La Vie en Marigot

Baie Nettlé, Marigot , St. Martin – Perhaps you are interested in hearing a little bit about our daily life in St. Martin.  We have yet to settle into a routine, but slowly we are getting to know the village of Marigot, our surroundings, our neighbors, etc.

Saint Martin, as many of you know, is divided into the French side on the north and a Dutch side (Sint Maarten) on the south, with a big lagoon on the southwestern part of the island.  There is one main road that follows the perimeter of the island, with various little settlements along the way.  The buses drive along this main road, but are not very frequent.  One can stop the buses at anytime, anywhere, without having to wait at a bus stop. If you can believe it… during the peak morning and afternoon hours there is even a traffic jam!

Our apartment is located in Baie Nettlé which is on the strip of land (about ½ mile wide) that hugs the northern part of lagoon.  Therefore, we have easy access to the lagoon and beach.  The apartment complex itself is called Anse Margot and I assume it used to be a resort, since it does have two pools and a restaurant.  The tell-tale sign though is that all of our kitchens are OUTSIDE on the balconies of all the apartments.  I gather these apartments did not originally have kitchens at all but they were added when the building was converted into apartments to live in.  Having a kitchen outside is quite interesting as you can hear/see/smell the neighbors all the time.  I can’t quite figure out how we don’t have ants, though I am very cautious not to leave any crumbs of any kind.  This means I actually have to mop the floor and do all the dishes immediately after every meal, which is not my normal m.o.  For the mopping, I just throw a bucket of water on the tiled balcony floor and squeegee all the water through the little drainhole.  The water then literally trickles down over a ledge to the plants below. Luckily, we are on the third floor so no one squeegees their soggy breakfast crumbs into our cuisine!  Boy, do I miss my Roomba (the self operating vacuum robot) from back home. 

The apartment has a pull-out couch on the first floor, with a full bedroom on the second-floor loft.  Two bathrooms…. Couldn’t have asked for anything better, really!

So, internet continues to be a challenge, only in the fact that we do not have it in our apartment and we are constantly having to use it in a public location.  This is fine of course, but just not relaxing, nor leisurely, nor necessarily comfortable – especially with two kids in tow who constantly either ask to use the computer  or whine because they want to leave.  Sylvan who owns the restaurant here, has no business, so I go as frequently as possible to buy something to drink and use his Wi-Fi.  But the bugger changes his password every day, so it forces me to have to buy something to ask him for the new code!!! I can’t just mooch it off him from my apartment. I am trying to write all emails and blogs beforehand so when I arrive at a place I spend the least amount of time possible.  For this reason, I look forward to next week when school starts so I can sit at a café for a long period of concentrated time to use QuickBooks and do our taxes!  I just have to remember to bring my bug spray…. Those mosquitoes love me – especially when I am sitting still.

It is extremely hot here, and while it feels like it is above 100 degrees, I think it’s really only about 85.  We did have some uncomfortable moments when the electricity was not working in the apartment and we could not use the a/c or the fans.  The owners were very responsive and had someone come out immediately to try to fix the problem.  The electrician came out three times.  On the fourth day, the electricity was out again and I was really frustrated to have to call again…. I was comforted (?) and relieved (?) when the agent told me, “Oh no…. it is not your apartment alone…. The entire island has had a blackout!!” C’est la vie!

 What else? The neighbors on either side of us each have big German Shepherds who greet us at every sighting, including when we’re eating on the balcony.  There a two or three children that I have seen playing around; otherwise I see many retirees and many apartments closed with hurricane shutters, etc.  The kids have been keeping busy collecting and painting shells and going exploring around the complex. 

Saint Martin is a cultural melting pot.  Even though it is only about 66,000 in population (this includes the Dutch side) you can hear English, Spanish, Dutch, Papiamento, Portuguese, etc. spoken all over the place.  I am afraid it is so easy to default to English that I really have to push myself to (try to) speak French.  Today we are chillin’ with the a/c indoors and I am playing the kids’ French software games.

Marigot, the “capital” of the French side, consists of about 3 square blocks.  It is the heart of all activity.  Lots of tourists visiting the outside marché .  And lots of nice shops and restaurants are located along the waterfront so during the day Marigot is bustling.  At night though, everything closes around 5/6pm and the place is dead.  People have recommended we not walk around by ourselves after dark.  I am going to try to get all my errands done in Marigot at the same time.  The bus is $1.50 per person each way and even to use the ATM you have to go all the way into town.  I guess we are spoiled in the States where you can have every service at any time.  We used to having an ATM, a Laundromat, a hair salon and a market on practically every corner, so we don’t have to think ahead… here I feel like on a Friday I need to prepare ahead and think about all the food, money and other items I will need for le weekend.

Our big luxury will be fresh fruits and veggies… we are just going to close our eyes on the cost.  We have grown tired of different variations of the same Bread-Cheese theme:  crackers and cheese, pizza, pasta and cheese.  With a diet super high in carbs, I am certainly looking forward to trying to eat well and exercise more while here.

Sebastian is on Day Three of the Crossing and I finally heard from him today by cruise email.  It is one of the ways we have decided to communicate, and while he will try to check once a day, the propagation doesn’t always allow for a connection. I am supposed to try not to worry if I don’t hear from him in a couple of days.  The backup is a man named Alejandro located in Buenos Aires who has a sailor’s network and offers people help in communication through the Single Sideband Radio (SSB).  Once a day Sebastian – and other Spanish speaking sailors – listen in to the same frequency at 7pm and can talk to one another, relay information and share stories.  It helps the trips go a little more smoothly since it gives you yet another thing to do while sailing, and gives you peace of mind that there are others out at sea as well.  I can email Alejandro in case of emergency or if we find the cruise email isn’t working and he will communicate between Sebas and I.  Trés romantique!!

Anyway, it appears Begonia’s position as of last night was 20º 54´ N y 63º 46´ W northerly winds.  Travelling at 6 knots they are 700 miles to Bermuda . Tomorrow they will deicde whether they will continue north or head diagonally to the Azores.

Our home:  top floor, open balcony, no curtains

View from my cuisine/balcony.  You can see the lagoon in the background. 
This was where Begonia was parked during preparations.

View of my neighor's cuisine.  See how close!  We wave at each other in our pijamas... what else can you do?

Other view of the kitchen.  There's my tiled floor that I squeegee daily.

Living Room with door out to balcony/kitchen.

View of stairs going up to loft from living room.

View of upstairs bedroom.

Another view of bedroom.

View from front door into yard.  You can see others' kitchen's as well.

View of Lagoon, pools and restaurant.

View of Anse Margot from dock of Lagoon (low tide).  You can actually swim on this side of the Lagoon.

Need I say more about the prices???

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FOUNTAINE PAJOT ATHENA 38 CATAMARAN FOR SALE – After our wonderful experience, BEGONIA is ready for its next sailing family – with or without children!  Please contact sebastiankoziura@hotmail.com for more information.