Today we explored the neighboring island to the south of Anguilla – Saint Martin. Saint Martin is a small island about the same size as Anguilla and is also a European territorial possession. Unlike Anguilla, the island is divided between two nations, France (Saint Martin) and the Netherlands (Sint Maarten). Compared with Anguilla, the population of the entire island is about 5 times larger and the geography is far more lush and hilly. The French side is bigger in terms of area (about 60% of the island) but the Dutch side is more populated (about 56% of the inhabitants). Although you need to pass through immigration and customs when entering the island, travelers and residents can freely move between the two sides once on the island, with nothing more than small landmarks differentiating the two sides.

We travelled to Saint Martin via ferry, which is a far cry from the busyness of our ferry system back home. Immigration and customs is a breeze, but we were happy to add stamps to our passports! After taking the short 18 minute ferry from Anguilla, we rented a car from a French resident for the day. We started and ended our day touring the French side, we began by traveling west, then south, east, north, and eventually west in a large loop around the island. As we learned, although English is widely used on the Dutch side, it is much less frequently spoken on the French side! It was a fun and unexpected challenge for us to navigate a language neither of us knew. We had lunch (complete with French bread, of course) in a quaint town near Orient Bay.

The Dutch side includes the main airport of the island, which is famous for having the planes fly RIGHT over Maho Beach, only a couple hundred feet from where they land (video in our gallery!). It also includes the beautiful town of Philipsburg, which is set in Great Bay. We explored the nearby Fort Amsterdam which has beautiful views of the Bay and wildlife in the area. The Fort was originally constructed in 1630 and provided protection for residents. Many of the structures and canons are still standing. Overall, Saint Martin and Sint Maarten have a much more significant ‘European’ influence than Anguilla – we often felt that we could be in small towns in France or the Netherlands, minus the beautiful Caribbean weather of course. The island made for a wonderful day trip before we returned to our more secluded paradise island of Anguilla.

For dinner we ventured inland again and enjoyed a wonderful dinner at a local-favorite, filled with freshly caught local seafood, brisket, papaya sorbet and a brownie. Tomorrow is our last full day on the island and we intend to take full advantage of enjoying our slice of Mead’s Bay.