This Caribbean island is divided roughly 60/40 between the French Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Simply put – it’s part Dutch and part French. This makes it quite unique compared to all neighboring islands. The Dutch side is referred to as “Sint Maarten” and the French side as “Saint Martin.” It is merely a land border without any fences or patrols, but each side has its own government and rules. Though accepted throughout, the “main” currency even differs! Monster can officially add two more countries to her list of places traveled – nice. And we can check off visiting one of the coolest airports!
The logistics
We arrive on the Dutch side of Sint Maarten after our first overnight sail! Once we arrive, all we want to do is sleep, but there’s only time for a short nap before we need to pick up the hook to head through the bay bridge. Within the island, is a very large protected bay/lagoon. In order to get into said bay, you have to enter through a draw bridge. Given the large number of boats passing through, and the fact the bridge connects a major road, there are only a couple designated times per day that the bridge opens. For incoming traffic (that’s us), the bridge is set to open at 9:30 am. We line up with a dozen other boats waiting for that to happen.
After making it through the first bridge, there are several marinas and places to anchor (all very full though!). We, however, are looking to get to the French side of the island to anchor – which is past another draw bridge. We idle around for 20 minutes waiting for the next bridge to open and then find a good spot to drop our hook. Now it must be time for sleep – except it’s not. Now it’s time to check in with customs and immigration.
Because the island is split down the middle as a Dutch territory and a French territory, the check-in procedures vary depending on which “country” you’re in. We intentionally choose to be on the French side because their procedures are easier (and cheaper!). Based on my research, we can use an online system (clairance.portdemarigot.com) to check-in. So easy! I complete the forms online, but then it says that we still need to report in person to print the form and have it stamped.
We load into the dinghy and head to shore. Unfortunately, the online system is outdated, because the nearest place we can get stamped is not where I selected we were entering (and not walking/dinghy distance). We start searching for Island Water World – a store that we’ve read you can use their computer to check-in. Eventually we find it, but they are closed for lunch. How very European of them. At this point, we’re exhausted and seriously considering just calling it “good enough.”
I spot a cute restaurant and proclaim we’re going for wine. Matt laughs but agrees that does sound good. We finally take a moment to relax, enjoy a glass of wine, and share some cod fritters. Monster is pretty happy to share in on the cod fritters, but less impressed by all these dogs coming up to say hi. Seriously, dogs just wander around here without a leash and no clear owner in site. They are cute and well behaved, though – so more power to them! I’m loving it. At least it doesn’t seem like we have to worry about getting Monster checked in here.
After finishing our afternoon snack, we decide the diligent thing to do would be go back by Island Water World and properly check-in. So we do. It’s mostly painless and only cost $5 – a steal compared to other Caribbean islands.
For the record, there are big consequences for not properly clearing into (and out of) customs and immigration at each island. Technically we shouldn’t have been walking around and grabbing food without being properly cleared in first. Monster also technically shouldn’t be allowed off the boat until she is cleared in. The French islands are just very laid back about all this, so for this time – no biggie!
A slow Saturday
Cruising is supposed to be about slowing down and enjoying the little things life has to offer. We’ve never been very good at that, and lately it feels like we’ve been running non-stop trying to get everything done and fit it all into our schedule – but not today. We enjoy sleeping in after several days of getting up before the sun and one all nighter. After a nice breakfast (our new favorite – poached egg sandwiches!), Matt settles in to get some work (real work) done, while I start putting around with some simple boat projects.
As previously noticed in Puerto Rico, our dinghy has been deflating itself at an alarming speed lately. I have read about an easy way to find leaks, which involves pumping the dinghy up to full capacity and then spraying soapy water all over it (think dish soap in water). Then if you see an area where bubbles are being blown – that’s your leak. Sounds easy enough, so I give it a go – and I find the leak! (Or rather, we’ll come to find out one of several leaks.) Digging through our bins of stuff, I locate a dinghy repair kit and set to work. Given that the leak is a very small surface area, I decide to apply a simple fix of just putting some of the two-part glue on it. We’ll do a better, formal patch once we get back to a marina at some point. A quick win feels good!
Come afternoon, we decide it’d be nice to do a bit of exploring. Based on reviews from other cruisers, I suggest we locate a bar called Lagoonies to tie up the dinghy and explore the Dutch side of the island from there. The bar and dock are nice, but I’m not sure what else we’re supposed to be exploring. After about 10 minutes walking down a narrow street with cars buzzing by and nothing of interest to see, we turn around. A large rain cloud persuades us to stick around Lagoonies for a couple drinks before heading on our way.
Next we dinghy over to a popular street lined with restaurants (also on the Dutch side), several of which have dinghy docks – nice. We choose a random one to tie up to and then walk along choosing somewhere to eat dinner. I have my heart set on spaghetti carbonara after seeing it on the menu at the restaurant on the French side. We spot no carbonara and end up settling on bar food at the last restaurant – the Dinghy Dock. Appropriately named. After eating a delicious meal of homemade chilli nachos (even the chips are homemade) and homemade fried mac and cheese bites – we’re feeling pretty happy with our decision. We also note that we should be able to tie up to this dinghy dock tomorrow when we come back to pick up our car rental to explore the island.
