VISITING ST MARTIN FOR THE DAY (w/Amigo Tours)

Some of the ports we visited while on our week long cruise was beautiful while some were just a working port.  St Martin was one of those ports you pulled into and the water was beautiful and the port was clean and well maintained.

AROUND THE PORT

St Martin / St Maarten is the world's smallest territory shared by two countries.  The northern part is French and called St Martin and the southern part is Dutch and called St Maarten.  Our cruise ship docked in Philipsburg which is the capital of Sint Maarten.

MAHO BEACH - THE MOST THRILLING BEACH IN THE WORLD

No visit is complete to St.Martin without a trip to Maho beach. If you haven't considered visiting St Martin, then you need to redo your bucket list.

St Martin is beautiful but that in itself is not the reason for my excitement about visiting this country. My excitement came from the fact that St Martin is the location of Maho Beach. THE Maho Beach...the one where planes land only feet away from the beach and where visitors stand with their cameras ready to capture the enormous jets as they pass overhead.



Maho beach is located in the western part of the Dutch side of the island near the French border and right beside the Princess Juliana International Airport. The beach is separated by a two lane highway which stayed busy the entire time we were there. It also has the distinction of being one of the most dangerous airports in the world.

HURRICANE DESTRUCTION AROUND ST MARTIN / ST MAARTEN

I saw hurricane destruction up close and personal for the first time in my life when I visited St. Maarten / St Martin on Saturday.

When Hurricane Irma struck the island in September 2017, winds of 180 mph tore through the island, destroying everything it it's path.  It wasn't bad enough dealing with Irma, but they had to deal with Hurricane Jose and Hurricane Maria in the following weeks.

I spoke to a local who said he and several of his friends and relatives  tried to ride out the storm in his home but the roof was torn off so when the eye passed over and everything was calm for a minute, they went to a neighbors home that had a concrete roof that was still in tact.