St Maarten

The southern half of the smallest land mass in the world shared by two countries, the Dutch half of St Maarten is known for some of the world's best planespotting, duty free shopping, and casinos virtually on every corner. Much grittier than the French half of the island, but no surprise given that it's known as a permissive place where Americans can stock up on all sorts of contraband like Cuban cigars and absinthe.

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Princess Juliana International Airport arrivals hall. Simple but very effective messaging!

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My home for the week, a private villa on Beacon Hill Road. I picked this area because it was on a peninsula just south of the airport with great views west from the villa itself of planes landing and east from across the street of planes taking off. A planespotter's dream location, in other words.

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My own private pool.

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The view from my deck. My own pool and an unobstructed view of the planes on final approach at the airport!

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Gazing east at some of the villas across the bay.

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After two straight days of plane spotting, it was time for a change of scenery. I hopped in my rental car and started driving around the island. First, some scenery from the Dutch half heading west...

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Heading up in the hills, looking back down to the south where the airport is. The Dutch island of Saba is seen offshore.

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Overview of Philipsburg, capital of the Dutch side of St Maarten.

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Dutch island of St Eustatius visible offshore.

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Telephoto view of Fort Amsterdam. Not as impressive as the fort on the French side, and even weirder, you have to walk through a resort to get to it. The Dutch clearly don't seem to be as interested in preserving colonial history as the French are.

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Heading down the road to Fort Amsterdam for a better view.

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A few shots of Fort Amsterdam up close.

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The infinity pool at the Divi Little Bay Resort. Since I had to go through it to get to Fort Amsterdam, I figured I might as well enjoy the grounds too!

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More snapshots from Divi Little Bay.

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Front Street, Philipsburg. While it was fun to drive my little Europcar on its cobblestone streets, it was a nightmare trying to find parking anywhere near the city center. It's a pedestrian paradise, but for cars, not so much.

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Loading up on forbidden fruits.

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Philipsburg Courthouse, still in use today. Yes, that is a pineapple on top.

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Oyster Pond on the east coast of Dutch St Maarten.

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Dawn Beach, east coast of St Maarten, probably the prettiest place on the Dutch side.

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Fantastic view of the French island of St Barts off the coast from Dawn Beach.

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One of the island's giant iguanas sunning itself on the road in front of my villa. This one was just over 2 feet long.