Mélange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine January 2020 | Page 218

Great Bay Beach
A quick day spent
St. Maarten
by: Lin.
For the past few months, I have
scoured the internet trying to
learn everything I could about
St. Maarten and now here I
am, about to enter the capital,
Philipsburg. Palm trees, small
boutiques, cafes, cute eateries,
and an explosion of colour, all
lined up a few minutes away
from the pristine blue water that
hugs the island; this is the St.
Maarten that has intrigued me
for months and now that I was
visiting the neighbouring island
of St. Kitts for a work project, I
decided to take this opportunity
to visit St. Maarten, if only for a
day.
Although reading that
shopping is some of the best
in the Caribbean, I wasn’t
quite prepared for the wide
assortment of goods available,
the high quality and the
marvelous prices! I soon
realized that I had to summon
all my will power to not buy
the many things I saw and
absolutely loved. Strolling along
with bags filled with presents
for my family and a few items
for myself which I could not
resist, I found myself in front of
Guavaberry Emporium, one of
the island’s most famous local
homemade rum stores. I am
in no way a rum connoisseur
but the variety and creativity of
rum flavours were undeniably
impressive. I indulged myself in
a few tasty samples, purchased
a souvenir bottle then decided it
was time to eat.
Shopping really does make
you hungry and with so many
food places around, my most
pressing dilemma was - where
should I eat and, what should
I eat? I eventually settled on a
small eatery offering local food,
and ordered the conch and
dumplings dish. It was my first
time eating conch but I enjoyed
it so much, I had two servings!
I later learned that this was the
island’s national dish. I chatted
a bit with the friendly owner
who sent me on my way with a
box of complementary warm,
delicious johnny cakes.
My next stop was the beach. I
had already spent some time
on Great Bay Beach with other
sun-soakers attempting a brief
recovery from my initial hours of
shopping, but I could not leave
the island without visiting the
famous Maho beach. Imagine
lounging on your beach towel,
cocktail in hand, sand between
your toes, and suddenly, a
huge Boeing flies over the top
of your head… that’s Maho
beach, St. Maarten. Princess
Juliana International Airport
is right next to the beach and
so is Sunset Beach Bar. It is by
far, the coolest place to hang
out, as you can enjoy a meal
in comfort while watching the
approaching and departing
airplanes. The food is awesome
and if you want to escape from
the throngs of people on the
beach, there’s a pool at Sunset.
Ain’t that grand?
When night falls, St. Maarten
does have a vibrant nightlife
for those who want to try their
luck at a casino, dance the night
away at one of their nightclubs,
or pub/bar crawl, but for me,
before leaving the island that
evening, I took a relaxing stroll
along the boardwalk that
borders Grand Bay Beach. It was
the perfect way to end my day.
I will definitely stay longer on
my next visit, because a day
barely scratches the surface of
what this island offers, but this
was a pleasant introduction. Bye
for now, Sint Maarten - I will be
back!
Photo Credit: Linda Y