Saint Martin is an island in the northeastern Caribbean, about 300 km east of Puerto Rico. The island of 87 square kilometers (34 square kilometers) is divided approximately 60/40 between France (53 square kilometers (20 sq mi)) and the Kingdom of the Netherlands (34 square kilometers); the two parts are approximately equal in population. It is one of the smallest islands divided between two nations, a division dating from 1648. The Dutch part of the south comprises Sint Maarten and is one of the four constituent countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The northern part of the country comprises Saint Martin (collectivity of St. Martin) and is an overseas collectivity of France.

Collectively, the two territories are known as "St-Martin / St Maarten". Sometimes, SXM, the IATA identifier for Princess Juliana International Airport (the island's main airport), is used to refer to the island.

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While the Caribbean offers warmth, luxury resorts and paradisiacal beaches, France enchants its visitors with glamor, refined cuisine and a unique style. The French Antilles combine the best of both destinations, joining France with the Caribbean, and attracting tourists from all over the world. See what these destinations are.

1) Guadeloupe
Island shaped butterfly, Guadalupe is separated into two parts, with different landscapes and climates. The area known as Basse-Terre in the west is humid and covered by rainforests and volcanoes such as the peak of La Soufrière at 1,467 meters. Already the area of ​​the east, Grande-Terre, is drier and has its landscapes dominated by sugar plantations. The capital, Pointe-à-Pitre, has all the comforts of a large city, with access to the magnificent beaches scattered throughout the islands.


2) Saint Martin
France divides the territory of the island of Saint-Martin with the Netherlands, whose part is known in Dutch as Saint-Maarten. The northern half is the French part, Saint-Martin, offering much charm of beautiful scenery, green hills and fishing villages surrounded by the limpid waters of the Caribbean. The main town of Saint-Martin is Marigot, where tourists find luxury hotels and excellent restaurants that combine local ingredients with the refinement of French gastronomy.

3) Saint Barthélémy
Nicknamed the Pearl of the Caribbean, the island of Saint Barthélémy is best known in the world as Saint Barths. With stunning beaches such as Gouverneur and Colombier, the island is one of the most exclusive in the Caribbean, a destination highly appreciated by the rich and famous who enjoy the luxury shops and restaurants of the capital Gustavia.

4) Martinique
Popular among European tourists, Martinique has an interesting mix of European, Caribbean and African cultures. Fort-de-France, the island has charming fishing villages, rum factories open for visits (and tasting!), And incredible beaches like Anse d 'Arlet and Grande Anse.

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Experiencing the exotic flavors of food from the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique is eating French food without French accent. These are the largest islands of the French Antilles bathed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

Formerly, they had lovely names like Madinina ("the island of flowers") and Karukéra ("the island of the beautiful waters"). A gastronomic glance around the islands reveals pots with the aromas of the Indians of America, a hint of European customs, flavors of Africa and a spoonful of Asia. This mixture has a name: "Criola Kitchen". (Créole Cuisine)

Diversified, this cuisine shares the abundant wealth of the island's natural resources, the lifestyle of its inhabitants and even the music of the native language. It is common to refer to the Cryola cuisine as a women's kitchen, since only they would have the patience to spend hours near the oven and stove, until the food reaches the desired point.

In a common meal of the day you will find entrances based on local products: codfish balls, stuffed crab, salads with avocado or a criola sausage made from pork, fruit of the creativity of the inhabitants of this paradise.

The main course will be served with local vegetables such as breadfruit, yam, sweet potato and chuchu. All this to accompany pork, lamb, a curry chicken or boiled in the sauce of "colombo", which brings cumin, pepper, coriander and ginger. Not to mention the fish, an infinity of them fished in the east sea and the ocean that bathes the west of the islands.

As dessert, sweet, juicy and varied fruits like the coconut, pineapple, mango, banana, guava, passion fruit, watermelon and melon prevail. But, as it is said there, "Ya pa qua dôms en Kaille sans rum" (do not sleep in a house without rum), or "koté ki pa ni wom, pas ni plési" (where there is no rum, has pleasure). In the Antilles, every hour is time to drink rum; all is reason to savor a dose of this alcohol throughout the day. You can not count the number of rum-based cocktails. Each home has its own way of finding pleasure. In addition, rum is used as a panacea for all diseases besides the aphrodisiac fame that accompanies it.
Food with personality, taste of history and fruit of creativity. Kitchen made of parties and traditions.

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The island has an oceanic climate of the intertropical zone of convergence. There is a season called "dry" (from December to May ") and another from" wet "(from June to November), sometimes with heavy rains and cyclones.The absolute temperature of the air can vary between 17 ° and 35 ° C, with an annual average of 27 ° C. The sea temperature is constant between 25 ° and 28 ° C. The average annual rainfall is 995 mm.

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