St Maarten - Two Countries, One Island

St Maarten lies in the chain of islands in the Caribbean known as the Windward Islands. Our cruise ship, the Westerdam, docked at Philipsburg, the capital of the Dutch section of the island.

Our shore excursion for the day was the St Maarten Island Drive and after breakfast we boarded a bus for a two and a half hour drive from Philipsburg across to Marigot the capital of the French section.

There are two countries in one island, the Dutch and French divided it in two! The island has definitive Dutch and French influences in their respective sections and everyone here is trilingual.

The road wound along the coastline and through some of the countryside and there were some beautiful panoramic views to be seen.

When we got to the picturesque town of Marigot there were boutiques, restaurants and street markets for us to browse around to buy the odd souvenir or clothing and have a drink.

Credit: My own blog and photos.