# Caribbean Vacations Forums > St. Maarten/St. Martin Travel Forum >  >  What a Trip: Enjoying St. Maartens dual nature -- WaPo

## JEK

*What a Trip: Enjoying St. Maartens dual nature*




(Mike Sanderson/ ) - Maho Beach, on the Caribbean islands Dutch side, is a premiere plane-watching spot.



*Who:* Mike Sanderson and his wife, Patti, of Vienna.
*Where, when, why:* Patti and I had an opportunity to travel for seven days in July without our children. I had never been to the Caribbean, so we chose to go to St. Maarten. We liked the idea of its dual character  one side of the island is French and the other Dutch.
*Highlights and high points:* We went to Maho Beach, on the Dutch side, to enjoy the crystal-clear water and the beautiful tropical fish, but we were amazed to discover that planes of all sizes were flying dangerously close overhead and landing just yards from the beach. Truly a unique experience!
*Cultural connection or disconnect:*One morning we needed to catch a ferry from Marigot, the capital of the French side. We arrived early to enjoy the open-air market before our departure, and we purchased fresh coconut juice from one of the stands. It was served in the coconut itself, and you sipped the juice through a straw. The merchant told us to come back after wed finished, and he would open the coconut so that we could eat the meat. To our dismay, when we finished the drink, we learned that our merchant had left to solve an electrical problem. There we were, with a large coconut in hand, moments before the ferry was to depart! We frantically located another coconut man and bribed him to open our coconut.
*Biggest laugh or cry:* After having both an excruciatingly long wait and dinner at a top restaurant in Grand Case, on the French side, we left the restaurant exhausted at 11:30 p.m. only to find that our rental car had a flat tire. With AAA not an option, we rummaged in the back of the car for the spare and risked life and limb to change the tire on a busy narrow road.
*How unexpected:* We knew that St. Maarten was a fairly well-developed country, so we were surprised by the poor condition of the roads and the lack of signage. The island road map we had wasnt much better. Most of the time, we were guessing whether we were on the right track.
*Fondest memento or memory:* What truly struck us about this tiny, 37-mile-long island nation was the duality between the Dutch and French sides. There are no border gates, and going between the two is quite seamless. Both sides offer many of the same things  great beaches, wonderful restaurants and fun shopping  but with totally different vibes. We had fun exploring what each side had to offer.

----------

