Making Memories

As you have noticed from the title, the next destination I want to introduce to you has 2 names! In actuality, it only has 1 name but in 2 different languages: Dutch and French. Why? Because it is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and part of the French overseas collectivity. In short, the island is divided into 2 separate countries: the northern French side, called Saint-Martin, and the southern Dutch side, Sint Maarten. Blessed with warm sunny weather year-round, so any time of the year is ideal for visiting Sint Maarten/Saint Martin. Euro is the currency being used here, just like in most of Europe. However, most places do accept US Dollar as well. Even though it is located in the Caribbean, most of the visitors are from the U.S., the Netherlands and France.

Transportation

There’s no need to rent a car here. The airport is only about a 10-minute walk from the hotel strip on Maho Bay beach. However, with luggage it’s better to take a taxi or a shuttle. While there, to get around, you can use the bus. Note that the bus here is privately operated, so the “buses” are usually just regular vans. To differentiate a private van versus a van used as a bus, look for the sign on the windshield which displays the final destination, which can be used to determine the direction of the route. Since it’s a privately operated bus, it can be stopped any time; there are no designated stops. Just notify the driver whenever you want to get off. The bus is convenient as there are no designated bus stops; you can catch the bus on the street whenever you see it, and the fare is cheap. For example, a 30-minute journey between Maho Bay and Philipsburg costed $2 (€2 – when I visited, Euro and US Dollar were even) per person. Most of the fellow bus riders were locals. An advantage of riding the bus is you’re able to see how the locals live. Because the bus fare is cheap, the locals use it as daily transportation (I noted some people only paid $1 if riding shorter journeys). Because the bus can stop at anytime and anywhere along the route, you’re able to see the local neighborhoods, instead of just the nice hotels in the tourist areas.

If you’re not comfortable to share your ride with other people, then opt for taxis (or there are areas where there are no buses. For example, there are fewer buses in Saint Martin, so I used taxis instead). The hotel can arrange taxis for you. If you like the taxi driver that you have used, ask for a business card. You can make reservations in advance; they’ll come on the agreed date and time to pick you up – note that this is arrangements made directly with the taxi driver, not via a company. I have kept the business cards of the 2 taxi drivers that I used – they are very kind and reliable. Once I’ve found them, I’ll share with you here.

Sint Maarten

Both countries on the island have their own airport. However, Princess Juliana Airport (SXM) in Sint Maarten has more flights. Sint Maarten belongs to the Netherlands, but the main language used here is English; Dutch is secondary. Sint Maarten is the more up-beat side of the island. There are all-inclusive resorts here that are not too expensive. Besides relaxing at the resorts, you can visit these places:

1. Front Street is the popular street in the Phillipsburg Market Place, where the streets are lined with souvenir shops, duty-free shops, jewelry shops, etc. Note that there’s a public beach in this area near the cruise port, so there are days when the place is very crowded with cruise tourists.
2. Maho Bay Beach is popular for an one-of-a-kind activity: plane-sighting! Here, you can witness the take-off and landing of the planes so low that you think they would crash! I stayed at the Maho beachfront resort in Sint Maarten and was able to watch the plane landing any time of the day from the resort; it was actually entertaining! No need to worry about the noise as there are no flights at night.
   • Note: There’s a fence to secure the runway. Usually, there are curious bystanders at the fence to watch the planes take off. The plane ignites with the power so tremendous that it could blow away the people by the fence. As the beach is on the other side, they typically fall on the sand so are not hurt. However, there is a street between the airport and the beach, so if there happens to be a car passing by during the blow-out, then someone would surely be injured!
   • The waves at Maho Bay Beach are quite strong; it is especially unsafe if standing near the rocks. Strong waves are fun for playing, but may not be suitable for young children. Due to the plane-sighting, the beach is very lively.
3. Mullet Bay Beach is next to Maho Bay Beach. However, Mullet Bay Beach is not as crowded and the waves aren’t as strong.
4. Cupecoy Beach is surrounded by limestone cliffs; therefore, the scenery here is picture-perfect! This is the most ideal place to watch sunset on the island. Unlike the lively Maho beach, Cupecoy beach is not crowded and has a romantic appeal. Please note clothing is optional at certain parts of this beach.

Saint Martin

Only 30 minutes away by car, Saint Martin is part of the French overseas collectivity, so the main language being used here is French; English is secondary. Grand Case-Espérance Airport is the main airport here, although there isn’t as many flights as the Princess Juliana airport on the other side of the island. Unlike the upbeat Sint Maarten, Saint Martin is more low-key and relaxing. Strolling through the neighborhoods, you’ll notice the French influence from architecture to decoration to the cuisine being served at the surrounding eateries.

1. Grand-Case is a small town on the west coast of the island but is the most populous in Saint Martin. It is known for long sandy beaches and restaurants and bars. The Grand-Case beach is calm and safe for the entire family. Within walking distance, there are small markets that sell fresh, familiar vegetables and meat, suitable for a meal preparation if you grow tired of dining out. There is no affordable all-inclusive resorts on this side of the island, so we opted for a hotel that is equipped with a kitchen. There is a very delicious creperie stand nearby called La Crepe En Rose. I have eaten crêpes at many places, including in France, but this by far has been the most delicious one ever! They only open in the evenings, so be sure to stop by if you’re in the area!
2. Orient Bay is named “Saint-Tropez of the Caribbean” with a beautiful white sand that stretches about 3 km, is one of the most famous beach in Saint Martin. Nearby, there is a Village of Orient Bay where the streets are lined with eateries.
   
