St. Maarten

The Caribbean island of St. Maarten is a beautiful place. I'm sure that comes as shocking news to everyone. The island was sighted by Christopher Columbus in 1493. However, the first European settlers were French and Dutch who, in 1648, partitioned the island right down the middle. It's like siblings that paint a line right down the middle of a room that they share.  That's why it's known as St. Martin (French) OR St. Maarten (Dutch) to various people.  The island has remained under dual-sovereignty ever since:

So, essentially, you have two different countries on a 37 square-mile patch of land. 

The Dutch side...

The French side...

It's a fun place - one of the few tropical destinations that you can combine a Caribbean-style beach vacation with a distinct European feel (especially the food!) - since at one time, or another, England, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, the Netherlands and France have all ruled the island.

Most people arrive on the island via cruise ships.  These ships mostly arrive at the southern port town of Philipsburg.  This is one of those crazy tourist spots, where natives try really hard to sell local products or services, right on the pier:

I think the funniest thing I saw was locals offering to "braid" the hair of tourists.  You saw all these mostly-caucasian women running around with dreadlocks.

The most fun thing that I did on this island, was mountain biking.  I love to ride, and at this time in my life, I was riding almost every day.  The terrain on the island was varied - but after climbing some hills, I was able to see some amazing views of the island:

One of the more interesting parts of this bike trip, was that I managed to go from the Dutch side of the country, to the French side.  No passports required!

In terms of food - the island is well-known for two things:  goat, and guavaberry.  I'm sad to report that I didn't get a chance to try the goat...I couldn't find a place with a decent reputation, that I could afford ; )  I did try some guavaberry juice, and it was a good as you might expect.  

This is the famous Guavaberry Emporium

One of the more-impressive hotels on the island is the Cliff Hotel.  Many "honeymooners" flock to this particular hotel:

Most tourists head to St. Barts, or one of the other Virgin Islands...but St. Maarten is every bit as good...