"St-Martin / St Maarten"

"St-Martin / St Maarten", sometimes known as SXM is an island in the northeast Caribbean and is amicably divided between the French and the Dutch. It has 3 currencies, 4 languages and a blurred border territory. Each side has a distinct personality - the French cling desperately to their European roots and the Dutch cater wholeheartedly to winning the American tourist dollar with the dozens of cruise ships stopping here. 

The island is duty free and one of the biggest yachting centres in the Caribbean, which made it an ideal location to get Lazy Bones ready for her voyage. Although our focus was outfitting the boat, we also sampled a bit of the island life and enjoyed as much time on land as possible.

Stopping in at ‘Happy Bay’ on the French side for a swim and afternoon local bier – Caribe!

We met some wonderful new friends, through our experience ‘couch surfing’ – Jeremie, Linda and Romane, who were wonderful hosts to both Mike and I during our boat hunting phase. As a thank you, we took them out for a day of sailing to ‘Tintamare Island’. 

We sailed to Grand Case for the weekend, which is reportedly the ‘culinary capital of the Caribbean’. It has a fantastic vibe and the beach is lined with restaurants and bars. 



We skipped the high-end hotspots, preferring instead to savor local faves like BBQ pork ribs and coleslaw at one of the ‘lolos’ – open air cantinas. 

Exploring Philipsburg - the Dutch-side of the island and cruise ship central...

A local market in Marigot, the French capital.

Although SXM is one of the busiest and most populous islands in the Caribbean, it was perfect for our boat needs and had the bonus of great beaches, wonderful food and fantastic people!