Sunday, December 10, 2023
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View from the Viking Sea of the island of St Martin, home to two countries:
the French Saint-Martin and the Dutch Sint Maarten |
Our included shore excursion,
Scenic St Martin, took us to the French side.
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Vineyard House (1871, as a prefab house
delivered by schooner from Baltimore, MD) |
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| Coconut trees |
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A hurricane-destroyed marina in Oyster Pond with
the Oyster Bay Beach Resort across the water |
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| View from Rotary Lookout Point |
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| It was raining |
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| A rainbow! |
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Iguana iguana/Green Iguana hanging out in a tree;
this is an older specimen as he is no longer green (KSS) |
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| Grand Case Bay |
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Sheep or goats? One thing we learned in the Caribbean:
Tails up = goats, tails down = sheep |
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Lady Liberty (2007, by Theodore Bonev)
honors the abolition of slavery in 1848 |
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We had a 45 minutes of free time in Marigot, the capital
of Saint-Martin (French side); this is the West Indies Mall;
most shops were closed today on Sunday |
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Above the mall is Fort St Louis (1789), built
to defend against British and Dutch pirates |
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| French Caribbean architecture with verandas |
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Église de Saint Martin de Tours/
St Martin of Tours Church (1941) |
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| It was between Mass times, so we peeked inside the church |
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More French Caribbean architecture, still showing
the effects of Hurricane Irma in 2017 |
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Hotel Collectivité de Saint-Martin/City Hall of Marigot,
where French St Martin is an overseas collectivity
of the Republic of France |
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Statue (2021, by Joël Vergne) of
Albert Fleming, who was mayor of
Marigot from 1983 to 2007 |
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| Ebenezer Methodist Church (1853-1856) |
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| Kent with 'I Love St-Martin' letters |
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The Market Woman (c 2005, by Martin Lynn)
is dedicated to the women vendors in
the market (a few booths open today) |
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| More restaurants were opening up |
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| Coconut drinks |
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| Marigot harbor |
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Looking across the harbor to the West Indies Mall
and Fort St Louis on the hilltop |
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| Our driver kept a collection of corals on the dashboard |
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There is an open border between the French and Dutch sides
of St Martin, to which the inhabitants agreed in 1648, even
though their home countries battled for full control until 1817;
note the 'Welcome to St Maarten/Dutch Side' sign |
Each year, dignitaries meet at the Concordia Monument to remember the 1648 Treaty of Concordia, in which the French and Dutch citizens peacefully divided the island.
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| And the 'Welcome to the French Side' sign |
Next: Philipsburg, St Maarten.
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