Caribbean island of St. Martin offers picturesque escape from cold

By Norm Goldstein

Published: December 2, 2007

MARIGOT, St. Martin — It was early on our first morning here as we stepped on to the hotel room terrace to see clear blue, cloudless sky.

The only sounds were ripples of the waters from the Simpson Bay lagoon below and the chirping of the blackbirds in the palm trees. Tiny goldfinches flitting among the bougainvillea and hibiscus shrubs.

It was only a four-hour-or-so flight from New York area airports, but it was already about 60 degrees warmer than when we left the day before.

When the weather outside is frightful, the Caribbean is oh, sooooo delightful.

There are some 7,000 islands in the Caribbean, arcing south-southeast from below Florida to near the coast of Venezuela. Many are islets and uninhabited reefs, but that still leaves quite a choice.

We have visited some — St. Thomas, Nassau in the Bahamas and Curacao among them — and had no complaints with any. All have the allure of bright sun, white sands and signature blue-green waters. But we have settled most assuredly on St. Martin/St. Maarten, coming back some six or seven times.

It is an unusual, if not unique place, as its twin names would indicate. A small, 37-square-mile island, it is half French-owned, part of the French West Indies, and half Dutch territory, listed among the Netherlands Antilles. But there is no real border; it is much like driving through the Holland Tunnel, where you have to be alert to the sign marking the change between New York and New Jersey.

The Dutch side is the busier. It has the welcoming airport, Princess Juliana International Airport, recently re-done and opened with a spanking new terminal in November 2006. It is here, too, in the Dutch-side capital of Philipsburg, where the cruise ships dock at a newly constructed harbor, and the shops are generally crowded with tourists.

The French side is quieter, and it is there that we have found winter respite.

After breakfast on the terrace that first day, we retreated to one of the two pools at our hotel, Le Flamboyant, in an area known as Nettle Bay, or Baie Nettle, on the northwestern part of the island.

I watched as some took part in the hotel's organized aqua exercises and read about the typical water sports available in virtually all of the Caribbean resorts: snorkeling, water-skiing, pedal-boating and such. But I tend to follow the basic Caribbean mantra: beach-food-beach. Or pool-food-pool. Or any combination thereof.

We rented a car and, dragged from my pool chaise, drove through the French-side capital of Marigot toward the Atlantic Ocean in the east to Grand Case village for lunch.

And herein lies the attraction that we feel sets St. Martin apart: the food. French cooking in a tropical setting. La vie en rose.

At Le Tastevin, we ate "en bord de la mer,” at the edge of the sea.

An Acapulco salad for some lobster with mixed greens, sliced avocado and grilled shrimp. Chicken breast over mixed greens with slices of bleu cheese. Or swordfish or mahi-mahi.

After lunch, to walk it all off, we hiked up Pic Paradis, the highest point on the island at 1,392 feet.

That, and an easier walk up to the top of Fort Louis for a view of the Marigot harbor, was the extent of my activity for the five days, but for a game of pingpong at the beach.

Of course, there's much more to do for those who desire "doing.” Water activities, typical of the islands, include water skiing (traditional or mechanized), pedal-boating, snorkeling, sailing and fishing.

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