I'll continue my story about 

Saint Maarten

's natural world (Nature of Sint Maarten. P1). It was really pleasant - everything was bright, juicy and rich! How else can it be on a tropical island? :)
In addition, Saint Maarten is very hilly, so every part of the island has a top point offering wonderful views.

My knowledge of botany is not enough that I knew what kind of flower this was :)  

Here are the surroundings of the French town of Cul de Sac.

And this is 

Grand Case

.

Here are ornate buildings; shops and restaurants.

A more common sight for me :) 

There were almost no street curbs on the French side of the island. Except for the capital - the city of 

Marigot

...

There was the sun and a very warm drizzle. It lasted for about 5 minutes.

I even managed to see the rainbow after the rain - it's hard to see it here, but it's there! :)

You can see nearby islands.

Here's a smart "shopping center" :)

Here are different candidates of some local elections...

And here's the hill near the airport - you can see the runway on the right.

This is Royal Palm Beach Resort.
It's located very close to Princess Juliana Airport, but it has a drawback - the drawbridge us nearby, and it can be drawn at the most inappropriate moments :)

Here's the raised bridge itself.

Here's an original Ravenala madagascariensis palm, or the travelers' tree.
The second name came from the fact that its scapes contain water, which you can use if there's nothing else to drink.
Because Saint Maarten is pretty far from Madagascar, I can suggest that this tree has arisen here not naturally :)

This is a simple, elegant and very beautiful flower of plumeria.
The Caribbean region is a completely natural habitat for this tree.

Saint Maarten has its own Casino Royale :) However, we didn't notice Bond with Le Chiffre...

And this was our second rainy day in Saint Maarten. This one was already heavier.

It lasted for 10 minutes and it could be deservedly called a downpour.

By the way, here's what happens on the road after a short but heavy downpour.
It dried up quickly, but it was hard to imagine what happens here in September and October, during the peak of the rainy season.
I watched a couple of videos, when cars were literally floating acorss Saint Maarten's roads.

This is my favorite kind of palm tree - the coconut one.

I took a picture of this flower at Paradise Peak, you'll find views from there below.

Paradise Peak offers views of Orient Bay and the salt pond, called Salines d'Orient.
By the way, the Club Orient hotel is located exactly in this part of Orient Bay - this is the hotel for lovers of nude beaches.

The height of Paradise Peak is 1348 feet (411 meters).

To the left, there is the huge Orient Bay, then you can see the salt pond, Salines d'Orient, and next to it, there is a huge pond called Etang aux Poissons and the bay called Baie de L'Embouchure.
The island on the left side of the frame is Tintamarre Island. It is located 1.8 miles (3 km) from Saint Martin and belongs to the French part of SXM.

High tower is also placed at the peak.

Here's one of the two nominal boundaries between the French and Dutch parts of the island.

This is Cay Bay. By the way, we didn't stop here.

This is an abandoned house or shop. There were about four of them, all bright and colorful.

Here's a sunset near Grand Case Airport (this is the French part of the island).

Here are beautiful pelicans near Princess Juliana Airport.

And here is the airport itself!

The island has monuments to ordinary citizens. For example, the bus driver...

To the butcher...
...and to the traffic-controller.

Here's one of the numerous salt ponds in Saint Maarten. There were a lot of herons near them.

Here's the final picture - a cute moped near Cupecoy Beach.
By the way, I also have a review of the beaches in Saint Maarten! :)