St. Maarten/Martin

Our first visit to the Leeward and Windward Islands, taking a 10-day cruise on the Wind Surf, then another 14 days on a repositioning cruise to Lisbon.  First stop was three days on the divided island (Dutch and French).  We stayed on the Dutch side in Philipsburg, a cruise ship hub, with a visit to Marigot on the French side.  There is no visible border, as vehicles pass seamlessly across, just a flag to tell you are in a new country. 

The Island was last devastated by Hurricane Irma on September 6 and 7, 2017.  The results are still evident, though recovery is happening faster on the Dutch side since the Netherlands Government put more pressure on the insurance companies to settle, or so we were told.  The locals are cheerful and quite friendly, used to fighting adversity.  As they get on a bus, they greet everyone with a cheerful "Good morning" or "Good afternoon!" before sitting down.  There are many minibuses, costing $2 US or 1.5 euros. 

We stayed at Alicia's Inn,  www.aliciasinn.com a newly renovated, quiet inn on Back Street.
Our meals were at The Green House and Antoinnes on the Boardwalk, both excellent venues, where we had local fish and lobster.

Jim meets Capt. Morgan

Lynne is greeted by Johnnie Walker

Yesterday we visited Marigot and Baie Nettle on the French side.  Fort Louis, built by the French in 1789 to protect the harbor warehouse stores of rum, salt, coffee and sugar from British and Dutch pirates, has long been abandoned and lies in ruins.  It was worth the short, steep climb for the views of the bays, the lowlands of the Terres Basses and Simpson Bay Lagoon and across to Anguilla.  We decided to hike what we thought was a short distance to Baie Nettle, but turned into an hour-long slog along a dusty road, finally ending at swimming beach where we were alone to cool off in the warm waters.  The whole area torn up and only now is being rebuilt, so tourists ha e not returned, though some locals live in houses back from the beach.

View from Ft. Louis

Nettle Beach and the bay

So now we're off to the ship and nine more islands: .Little Bay ( Montserrat), Roseau (Dominica), Castries (St. Lucia), Mayreau (Grenadines), St. Georges (Grenada), Bequia, Anse Mitan (Martinique), Les Saintes (Terre-de-Haut), Gustavia (St. Barthelemy) and back to Philipsburg.

Till next time....