Wish List: Caribbean Dreaming

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Except for a wonderful family vacation in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, for my cousin’s wedding, I haven’t been to the Caribbean.  It’s the closest international area around the US outside of Canada and Mexico, but I haven’t spent any time there.  However, there is a destination that really intrigues me and that’s Saint Martin. 

Saint Martin is a divided island in the Lesser Antilles; it is the smallest consistently inhabited divided sea island in the world.  Just over 3/5 of the island belongs to the Collectivity of Saint-Martin, which is an overseas collectivity of France like its neighbor, St. Barts.  The remainder of the island comprises Sint Maarten and is one of four constituent countries that forms the Kingdom of the Netherlands, like Scotland is a home country of the United Kingdom.

St. Maarten/St. Martin Pictures
Ah, Serenity!
While French and Dutch cultures are strong on their appropriate sides of the island – including using euros and Netherlands Antillean guilders (soon to be Caribbean guilders in 2012), English is ever-present and dollars are accepted wildly.  No wonder, since the history of the Caribbean is really a jumbled mess of foster parent custody. Spain, the Netherlands, France, Britain (UK), Sweden and the US all have laid different claims to these vast groups of Islands

St. Maarten/St. Martin Images
A USAirways flight landing
When I get there would plan to check out:

Marigot: The Capital of Saint-Martin and the largest city on the island. 

Maho Beach: Located by the Princess Juliana International Airport, the site of dramatic jet plane landings on the island. 

Bioluminescent swim: Like many of the islands in the Caribbean, there are bioluminescent ponds and bays on Saint Martin. 

Crossing the border:  While it will be as anti-climactic as crossing the Pennsylvania-New York border, it will be an anti-climactic international border-crossing.

French: Thanks to Prelude to a Kiss, my Dutch is limited to two key phrases: Je hebt erg witte tanden and om je better mee op te eten. Yet, I am curious if I can understand any of the French spoken on the island, especially since there are so many other creoles spoken there. 

Food:  Of course, I heard there are many different cuisines present on the island. 

St. Maarten/St. Martin Pictures
Marigot
Saint Martin is on my short-list of trips to take especially since it wouldn’t take a full day of travel and the distance of many time zones to get there.  

(All photos of Saint Martin are courtesy of TripAdvisor.)

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