But it is time now to head to Marigot, the capital of St. Martin, also twenty minutes from Maho, but in the other direction. Start your day in Marigot with a traditional pain au chocolat and café au lait. Wednesday and Saturday are market mornings and it is worth a visit to the sea front market. Ladies enjoy browsing among the exotic spices and tropical fruits and vegetables or buying an inexpensive wrap to display on the beach while the men watch the pelicans diving for the scraps thrown by the fishermen who are cleaning a dazzling array of newly caught fish. Marigot has a European air and here too there is great shopping at sophisticated European style brand name stores. By the way, on the Dutch side the official currency is the Netherlands Antilles Guilder and on the French side the Euro, but US Dollars are accepted everywhere.

You are in the tropics and all shopping and no play makes Jack a dull boy! So head to the beach. The only problem is how to choose which of the 36 magnificent beaches will fit your mood today. The most famous is Orient Beach, lined with bars and restaurants and featuring parasailing, water-skiing and windsurfing as well as souvenir boutiques. Clothing is optional, although in my opinion, in some cases, an extra wrap would be a blessing for all concerned. If you are in the mood to celebrate, wait for the full moon and make your way to Friar’s Bay where there will be an all night party. Or take the kids to the long sloping Le Gallion beach where the water is no more than knee deep for a long way out. Try Guana for surfing or Grand Case for snorkeling. Wherever you go you will find golden sand and seductive blue and green water.

The mention of Grand Case makes me hungry. There are more than 300 restaurants throughout the island but the little village of Grand Case (pronounced Kas) is a special favorite for dinner. There are more than 20 gourmet restaurants, many situated on the beach where you can dine with the waves lapping beneath you and the lights of neighboring Anguilla twinkling in the distance. Le Tastevin and the Fish Pot are two of several favorites. The Marina at Port La Royale in Marigot is surrounded on three sides by a boardwalk on which are situated restaurants catering to all tastes. Dine al fresco. The wonderful crepes at Le Saint Germain make a great light lunch (www.saintgermainrestaurant.com). At La Rosa Too, back at Maho, the grated conch makes an unusual and tasty appetizer. Uncle Harry’s, near Maho, serves the best lobster and steak on the island in an informal Caribbean setting and at …… and I could go on and on. I am sure you will find your own favorites.

After that big dinner last night, not to mention the after dinner drinks and sing along at Sopranos, it is time for a relaxing massage and sauna at The Good Life Spa (www.thegoodlifespa.com), followed by a visit to the Sint Maarten Museum or the  zoo, not really my favorite, or the Old House, built in the early 1700s and where the owner, Pierre Beauperthuy, amazes groups of ten visitors at a time with countless stories of his ancestors, and all for $5 a head! An early morning visit to the butterfly farm is a must (www.thebutterflyfarm.com). Golf, tennis, horseback riding, biking, hiking, snorkeling, scuba diving, boating, fishing and bowling are all available, including one of the island’s most popular attractions, the opportunity to experience the exhilaration of America’s Cup 12 metre yacht racing. Every participant acts as a member of the crew, carefully guided by the professional crew, and several yachts, including the America’s Cup winner Stars & Stripes and challengers Canada II and True North, among others, will create your own personal regatta (www.12metrechallenge.com). Also popular with visitors are day trips by high speed, wave-piercing catamaran ferries to British Anguilla to swim with the dolphins or to French St. Barths, sighted by Columbus in 1493 and named for his brother. The island was once Swedish and the capital is still called Gustavia after King Gustaf. Today St. Barths is a haven for the jet set crowd. Or take a trip to Dutch Saba to hike in the rain forest or a short ‘plane ride 38 miles south to Dutch St. Eustatius, usually called Statia. Once a bustling port, Statia was a hub and a transshipment point between Europe and North America, and was particularly important to blockade runners. When the Andrew Doria sailed into Gallows Bay on November 16, 1776, the first ship to call flying the flag of the new United States, Governor Johannes de Graaff fired a 13 gun salute and Statia became the first foreign country to recognize the United States. Every now and then a United States President sends another plaque as a thank you and you can see them displayed on the ramparts alongside the old cannon still pointing seaward.

St. Maarten/St.Martin, the Friendly Island. Well connected by air from the Eastern U.S.A., Puerto Rico, Canada, Paris and Amsterdam; the home port for many of the largest luxury mega yachts in the Caribbean and a “must call” port for many cruise ships. Relaxing, interesting, entertaining, and different; most certainly a place to visit and perhaps the place to fulfill your dream of escaping to paradise.

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