollywood stars such as Sean Connery, Jack Nicholson, Michael Jackson, Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie to name a few. The collection is extended to include famous historical figures as well. It features the actual faces of Abraham Lincoln, (cast 3 months before his assassination), Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, (cast in. 1778 and 1783 respectively by French sculptor Jean Antoine Houden), and death masks of both Oliver Cromwell, (1658) and Vladimir Lenin (1924). The Exhibit is the baby of Hollywood creature effects artist Nick Maley, known as "that Yoda Guy" most famously for his contribution to the creation of Yoda for the STAR WARS sagas.

We met the Yoda guy, the nerds in us just died and went to heaven

Personally signed bookmark from the Yoda guy, gift for my brother

Sarah and I

Gelato with Gary and Sarah after nerd-ing out at the museum

As you can see, no matter what you want to get up to on your holiday or vacation, St Maarten/St Martin has it all. It is the ideal romantic honeymoon destination, a shoppers paradise, a history buffs dream or even a nerd's sci-fi fantasy. The best thing about travelling is discovering the unexpected, to get out of your comfort zone, meet new people and create memories to last a lifetime.

Million dollar private yacht

Cruise ship pier

Hope to see you again soon

I am sad to share something many of you may have already heard about. On September 6, 2017, a powerful category 5 Hurricane called Irma devastated this beautiful island causing death, injury and severe structural damage. So many people are in desperate need of help and donations. This Island and its people nearly almost solely depend on tourism to make a living, survive and support their families. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Together we can help restore this island to its former glory, to donate, please check certified, legitimate sites and make St Maarten and St Martin your next choice for a wonderful holiday/vacation. Thank you.

French flags waves in the wind as my time in St Maarten/St Martin draws to a close

I hope you have enjoyed my blog on the beautifully divided island of St Maarten/ St Martin in the Caribbean, thank you for reading and I look forward to sharing more adventures with you, until next time, Vegoutt Everybody!!