| GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Saint Martin (St. Martin / St. Maarten)
One of the most popular of all Caribbean destinations, French Saint Martin and Dutch Sint Maarten share this easily accessible island. Less than 2083 km (1250 mi) from Miami, visitors discover rolling hills, exceptional beaches, celebrated restaurants, duty-free shopping, interesting historical sites, casinos and colorful markets. A full complement of land and water activities as well as excursions to nearby islands are easily arranged.
The towns on the French side have a beguiling West Indian charm combined with certain distinct touches of France: open markets that are typically Caribbean, bakeries that are typically French and seaside cafes that seem to have been transplanted intact from la Côte d'Azur. The capital of Marigot is no longer the sleepy little fishing village it once was. It has awakened to tourism, sprucing up its lovely old houses, building new restaurants, shops, boat slips, marinas, a waterfront promenade, a handsome new market place and a pier for yachts.
The capital and main city on the Dutch side, Philipsburg, lies on a narrow strip of land between the Great Salt Pond to the north and Great Bay, on the Caribbean Sea, to the south. Lovely old colonial style houses with ?gingerbread? fretwork mingle with the duty-free shops, restaurants, cafes and nightclubs lining the two main thoroughfares, Front Street and Back Street. By day and night, the town attracts cruise ship passengers and other island visitors to its many and varied attractions. Maho Bay, adjacent to the island’s international airport at the southern edge of the Simpson Bay Lagoon, is another center of activity with shops, casinos, restaurants and a number of resort hotels.
The terrain is a generally pastoral green, rather than the very lush tropical green found elsewhere in the Caribbean and consists mostly of rolling hills. The western portion includes Simpson Bay Lagoon with its calm waters and numerous watersports centers. The highest mountain called Paradise Peak (Pic du Paradis) rises to almost 422 m (1,391 ft) and there are many forested heights in the center of the island. The coastline is set with deep coves and bays, and there are more than 30 beautiful beaches encircling the island. The waters are unusually clear, and snorkelers can spot brilliantly colored fish at up to 10 m (30 ft) or more.
Situated at the northern point of the Guadeloupe Archipelago, the island is 2805 km (1,683 mi) south of New York and 240 km (144 mi) east of Puerto Rico. The total land area is 92.5 sq km (37 sq mi). The southern half, Dutch Sint Maarten, is 42 sq km (16 sq mi); the northern half, French St. Martin, is 52.5 sq km (21 sq mi); The total population of St. Maarten / St. Martin is approximately 76,000.
There are no customs formalities between the Dutch and French sides. The boundaries are marked simply by two "welcome'' signs on each side. One says "Bienvenue en Partie Française" and the other says "Welcome to Dutch Sint Maarten, N.A.". The Dutch side is an "island area" within the Netherlands Antilles. It is scheduled to be restructured as a separate country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands (like Aruba) in December, 2008. The French side is an official French Collectivité d’Outre-Mer (COM) and, as such, is part of the European Union. It is administered locally by an elected Président and territorial council.
The island is on Atlantic Standard Time (Eastern Standard Time plus 1 hour or Greenwich Mean Time minus 4 hours). This island does not change to Daylight Savings Time. Time is indicated in the 24 hour format (in other words, 1:15 p.m. is 13:15 or 13h15).
A BRIEF HISTORY: Saint Martin (St. Martin / St. Maarten)
The French and Dutch nations have coexisted peacefully on the island for three centuries. According to a colorful legend, the boundaries were established in a walking contest in 1648 in which the Frenchmen paced off the larger share of the island.
Columbus had discovered and named the island in 1493, and in the 1630's the French and Dutch both settled on the island. In the early days the island was a pirates' haven with the island's many coves and bays used as hiding places. It was in St. here that Peter Stuyvesant (the last Dutch governor of New York) lost his leg in a struggle with the Spanish in 1640.
As was the case with much of the Caribbean, the cultivation of sugar cane introduced slavery into the island. The French abolished slavery in 1848, and the Dutch slaves were emancipated 15 years later. After a prolonged depression, the island was declared a duty-free port in 1939. Today, tourism is the leading factor in the economy of this beautiful and multicultural island. |