3. Marigold is the capital of Saint Martin. Here, there is also a market place just like in Philipsburg on the Dutch side. There are also an outdoor farmers’ market and also a fish market.
4. Loterie Farm, with of about 135 acres, there are plenty of activities for all ages such as hiking or zip-lining above the rain-forest. If you want an overall view of the island, then there are cable cars. You can also rent a cabana by the pool. There also a very nice kids playground.

Anguilla

Anguilla is a British Colony, next to Saint Martin. There’s a small airport here called Clayton J. Lloyd airport, but there are few flights. The most popular agenda would be flying in Sint Maarten via Princess Juliana airport, then take a 20-minute ferry from Marigold. Therefore, if you’re already in Saint Martin, then you can easily make a day-trip to Anguilla. There are regular ferries throughout the day from 8:30 AM until 6 PM. If you don’t like the idea of sharing the ferry with other people, then you can rent a private charter boat. The air option only takes 7 minutes! Anguilla is famous for some of the most beautiful beaches in the world!

Side Stories

Every trip leaves us with stories that make the trip memorable. So besides the information and tips, I’d like to share with you a few of those memorable stories.

On the day of our return flight, we arrived at the airport very early, fearing the queues at the such a small airport would be too long. Our flight was delayed so after finished checking in, we still had about 2-3 hours to kill before our flight. Since the airport is so small (typical of a Caribbean island), there wasn’t much to do besides surfing the web on the phone. A thought came to mind and… we decided to push forward that idea… leaving the carry-on luggage with the family, my husband and I decided to walk back to Maho Bay Beach. The walk was only about 10-15 minutes, but it was under a super sunny Caribbean afternoon, making it quite a journey! As noted above, we stayed at a Maho beach-front resort for several days, but my husband kept missing the chance to the photograph a big airplane that he wanted, so we decided to walk back in hoping to catch one. Plane-sighting for several days, I almost memorized the schedule of some airlines 😀 Air France has 1 flight each day from Paris to Sint Maarten in the early afternoon, and that was the flight we were hoping to catch. While waiting, we took a few photos of other planes; the photos posted here were taken during that time. It was that time when Air France flight was supposed to be landed, but it was nowhere in sight. We didn’t have Wi-Fi anymore to check if it has been delayed. Feeling the rush against time, I decided to head back to the airport first, leaving my husband at Maho Bay to wait a little longer. Soon after, my husband joined me after waiting for an additional 5 minutes. After all, we had a flight to catch! Essentially, we didn’t get to see that Air France flight – it must have been delayed. Nevertheless, we were able to get a few shots with me and the landing plane, so it wasn’t a complete loss! 🙂

We used taxi to get from Sint Maarten to Saint Martin. Having stayed in Sint Maarten for a few days already, besides the luggage, we also had additional snacks and fruits with us. As expected, it was a bit hectic when we arrived at the new hotel. It was not until later that we realized we had forgotten fruits bag on the taxi (note that I put the fruits bag inside my compression bag for convenience since it has a nice handle, so I lost the bag along with the fruits). About an hour later, we received a phone call in our room; evidently the taxi driver found the bag and had called our hotel. She asked if we urgently needed it so she could bring it back for us (she was already back on the Sint Maarten side of the island). We said it was just fruits so there’s no hurry, but asked if she could keep the compression bag for us since we’ll see her again when she’ll pick us up for the airport. A few days later when she arrived at the hotel, she immediately handed me the fruit bag – seems untouched. Apparently, she had kept the bag in her fridge at home; and while in the car, she put it in the cooler on the way to pick us up, so the fruits were still good! I thanked her but said that we were already on our way to the airport and so we couldn’t take the bag with us; we only wanted the compression bag. She asked if she could take the fruits home to make some smoothies! I was especially touched by her honesty and kindness. As a driver, she was careful and nice enough to stop by a supermarket for us to do groceries shopping on the way to Saint Martin; and on the way to the airport, she would slow down when seeing me trying to capture some photos of the street signs or scenery; and she was very early for our reservation, which was especially appreciated since we were heading to the airport. Life is full of wonderful surprises, all to make our lives more meaningful and colorful.

Knowing that the lady taxi driver lives on the Sint Maarten side of island, while staying in Grand-Case, we called for a different taxi. This time, a older man drove us to the Marigold area for shopping and came back to pick us up a few hours later. During the drive, we talked about many things, one topic was about the tropical fruits! I got soursop and sugar-apple mixed up, so I said soursop was my most favorite tropical fruit and asked why I couldn’t find it in the markets. He said that almost everyone on the island has a tree at home, so they don’t sell it in stores. There are small street vendors that sell it from their harvest. He shared that he also likes soursop and has a tree at home, said that if there’s a ripe one then he’ll bring me one when picking us up. To be honest, I thought he just said that to be nice!! Well, what do you know? When he picked us up from Marigold a few hours later, he indeed brought a soursop from his garden!!! I couldn’t believe it! But as soon as I saw the soursop, I realized I had gotten the fruits mixed up; my most favorite tropical fruit is sugar-apple, not soursop! So he made phone calls to some friends asking where they might sell the sugar-apple, and then he drove around to find us a street vendor that sold sugar-apples!!! In the end, I got to eat both the soursop and the sugar-apple!! So many surprisingly touching stories on this trip, I truly appreciated the kindness of the local people whom I have met. The taxi drivers – what chances would I be meeting them again? But they truly left an amazing impression on me. They’re honest and kind, true to their words and have great work ethics!

Traveling is not only about beautiful sceneries or learning new cultures, but for enriching our lives with beautiful and sharable stories such as the ones I have shared with you here. This is one of the reasons my blog is named “Making Memories“. Go out to see the world and make more beautiful memories!