Real people, real stories
The island of St. Martin has four borders that demarcate French territory and Dutch territory (Sint Maarten), but an unknowing car passenger could easily blink and miss them entirely…
We found this incredibly refreshing. The locals we encountered largely reflected the same sentiment regarding differences between the two sides. Was one side better than the other? Was there an unspoken rivalry between the two?
Not that we observed. The friendly island truly lived up to its name!
This was especially evident in the colorful characters we met during our brief stay.
In the same way that classic Defenders are a little bit slower than modern cars, we enjoy the slower pace of life when on vacation because it affords us the time to be curious about the new people and cultures we encounter on our journey.
We were particularly eager to put our language skills to the test since we speak both French (Katie) and Afrikaans (East) which is close to Dutch. With that said, nearly everyone we met spoke English!
The French side was definitely quieter boasting delicious food and a friendly, slightly bohemian atmosphere. Everyone was very kind and the service was impeccable everywhere we went in the area around Orient Bay. Some favorite restaurants we visited included Ti Palm, L’Atelier and Pizza Mont Vernon by Fred.
Fred was especially kind and welcoming on numerous occasions during our stay and reassured us that the beach was safe for night time walks.
Beyond Fred, the folks we talked to the most on the French side were named Jada and Stravinsky.
Jada is a young student and Foodie Tour guide who helped us eat our way through Marigot. She recounted how she and her family survived Hurricane Irma in 2017 and how it had impacted their life over the next several years. She had moved to mainland France and Guadeloupe in order to maintain her studies during the rebuilding period and was eagerly waiting to hear if she could continue her web design and programming studies in France.
Our favorite part of the tour with Jada was meeting Marianne at her Spice Shop and scoring some lovely souvenirs including a license plate for Big East’s growing collection.
Stravinsky is native to the French side of St. Martin and works at Coco Beach Club on Orient Beach. He was able to take a few minutes to chat with us during one of our beach days. Born to music loving parents, he explained that despite his name he did not feel any pressure to be musical; although he did enjoy playing the drums when he was younger.
The friendly vibe and great food at Coco Beach Club made it our favorite hub from which we could explore the surrounding area. A short walk away was Bikini Beach where the kids got to parasail for the first time. It’s also where we met a Jamaican named Reality who crafts healthy juices and serves up fresh coconut water from his beachside business called Rasta’s Coconut Stand.
While Reality had only worked from this particular stand for about a year, he said he liked it and felt very welcome. Several other people we met during our stay were originally from other Caribbean islands including Guadeloupe, Haiti and Dominica, so there were many flags and people represented beyond the expected French and Dutch ones!
On the Dutch side, known for being a bit more touristy and modern, we found the locals to be more talkative. At Mario Bistrot, Canadian Chef Mario took the time to chat to our son (an aspiring chef) and pose for a photo before we enjoyed a beautiful meal from his kitchen.
The fact that he started Mario Bistrot on the French side in 1995 and moved it to the Dutch side 20 years later—where it continues to thrive—is yet another example of the nearly invisible divide between the two sides of the island.
On Front Street in Philipsburg, we met Dino at Kay’s Fine Jewelry, who helped us pick out a special gift for our daughter’s 13th birthday. He took so much time with us and shared special pieces of his collection that he had personally designed with great artistry and pride.
We also met Frank, Monique and Destiny—all volunteers at SXM Paws, the island’s only animal shelter. They spent more than an hour showing us around and explaining to us how the shelter came to be in its current location and how recent changes in CDC policies made it harder, if not impossible, for American visitors to adopt. We promptly fell in love with a sweet pup named Yang who has since found his forever family in Canada.
Our favorite friend we made from the Dutch side is Curley Boston. Curley lives with his family near the Zipline adventure park we visited during our stay. After just a week, he became so much more than a driver and a guide; he and East chatted at length about sports, cars and life in general and before we knew it, we had made a lifelong friend.
Curley runs a business called Nature Tours SXM and generously shared real insights into what it is like to raise a family on the island. He also shared harrowing stories about how the community pulled together post-Irma in order to survive and thrive.
After several successful Landy spotting adventures with Curley across both sides of the island, we’re fairly sure we made an impression on him too!
