St. Maarten, Mary's Boon Beach. 2 miles of peace. Taken 2005, reworked 2008. The smallest island in the world ever to have been partitioned between two different nations, St. Martin/St. Maarten has been shared by the French and the Dutch in a spirit of neighborly cooperation and mutual friendship for almost 350 years. The border is almost imperceptible. and people cross back and forth without ever realizing they are entering a new country. There are four boundries, Belle Vue / Cole Bay, French Quarter / Dutch Quarter, Low Lands / Copecoy and Oyster Pond, testifying to centuries of peaceful cohabitation and the treaty that made the arrangement possible. All the same, each side has managed to retain much of the distinctiveness of its own national culture. The French tend to emphasize comfort and elegance. The beaches are secluded, the luxury resorts provide lavish accommodations, and the restaurants offer the finest dining experiences anywhere in the Caribbean. The latest French fashions can be found in many of the shops, and the smell of fresh croissants and pastries mixes everywhere with the spicy aromas of West Indian cooking. Small cafes and charming bistros add a decidedly Gaelic and cosmopolitan flair to the place. On the whole the atmosphere remains very relaxed. On the other hand, St. Maarten with its busy cruise port and bustling commercial district, has long been an active center for trade and tourism. More developed and at the same time more informal, it is very Dutch in flavor and still has strong ties with fellow compatriots in the other Netherlands Antilles. Between the two different cultures in St. Martin and St. Maarten, vacationers will be able to find just about every kind of activity they might want for a perfect holiday in the sun. Located midway through the chain of islands in the Caribbean, just as the Antilles begin to curve to the south, St. Martin is sunny and warm year-round, averaging 82 degrees Fahrenheit in summer and just 2 degrees cooler in winter. The island is buffeted by cooling trade winds that keep things temperate all year long. Average annual rainfall comes to about 45 inches, most of which occurs around late summer and early fall.

Tiradito - flounder, roasted beets, Aji Amarillo, mint, pickled mustard seeds Tiradito is a sashimi-ceviche hybrid that reflects the influence of Japanese immigrants on Peruvian cuisine. As such, I was intrigued to try it. First, you may ask - why Peruvian food? I have never been to Peru ( not yet, anyway), I have not even been to a Peruvian restaurant, nor have I ever tried the original food, and no, I do not have a Peruviana girlfriend. That said, there is "Cooking Secrets of the Amazon" article and photos in the July 2011 issue of Food&Wine - it was just too intriguing to miss. This particular tiradito is my interpretation of what I saw in a close-up picture of the original dish. The latter calls for airampo cure - cactus seeds I was not able to find. However, the closest substitute was beets ( I also contemplated goji berries and annato seeds), besides I once saw a beet cured fluke dish somewhere, so I gave it a try. This dish is a major disappointment for me: sweet flavor of the beets clashed with the delicate texture and taste of the flounder I used - I can hardly see how the two would work, and will never match beets and fish again. Also, I tried making this dish twice - the first try failed miserably because of the poor quality fish I used ( it looked good frozen, but was terrible thawed). This is yet another reminder: only impeccable fish should be eaten raw. Not all is lost, however. This plate was gorgeous to look at, pickled mustard seeds were very good, and I enjoyed the taste of Aji Amarillo, which happened to be a lot hotter than I thought it would be, but quite nice nonetheless. I will remake this dish sometime again - hopefully with the hard to find airampo seeds.