Saint Martin, by Daniele Somenzi

Saint Martin The landing with the Air France Airbus A340 on this island is breathtaking, and it's also the main reason I came here. Half Dutch and half French, this Caribbean island has a peculiarity: the east part, behind the airport, is connected by a single small road; you can't reach it from the opposite side because there's the sea. The problem is that this road is right at the end of the airport runway, which also handles big planes like the jumbo, and the runway can't be extended because on the other side there's the sea and also the mountains. The result is that it is the shortest runway in the world where jumbos land, and consequently all the planes have to be already very low for landing, and anyone driving along that road or sunbathing on the nearby beach sees the big aircraft landing just 15 metres above their head. A delight for me, who am a plane enthusiast.

Mauro and I brought two Graziella bikes with us from Italy, and as soon as they were reassembled they took us around the French part of the island. To visit the other part too, we rent a car for a day. It's curious because there's no customs here, and the border between the Netherlands and France is marked by a kind of tombstone with the two flags. Besides, in Marigot, the French capital, French is spoken, but everyone also knows English as well as Dutch. Then, heading back into the Dutch zone, we land at Philipsburg with its lovely beaches; here some cruise ships arrive every day, disembarking thousands of tourists from all over the world. Many residents are set up to offer tourists various entertainment services and little souvenir shops, as well as island tours.

Driving the car, here you drive on the right like back home, I noticed something quite original: the yellow bus, like the American school ones, every time it stops in front of us to let the kids off, puts on its left indicator and turns across the road, stopping the oncoming traffic; practically at every stop it blocks everyone and obviously you can't overtake, so that the kids crossing the road from the opposite side aren't in danger of being run over. Then it sets off again and returns to its right-hand lane, and everyone on the island knows about this clever system and is patient about it. Standing up there on the hill looking at the 4 cruise ships moored in the port, I notice that there's also the biggest in the world at that moment, the Queen Elizabeth 2.

Back at the end of the runway, where we're staying at the Caravanserray hotel right next to it, I enjoy standing behind the planes as they give full engine thrust to take off; the strong wind pushes me backward, and I manage to get a few photos taken of me on the beach with an Airbus 340 just 10 metres above my head. On the last day, the man who works at the hotel buys both bicycles from me for $40; we don't need them anymore anyway. The girl at reception shows off her record-breaking fingernails, 6 cm and twisted; she says she hasn't cut them in 3 years. Well, she certainly doesn't wash the dishes by hand. The day of departure has come, the first of the 2 times I go to the island of St Martin. bye bye