St Maarten Fun Facts!
For those who know and love our island, it’s no secret that St. Maarten/St. Martin is an incredible place to visit. But even the island’s most devoted fans might be surprised by these fun and fascinating facts!
Did you know?
The late, great chef and traveler Anthony Bourdain once visited the Rastafarian restaurant Freedom Fighters Ital Shack on St. Maarten/St. Martin. His dinner was ganja leaf tea, soybean fritters cooked in natural charcoal, cornmeal croquettes, greens, and rice.
The island is home to many microbreweries. Craft beer fans can enjoy local favorites such as SXM Beer, Pelikaan, or Dutch Blonde. Or enjoy another form of spirit with a visit to the Topper’s Rhum Distillery.
St. Maarten/St. Martin was a Spanish island not once but twice. From its discovery by Columbus in 1493 until the French (1629) and Dutch (1631) arrived, the island was officially Spanish but without a settlement. In 1633, the Spanish took it back and kept the island until 1648.
The SXM Padel Club, though still relatively new, has been visited by some of the world’s greatest players. Padel expert Sandy Farquharson occasionally teaches classes at the club.
Fort Amsterdam, a historic fort on the island, is not named directly after the capital of The Netherlands but after the local chamber of the West India Company.
Nick Maley, owner of the Yoda Guy Movie Exhibit in Philipsburg, worked not only on Yoda and many other Star Wars props but on 60 other movies as well.
The Flying Dutchman, located at Rainforest Adventures St. Maarten a top the island’s Sentry Hill, is the steepest zip line in the world.
John Philips, after whom the capital of Philipsburg is named, was expelled from the island in 1736. He traveled back to The Netherlands, where he was reappointed as commander. He then returned to St. Maarten/St. Martin and resumed power until his death in 1746.
Several of the citizens of St. Maarten/St. Martin served as the models for the underwater statues featured on the cover of this publication.
In 1989, US President George H.W. Bush and French President François Mitterand met in St. Maarten/St. Martin to discuss the new geopolitical situation surrounding the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain. Mitterrand arrived for that meeting on the BAC Aerospatiale Concorde, which at the time was the fastest passenger plane in the world.
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