This is the second of my Caribbean Island 'Mountain Climb' Caches. The cache is at the top of the mountain which overlooks the cruise ship port of St Maarten. The mountain is only just over 200m tall and the cache small, but the special part is the journey and the spectacular views once you get there.
If you are going to walk there from the cruise ship, make no mistake - it is a hard 5 km (3 mile) walk, up steep roads and paths, with rocky uneven ground. The walk will take you at least 1 hour (each way). You can go most of the way by taxi or 4WD, or perhaps even a scooter, and then the journey would take no longer than 10 minutes.
The best standard approach up the mountain is using the winding roads from the south-eastern side. From the cruise ship port, you should head east until you get to Goldfinch / Pigeon / Mountain Dove Roads from where you can turn north up the steep roads. The eastern most point of the climb is St Maarten Prison, an unmistakable white & green building. From there on, a stony path leads west for the final 1 km of the route.
The end of the journey takes you to two radio towers, one of which has since been toppled in a hurricane. The geocache location is past the radio tower, up the concrete staircase, to the very top of the mountain. You should be very close to the geocache location if you are standing where you have a panoramic view of 'both' Philipsburg and the cruise ships.
The top of the mountain is sometimes locked away behind a fence. You need to walk to the left around the radio tower (sometimes a bit overgrown), and then you will find the concrete steps. If you are feeling nimble, you can also scoot up the steep slope to the right of the fence. Either way will get you to start of the concrete steps to the top of the mountain (or the first viewing platform).
Since my last visit, someone has built a long viewing platform which shows views of both Philipsburg and the cruise ship port. I believe they were linked with the 'Pelican Peak Zipline Tour' you could previously do (now closed), starting just below this location. You can get to the geocache 'zero' either via the concrete steps (perhaps easier), or via the end of the sequence of viewing platforms (if you are a mountain goat). Please do be careful, as a fall from any of those rocks would be 'very nasty indeed'.
A second issue is that some of the local residents near the top of the mountain are over-protective of their locale, and will angrily tell you that you are trespassing on private property. This is not the case... Both the road and the top of the mountain are definitely public land, and you have every right to be there. I would however keep as low a profile as you can, don't make any unnecessary noise, and try not to be seen as you near the end of the road and ascend to the summit.
Whatever route you take, the top of the mountain is very uneven, with large unsteady rocks, nasty thorny cacti, and a small but deadly cliff. It is absolutely not suitable for young children. You should wear strong hiking boots, as the (2cm) long thorns will easily go through your sneakers. Take at least 1 litre of water per person as the hot sun will dehydrate you quickly. Finally, if you can take a machete, then all the better.
Assuming you find it, please re-hide the cache carefully *out of sight*... Non-geocachers do occasionally come to this place, and the cache has been lost before when muggles found it. Also, don't break the cache box by putting large stones on top of it... That might be considered a spoiler !! Enjoy :-)