After the 2024 election, I left Twitter. Elon Musk’s acquiring of the platform and subsequent turning it into a right-wing disinformation center was too much for me, and I just couldn’t continue. I joined Bluesky. (By the way, if you are on that platform, please find me here. And if you aren’t on it, please join!) I spent some time connecting with other travel writers, and with other refugees like me who had left Twitter behind for political reasons.
One day, I received a follow – and a subsequent message – from the account associated with Visit Sint Maarten/Saint-Martin. They too were learning to use Bluesky and trying to connect with travelers, and with travel writers. They had seen a series of articles I had reposted about the history of the Dominican Republic, and asked if I would consider coming to their island to do some similar writing. Apparently few – if any – people have written deeper pieces about the history of Sint Maarten/Saint-Martin.
After a couple of Zoom meetings with their director, I accepted and we chose dates. And now that trip is just around the corner!
Sint Maarten/Saint-Martin is a small Caribbean island made up of two sides. One, Sint Maarten, is a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, similar to Curaçao or Aruba. The other, Saint-Martin, is French, and a full department of France. It is a fascinating setup, one leading to some cool and unique historical and political features, which of course I will write about in depth.
In all, I will have a week on the island, based on the smaller but more heavily populated Dutch side. But given the island’s small size and open border, that won’t stop me from exploring Saint-Martin as well. And I will even be taking a day trip – weather permitting – to another island, Anguilla, which is a British overseas territory.
My focus is obviously going to be on the history of the island. I’ll be exploring the forts on both sides, paying tribute to the treaty dividing the island, and even delving into the history of sugar plantations and salt mining here. And of course we will talk about the political setup today, where each side has a slightly different status as it relates to its home country. Plus there will be some time for the beach, outdoor activities, lobster and snapper dinners, and tropical drinks.
Below, you’ll find my general itinerary, although for safety and privacy reasons I don’t give specific dates or hotel names. (I will of course talk about those in more detail in my write-ups of my experiences.) Just remember that things can change quickly when it comes to travel, as weather, illness, closures, and other miscellaneous exigencies can cause alterations at the last minute. So if everything in this itinerary doesn’t actually get done, please excuse me.
Day One – Los Angeles to Sint Maarten
It’s actually more than a day, as I have a red-eye to the east coast before connecting down. I’m not a huge fan of that, but what can you do? I’ll pick up my car, check into my first hotel (my stay will be split between two) and then find dinner.
Day Two – Adventure!
Today’s main activity is Rainforest Adventure, which is apparently home to the world’s steepest zip line. The property also has a museum on it about some of the history and culture of the island. Sounds fun! And with the afternoon and evening free, it’s probably time for a nice sunset dinner and drinks.
Day Three – Saint-Martin
Today my plan is to spend the full day on the French side of the island. There are a lot of stops to make, from the capital of Marigot and its Fort Saint Louis to Amuseum Naturalis, where I’ll explore the natural history of the island. Add in the border monument, a place making guavaberry rum, and the upscale beach area at Grand Case, and I think it seems like a long and solid day.
Day Four – Rum!
Today I am switching hotels, moving into the Dutch capital of Philipsburg from my prior lodging outside of the town. But the highlight is the afternoon at Topper’s Rhum Distillery, where I’ll get to tour, taste, and learn the history of the island’s sugar industry.
Day Five – Anguilla
Sint Maarten/Saint-Martin is located incredibly close to other islands, making day trips easy to do. It was a hard choice to pick Anguilla, a British overseas territory, over the Dutch islands of Saba or Sint Eustatius, but in the end, price and ease led to what will be an incredible beach day on a new island. It’s about a 30 minute ferry from Marigot to Anguilla, and it’s sort of fun to wake up in the Netherlands, drive into France, and wind up in the United Kingdom for the day, then to do it in reverse.
Day Six – Philipsburg
Today is the day to explore the Dutch side’s history, beginning with an Amazing Race-style outing that will take me all over the town. Then I’ll cover anywhere I didn’t get to see, or didn’t get to spend enough time seeing: Fort Amsterdam, the National Heritage Foundation and Museum, an old salt mining operation, and the historic buildings in the town center.
Day Seven – Beach
If circumstances forced me to skip anything above, today is the day to make that up. And if not, it’s going to be all about finding a nice beach chair and umbrella, and read a book while sipping a drink and eating fresh seafood. Maybe I’ll choose Maho Beach, famous for its plane-spotting since it’s right outside the airport. We will see.
Day Eight – Sint Maarten to Los Angeles
Another connection via the east coast, and it’s back home in time for bed, with a phone full of pictures and a brain full of memories. And hey, maybe a suitcase full of souvenirs.
So yeah, that’s the basic itinerary. I hope you’ll follow along with me on Bluesky, as I’ll be posting photos and interesting threads about history while there and after getting back. And for illustrative purposes, below is a map of the island. Philipsburg is flagged. Anguilla is just to the north across the Anguilla Channel from Saint-Martin.
