St. Maarten Vacation, Day 3

A few yards away from Abigail's apartment building is a French pastry shop called Jule's, where we had fresh pastries for breakfast. Then she took us on a driving tour of the island. The southern third is Sint Maarten, a Dutch country that is one of four comprising the kingdom of the Netherlands. The northern two-thirds is Saint-Martin, an overseas "collectivity" of the republic of France. They share the same island of Saint Martin. Got that?!

Abigail's apartment, her medical school, and the island's international airport are on the Dutch side. However, traveling to the French side to look around was easy because the border between countries requires no stops or customs check-ins--it is like driving across state borders in the U.S.A. And the entire island is just 34 square miles.

English is widely spoken on both sides of the border. We did overhear some people speaking French in Saint-Martin, but we have heard no Dutch at all spoken in Sint Maarten. Also, although the euro is the official currency of Saint-Martin (and France), and the Netherlands Antilles florin is the official currency of Sint Maarten (whereas the Netherlands itself uses the euro), the American dollar is accepted across the island. In fact, on the Dutch side, businesses list their prices first in the dollar and second in the florin!

(Click on any photo to enlarge it.)

This is Bell's Lookout Point on Cole Bay Hill with a flagpole flying the national flag of Sint Maarten. At the base of the hill is a statue of William Henry Bell, Jr., whose family once owned this plot of land.

A view from atop Cole Bay Hill. By the way, in the center of the photo are two tall apartment buildings that are located near Abigail's medical school and her own apartment.

We toured the ruins of Fort Amsterdam outside Philipsburg, the capital city on the Dutch side. We got rained on a lot, so not many photos of the fort itself ... but the ladies did pose for a pic during a pause in precipitation.

We also toured the ruins of Fort Louis in Marigot, the capital city on the French side.

I won a game of king of the hill, clearly.

We ate at the Sunset Beach Bar on Maho Beach. The restaurant is situated at the end of the airport runway, so it is a prime spot for viewing low-flying incoming planes as they appear to be just a hand's reach overhead!

And, of course, another trip to the beach to frolic in the ocean.

We ended the day with a video call with extended family! My sister Cathy (upper left) was in the Mountain time zone; my sister Sandy and our dad (third row) were in the Central time zone; and the rest of us were in the Atlantic time zone ... three hours later than Cathy. Makes it tricky to schedule a call!