The Roam Chronicles: You say ‘St. Maarten’… I say ‘St. Martin’

In the background: Sun is Shining, by Finley Quaye

No, we didn’t call the whole thing off. My sister, after having last minute situation about entry requirements, pulled through. If not for this week, I don’t know when I’ll be able to actually take a vacation next. The weather forecasts said some rain and thunderstorms were expected for the duration of our trip. Great. Just great.

I flew into St. Juliana Airport on the Dutch side and caught a glimpse of the aquamarine waters before we landed. Got my second wind after a night of no-sleep and a layover of interesting proportions at Newark Liberty. The “friendly island,” as St. Maarten is dubbed as – was going through a string of days in heat and humidity. The reported rains held off and the sun left me in a color of burnt coffee by the time I headed back to Boston.

Interesting concept of having 37 square miles of an island divided into two territories: The French Side and the Dutch Side. We stayed in Philippsburg and frequented Simpson Bay and Maho Beach, however I favored the French side spots more. It was interesting how we would drive through St. Maarten, passed a few signs leading us to Baie Oriental and the next thing we knew, we were in St. Martin. While each side had had similarities, the difference – conditional on some areas – can also be noted. The architecture of the villas in St. Martin were more distinctly European. Fine dining and gourmet cuisine was more prevalent in St. Martin, while St. Maarten houses Front Street (for the shopping fiends) and the recommended bars and clubs.

On the drive to Orient Bay one afternoon, I asked my sister, “You heard about this beach, right? It’s naturalist beach and all…?” She shrugged halfheartedly. Not everyone was lacking their tops when we get there, but there is still that slight disorientation especially when you get asked directions by someone who has a smile, a cowboy hat and an evenly tanned twin set. It was a beautiful beach, really – my favorite amongst the ones we tried – because of the sand quality and the water sports.





Back at Maho Beach for our last night – we had dinner at Bliss, a beautiful restaurant-bar by the airport and the beach. As one enters past the gates, there is a pool with lounge areas that has access to the beach. Further into the dining room, there is a larger patio featuring booths with canopies and spectacular views of the ocean. Whenever a plane flies it, it looks almost as if they’re going to ram right into the place. As if the menu wasn’t exciting enough.

It was a relaxing trip, but the heat became too constricting halfway through the week. Could it be an indication of my city-dwelling nature that I do not see myself being on an island for over a string of 1-2 weeks before going stir-crazy? When asked whether or not I will go back… that’s a solid ‘Maybe.’ No compelling reason to, other than to try the famed Guavaberry Liquor (which because of pure procrastination was not able to do so before flying out.) and enjoy having a routine of devouring sweet crepes in the middle of the day.