Airport Beach – Maho Beach; Saint Martin or Sint Maarten; however you like

I was thinking what should I write about for my first travel post. I wanted to start from some kind of beginning. My very important A topic will be a long story. So, I'll cheat a bit.

Saint Martin/Sint Maarten. Why this place?

Firstly, November 11th, known as St. Martin’s day, is an important day for this Caribbean Island, which got its name in the 15th century. According to the legend, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sighted an island on that day, while ˝discovering˝ the New World. (I’ve never agreed with the term ¨discovery¨).
There is Sain- Martin - the Franch part, and Sint Maarten - the Duch part of the island. Huge difference, isn't it?

Secondly, two months ago (beginning of September), category five hurricane Irma hit this island and damaged or destroyed, roughly 90% of it.

Irma2017

And the third reason is that this is one of my favorite places!

Surprisingly, France and the Netherlands have a common border. Not in Europe, though. Maybe they suffered to be close to each other and eventually there was the way. St. Martin is the smallest island divided between two countries, why it got a nickname The Friendly Island (or who knows what the main reason is ).

Map

The area of 87km² is shared 60:40 in favor of France. Why not equal, there is a funny legend about it.
Apparently, there was a contest for a decision on their territorial boundaries. How many deals have been made by alcohol influence, this one was no exception.
A Frenchman drinking wine; a Dutchman drinking jenever (Dutch gin). When they were loaded enough, standing back to back, the French headed to the north, the Dutch to the south from the start point on the east coast of the island (Oyster Pond). The unwritten rule was - no running, just walking on the coastal line of the island.
The borderline will be created between the start and the meeting point.

The stories came about after France got most of the island (54 km² of 87 km²). The French walker was accused of cheating by running and making shortcuts. But he was defending himself pointing to the stimulant effect of the wine. The other part of the story is that the Dutchman got so drunk because of the higher percentage of the alcohol in the gin that he had to stop to sleep at some woman’s house. Guy had to do what he had to do.
Anyhow, I guess that this beverage contests still has its spirit over the inhabitants of the island, and even more, over the tourists.

The island has two capitals. On the French side is Marigot, on the Dutch side is Philipsburg.

The island has a tropical monsoon climate, which gives a dry season from January to April and a rainy season from August to December. Still, it is never too hot, and never too cold. The perfect climate, considering temperature. Its location gives a fear of occasional Atlantic hurricanes.
The winter and early spring is the time to travel to St. Martin.

There are less than 80,000 inhabitants on the island, where more than 50% live on the smaller, Dutch territory. That is the part which I’ve visited.

There is the 166-year-old school; the oldest school in St. Martin. Reading the name Oranje School in my language has a funny meaning (plowing) – which gave me a thought that it would be a perfect name for some agricultural school.

Methodist church in Philipsburg.

There is an anecdote that my boss (at that time) told me once:
Many workers were asking for few hours off on this island. The excuse was they had to go to the church. Ok, if that’s so, he couldn’t say no. After too many requests from the male workers, different nationality, and religion, he found himself confused and intrigued. Finally, he got an answer.
Still, I am not sure if the name of some specific place is The Church, or it is just a nickname for places which unsatisfied men visit for relaxing and being happy at the end

What to do on this island?

St. Martin is attractive for its perfect beach with white sand, warm water, tax-free shopping, night-clubs, drinking, drinking and drinking.

There is one of the famous beaches in the world called Maho Beach. The nickname Airport Beach was created due to its location, just next to the Princess Juliana International Airport, which is located on the Dutch side.
Juliana was a princess of the Netherlands who visited an island a year after the airport was opened.

Airport Beach

It wouldn't be so wonderful if there is no some kind of danger. Every day (during the high season), there are big aircrafts with the powerful jets, which can blow you away. Recently it happened that a woman died when this strong jet’s air had thrown her on the concrete.
Tourists are warned about this danger and suggested to hold tight on the fence or stay sited on the ground.

Sky over the Maho/Airport Beach

This beach is so popular among the tourist that the nearby bars and restaurant have an arrival schedule on TV screens or boards :)

Where ever you go you can find some delicious food:

shrimps

Honky Tonk bar

Definitely the hotspot for the crew members who are coming from different cruise ships.
It is one of the furthermost bars on the beach, but it had its charm. Had? It is destroyed recently. It is a crazy feeling that I’ve actually cried like I lost a family member.

HonkyTonk

The place was average. It had an exquisite view, like every other place on the beach. It had tasty, American style food, always stoned waiters, but the best atmosphere around. The balance of energy made it so amazing. Going back to this bar, over and over again, it was like a visit to a local place with old friends.

Going back to the port, I found this sign:

Get Wet Beach Bar was the highlight of the season. After a long time away from home, I had a homemade food, Balcan style, made by owners who came from Serbia. The world is so small :)

stuffed paprika and mash potatos

This was a running through the island so you could get a picture of its beauty. Since I promised myself to post it ASAP, I will bring it to the end, hoping for your reply.

Thanks for reading

!steemitworldmap 18.039850 lat -63.120811 longlong One of the best beaches in the world! is here! d3scr