When we got off the Freedom of the Seas with our group of friends, my dear wife Karen and I were in St. Maarten.
A sign of the Dutch side.
How could we not feel welcome with the colorful splash that we all saw just off the dock as we walked to where they pointed us?
Our friends know the way to our excursion bus.
The line of people were headed to big, modern, air-conditioned tour buses. Our group of 20 or so managed to get on the same bus, thankfully. The schedule had us together for about three hours.
Hover over a gallery photo for a description. Click on an image for an enlarged slideshow.
We went past water, and land, and more water.
The border line.
When we crossed over a border, we were in St. Martin, under French rule.
Both sides, this was a diverse island.
We saw rich segments. We saw poor segments.
At one point, our tour guide – she looked sort of like Wanda Sykes and told a lot of jokes, too – broke into Day-Oh by Harry Belafonte. That was when we were passing a more run-down section. I took photos, just as I did in the more affluent sections.
On the French side, the driver parked and the guide let us off the bus, giving us 45 minutes to shop and take in the sights. Karen and I did both.
It was hotter than 90º F and humid, too. We were glad to get back on the bus.
The ship looked inviting as we approached.
They placed the proper jewelry store for me to get the right charm for Karen’s bracelet in the cluster of shops just outside the ship. Now she had one from each island.
And we were back.
And we felt right at home.
Tomorrow: Dinners on the ship
Which side do you think you’d like better, the Dutch or the French? What would you buy on this island? Which is your favorite photo, and why?</em?
Mark Bialczak 
Lovely post. I visited St Maarten while on a cruise too and although didn’t go to the French side still found Philipsburg to be really lovely and a change from all the less crowded beaches we had visited till then. Wrote about my experience on the blog so have a look
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Thanks, Ticker. It was a very nice island. I will visit your site for a gander.
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Dutch or French?? Hmmmm….me like them both. It doesn’t ‘Maarter.’ (灬♥ω♥灬)
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Great comeback, NBC. 🙂
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(•‾ ⌣ ‾•)و ̑̑
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the pictures are wonderful – the blue skies and beauty – and like how you shared the pics of the island showing the rich and poor –
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Yes, water, land, the colors, the economies. So much to show, so little time to capture it. Thanks, Y, for understanding. ❤
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😉
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ooh, i don’t know, i’d certainly love to experience both firsthand!
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Yes, both have so much to offer us, Beth. ❤
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Only three hours? I could spend a few months there! The docked ship sure looks enormous.
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Yes, the time crunch is a drawback, Mike. You are correct. And the ship is enormous. For sure, my friend.
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