Slow recovery from Irma
St Martin was one of the islands hit hard by hurricane Irma in 2017. The recovery efforts have been slow and hard. We are surprised at how much damage and destruction is still present here in both the water and on land. As we motor our dinghy around the lagoon, we spot dozens and dozens of half sunken, abandoned boats. We can tell that some are attempting a rehab, but even those still look really rough.
As we are driving around the island in our car rental, we continue to spot more destruction and abandoned buildings. It’s sad to see what once must have been quaint sea-side resorts now broken and empty. I can only imagine what some homes must still be recovering from.
We make a quick pit stop at Oriental Bay – famous for being a nude beach – but also once popular for being lively with lots of restaurants lining the sandy shore. Today, there are a couple bars/restaurants that are back open, but most are not and those that are continue to miss things such as roofs or proper amenities.
Historical Fort St Louis
Continuing our drive around the island, we stop at the historical Fort St. Louis. This fort was built in 1789 to defend the harbor, including warehouses were goods were stored. The fort became abandoned, only to be rebuilt again in the 19th century. It was the site of a battle between the French and English (who would regularly try to raid the warehouses – crossing over from neighboring Anguilla).
Today the fort is very well preserved, and offers a fun climb with gorgeous views. Monster decides that this is her favorite type of tourist activity, as she runs through the green grass hills freely. There are no gates and no entry fees to visit here. We have the entire place to ourselves, which is pretty great. There are old cannons still in place, and some signs explaining the significance of the site. I’m not much of a history buff, but the view is reason enough to visit here!
Maho Beach
Have you ever seen a video of someone standing on a beach with an airplane flying over their head so close that it almost knocks them over? Well – we are at that beach! It is quite infamous within the travel community. When we realized we were on the island where this runway is located, we got quite excited. Obviously, a must see on our island tour.
We look up the airport schedule for the day, trying to make sure we see one of the large planes coming in. Being the over-achievers that we are, we actually spot 3 large planes in less than 30 minutes. Seriously, that has to be a record – this isn’t that busy of an airport.
Monster is very unimpressed, but we position ourselves on the beach in the middle of the flight path in order to get the full experience and capture some fun photos/videos. Every time a plane flies over, I duck. It’s instinct – it feels like they are sooo freaking close to your head. We only watch a small plane take off, but hear that the larger jets put out enough wind force taking off to knock people on the beach right over. What a rush!
Pic Paradise is all fog
Said to have even better views than Fort Louis is the highest point on the island – Pic Paradise. It is a fun, winding drive towards the top of the mountain where we eventually spot signs saying the road is no further passable. No problem though – it’s only a 10 minute walk to the viewpoint on Pic Paradise. After 10 minutes of walking (and not there yet), we’re regretting our choice of footwear. It’s more of a “hike” than a “walk.”
Eventually (only 15-20 minutes actually!) we make it to an industrial looking communications tower. It appears we’ve hit a dead end? Where’s the viewpoint? We then hear voices off in the distance and see a tiny path revealed by flattened grass. We follow that around to a small rock ledge. Once again, I ask myself where is the overlook? Apparently this is it. We just can’t see more than 5 feet in front of our face due to heavy fog. Accepting failure, we make our way back down to the car, trying to ignore the constant mist coming down. We tried. At least it was a fun drive with some intermittent views.
All quiet in Phillipsburg
Phillipsburg is one of the largest towns and home to the cruise ship terminal on the island. We decide to stop and check out the boardwalk and all things touristy. The area seems quite dead, so we’re guessing there isn’t currently a cruise ship in port. That’s alright, we figure it’ll be nice to explore without all the crowds. Unfortunately, though, everything is closed. Like everything – even Diamonds International, the epicenter of cruise ship terminals, is closed. On a positive note, we were able to find a good parking spot!
We decide to walk the popular shopping street, Front Street, anyways. Every so often, a small local shop will be open but otherwise it’s a ghost town. Along the beach and boardwalk, there are a few bars and restaurants that remain open. The town itself is very clean and quite charming despite strongly catering to a predictable tourism vibe. There is tiny street in particular that looks right out of a magazine – check out that car!
Sunset dinner on the water
After doing a full circumnavigation of the island and checking out all the sights on our list, we decide it’s time to figure out dinner. We planned on eating in Phillipsburg, but our time there was shorter than expected since everything was closed. I still have my heart set on spaghetti carbonara, so that’s what we’re looking for.
We decide to go ahead and return the car this evening in order to save us a return trip in the morning. Given that we left our dinghy at The Dinghy Dock all day, we can’t not stop back in and grab a couple drinks – so we do! We also try out their homemade provolone sticks, which are pretty amazing (though a tad behind the homemade mac bites). Next we head back to the French side where I first spotted spaghetti carbonara on a restaurant menu and got my heart set. I think it’s a nostalgia thing – my first time in Europe I was a pretty picky eater but carbonara was one dish I found I liked, so I ate it about once per day. Anyways – we dinghy back over to said restaurant and make it just in time to enjoy a sunset dinner!
Matt is also thinking about getting the carbonara, but I convince him to get pizza so we aren’t putting all our eggs in one basket (so to speak). Big mistake. The carbonara is gold, and now I have to share.
We finish our meal and head back to the boat. We’re feeling pretty successful about our time here – albeit short, we were able to experience a good amount. Tomorrow, we will time the bridges again to make our way towards St. Barths!
