So far, we visited the Dominican Republic (Puerto Plata) on the island of Hispaniola, which is shared with Haiti, the Virgin Islands (St.Thomas), which is US territory, and Antigua (St.John). Today we’ll explore the island of St. Maarten, which is a constituent of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It encompasses the southern 40% of the island, while the northern 60% constitutes the French overseas collectivity of St. Maarten.
The whole island is only 37 square miles. It’s the smallest landmass in the world to be shared by two sovereign countries. The Dutch part has casinos, duty free shopping and island culture, whereas the French part is all subdued sophistication…..
Fortunately the traffic is on the right side again, which feels comfortable and less stressful. We took a bus to go over to a beautiful beach on the French side. Our tour guide tells us about the harmonious-non-collaboration between the Dutch and the French. For example, each side has its own airport, hospital, university, etc. If you call somebody on the other side, it’s considered an international call ($0.50/min). It’s cheaper to call somebody in your homeland! We realize this immediately, when we cross the border and AT&T, our US phone company charges us another $10 and another one on the way back 🤔. The south side‘s currency is the Netherlands Dutch Florin (NAF), whereas the northern side‘s currency is the Euro. Go figure!
The story has it that, when the Dutch and the French divided the island, they met at the beach and headed in opposite direction. From the starting point to the point wherever they meet again should be half of the island. The Frenchman put rum into the Dutchman’s water, make him fall asleep on the beach. That’s why the “halves” are unequal (40/60). I remember a similar story about Siena and Florence, who wanted to find the middle point between both cities to mark the counties. They agree to send out one rider on horseback, who should start galloping first thing in the morning, with the sound of a rooster. The Florenze rider didn’t wait for the rooster, but woke him up before sunrise and started riding. The honest Siena rider did play by the rules and when they met, the countyline was established according to the incorrect meeting point.
The beach where we spend our day was beautiful, the sand white and powdery, the water turquoise. What else do you need? of course I pack a small bag of sand, which the safety officer on the ship complained about. I’m not supposed to take any sand; a small amount would be ok, but not what I took. She sends me over to another officer to figure out how much sand I have to dump, but he just waves me through. 😬 🏝️