Fort Amsterdam Sint Maarten

Due to the greyish weather I wrote about yesterday, our weekly day to the beach was different this time. Our plan was to visit the beach that is situated near Fort Amsterdam. And since it was long ago I had visited the ruins of what once has been a fortress, we decided to hike there first.

The island of St. Maarten does not have many monuments, and the few that are, are not properly taken care of I must say. Compared to the island of Curacao, which is also part of the Dutch Antilles, Sint Maarten's historic heritage has been neglected severely. It is a pity that I must say that. Which does not mean that I did not like the ruins, the remains.

There are a few small buildings on the fortress. This is what is left of the hospital, you can read the description if you click the first photograph. Being a fan of all things old, weathered and rusty, this was my favorite. When I strolled around and in it, my fantasy went wild, I could almost feel the loneliness of the soldiers that were being hospitalized here. Look at that endless Caribbean Sea ...

Old, weathered, to me so beautiful!

One of the canons, pointed to the south east of the island. Please ignore the ugly cruiseship, but hey, this is today...

This sailing ship seemed to be sailing here especially for us, the visitors of this historic spot. To make up for the most welcome, but ugly cruiseship of the former picture.

I was happy with the grey weather, with our visit to this beautiful place on the island where you can feel a bit how life must have been way back then. As a monument of Holland's history, there seem to be (or have been) a few more 'Fort Amsterdams' of which the one in New York is of course the most famous

Living close to the one of this island truly makes me feel connected!