Grand Case, St Martin

The last stop in the Caribbean leg is the French/Dutch island of St Martin/Sint Maarten for beach time and very little else. There are no volcanoes to climb, there will be no rental car; just a lot of swimming, eating and relaxing.

A BRIEF HISTORY
St Martin/Sint Maarten, also known as SXM, is one of those travel oddities - one island, made up of two nations, using three currencies. The island was sighted by Columbus on his second voyage but because of the salt ponds he didn't rate it highly, besides he was headed north for Hispaniola (Dominican Republic/Haiti). Even though the island was claimed in the name of Spain it was never settled by them, instead the Dutch and French competed for colonization rights and in 1648 the Treaty of Condordia decreed that the island be split between the two nations. The story behind how the island was split is an interesting if slightly whimsical one. Two men, one French, one Dutch began with their backs to each other on one coast of the island. The Frenchman took wine as his refreshment for the journey, the Dutchman gin. They walked in opposite directions around the circumference of the island and when the two met face to face the Frenchman, thanks to his fine wine, had covered far more distance which explains why France has around 5/8 of the island, and the Kingdom of Netherlands the remaining 3/8. The Dutch claim it had nothing to do with the wine or the dodgy gin but insisted the Frenchman broke the rules of the agreement by running instead of walking. This is the only place on Earth where France and the Netherlands share a border.

The Dutch side is strewn with casinos, clubs, huge beach resorts, Maho Beach at the end of the airport runway and the islands main cruise ship terminal in Philipsburg. The French side appears to be a little quieter and known more for beaches, food and shopping. For both, the economy revolves around tourism which means it's an easy place to get around and an easy place to get ripped off too.

MAHO BEACH
The short runway at Princess Juliana International Airport, and its position between a set of hills and a beautiful beach make plane-watching a must see. We walked with all of our bags from the airport to a hotel next to the beach and left of luggage in a storage room so we could have breakfast at the Sunset Bar at the far end of Mayo Beach. I promised Sara we would catch a taxi but the only driver I asked wanted US$4 each for a ride which would have lasted about a minute. It was fine and sunny but not too hot so walking was fairly comfortable but within a few minutes of ordering breakfast the heavens opened up and it rained heavily. We stayed and watched the planes land as we ate breakfast but didn't fancy a swim.

Landing over Maho Beach, Sint Maarten
The sunset bar is at the end of the beach

Lily at Maho Beach

Lily & Seb at the Sunset Bar

The taxi around to the French side, past the capital Marigot, to our hotel in Grand Case cost US$40. The driver said we could pay $40 or 40 Euros but because I didn't have enough US dollars I asked him to stop at an ATM, which he graciously did, so I could withdraw money. Over the next few days we found that although prices were advertised in Euros, paying the same in US dollars was often an option. I'd read that most people who live on the island are not born there, so starting with the taxi driver I conducted my own social experiment. Over the next three days, none of the 20+ people I asked were born here, most from France and the remainder from other Caribbean islands.

Grand Case, a tiny town on the French side of the island, is not much more than a beach, a mile long main street dubbed restaurant row and an airport surrounded by a large salt pond. The eating options are fantastic, ranging from sophisticated French cuisine to less sophisticated French cuisine - we started our stay with traditional French and ended with pizza on the last night. The crescent beach faces Anguilla, the waters are very calm but it gets deep very quickly which makes it an ideal spot for visitors to park their boats.

Grand Case Beach

Sunset at Grand Case

When Seb and I came to the island last year we stayed five nights on the Dutch side in Philipsburg and only two on the French side at a little boutique hotel called Love. This trip we decided to stay at Love again, this time in a new additional they called the Love Residences - right on the beach and in the heart of restaurant row as well. The room was huge - a mezzanine floor upstairs with a bathroom and queen bed and a queen bed and private balcony downstairs. As only the French can do, the decor was minimalist - the interior was painted white and there were no pictures or decorations on the wall.  Love also has a bar and Tapas restaurant overlooking the beach so we could sit in the shade while the kids swam in the sea. Seb and Lily both befriended the hottest topless woman (from Finland) at the beach and I made sure I wore my sunglasses at all times (to prevent wrinkles).

The new addition to Love - the Residences

Room 19 at the Love Residences

The view from the bar at Love

And the view of the bar

After St Martin/Sint Maarten we have a few days back home before heading off to meet my brother at Heathrow for the next segment.

ST MARTIN/SINT MAARTEN QUICK GUIDE
Capital: Marigot/Philipsburg
Currency: Euro/US Dollar/Netherland Antilles Guilder
Language: French/British English
Drive on the Right
Beer of choice: Presidente