Days 4 & 5 in St. Maarten-St. Martin

In the past 2 days, we have seen almost all of the island, with M driving and me navigating. There isn't a lot of navigating to be done as the Hertz-provided map we have is rather simplistic, but there are only a couple of main roads throughout the island and plenty of signs. We have driven up and down hills, crossed into Saint Martin (French) - Sint Maarten (Dutch) many times, and hit the highlights of this place. It's amazing how beaches across the same island can have such a different feel, and how driving on a makeshift road that you're convinced leads to nowhere opens up to a jewel of a beach or view!

Likes:

• The authenticity of Saint Martin. The majority of the people we have interacted with are French-speaking, business hours are French (i.e. closed mid-afternoon), there are quaint cafes and small hotels/guest houses, etc.
• Baie Rouge on the NW shore. It had great sand, calm waters, nice scenery, and just enough people to make it interesting.
  
• The diversity of the Dutch side. There are people of all colors, you hear many languages, the food/restaurant choices are amazing...!
• The Guavaberry (a fruit native to Sint Maarten) liqueur, and the coladas made with it!
  

Dislikes:

• The lack of authenticity of the Dutch side. I think it should be called the American side. The dollar, the English language, big hotels, casinos, etc. are king!
  
• Being charged in Euros in Saint Martin! Many shops have signs that say 1 Euro = 1 Dollar; how come we haven't liked anything in these shops?! It's the ones that charge an exchange rate whose goods appeal to us. Thankfully, the rate they charge is ~$1.35=1 Euro, which is better than the going rate of $1.56=1Euro, but still.
  
• Orient Beach - it may be world famous, but it was crowded, and a little cliche. We did get to see 2 female vendors engage in a screaming match over territory which almost resulted in a brawl, but alas, we do prefer our beaches to be less commercial.

Gotta run... time for a Guavaberry colada by the beach!