The "SXM: A Visit To Marigot Marketplace" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Overcast with a chance of showers so we hopped in the old rental and headed to Marigot which is the capital of the French side of St. Martin; the "t" is silent when pronouncing the name of the town.  

Marigot Marketplace was almost empty of vendors today.

Our reason for the visit is to see how much damage Marigot suffered during hurricane Irma as well as visiting the open-air market along the waterfront.  Many vendors specializing in just about anything and everything usually line the assembly area, especially on a day when cruise ships are in port such as today.  

Ceramic tiles sold by Micka.

We arrived and found a parking spot and headed the half-block to the market.  To our amaze- ment, less than half the area was covered with vendors.  We wandered through some of the stands until we came upon the stand that has artistic tiles made by Micka.  Micka settled in St. Martin after several years of copywriting in Italy.  She arrived in 2001 by sailboat and began painting "with the eyes full of the colors, light and shades of these lands and these oceans."  

Artist Muryel

Carol bought two of her tiles which will be added to the other eight she has in her collection in our bathroom next to her end of the vanity.  For the first time she is offering small notebooks so I purchased one that illustrates Orient Beach.  Muryel is another female artist who has a spot in the Marigot marketplace.  She makes hand-painted shot glasses, mugs, dishes and a variety of other items.  Her themes tend to use the colors and backdrops of St. Martin.  We searched for the woman who sells silk-screened shirts from a stand called "Secret Spot", but couldn't locate her.  After inquiring we were told she was ill, but that another vendor had several of her new designs for sale.  Found the location and checked the new designs that illustrate the island.  

Some of the artwork sold by Muryel.

I have a few short-sleeve and a few long-sleeve shirts from the stand that designs their own shirts and prints them on a silk-screen, multi-station unit, much the same as the students in my graphic arts classes did.  The next vendor we saw was a woman who made items from Tagua nuts, also known as vegetable ivory.  They are a seed that comes from a tropical palm tree.  

My shirt from Secret Spot.

The palms are found from southern Panama along the Andes to Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, northwestern Brazil and Peru.  The scientific name is Phytelephas which means "plant elephant."  When the seed is ripe it becomes extremely hard and will fall to the ground where it can be harvested.  Once carved it looks like ivory.  The items for sale made from this nut were amazing.  Most are made to be mementos or souvenirs.   We searched for one more vendor who makes jewelry, but did not see her so we walked along the shoreline for a few minutes before heading back to the car.  

The seeds that come from the tropical palm.

Fun morning which gave us a chance to see just how much the island is recovering, or not recovering, from last year's monstrous hurricane which made a direct hit on St. Martin.  Life will go on for my wife and myself after we leave this beautiful island paradise, but for those who live on St. Martin, the struggle for normalcy will continue.  The little bit we spent here today and during the rest of our vacation will not make big difference to the residents of this island, but if more and more people can make a journey to this island, it just might make a difference.  Here's hoping some of you reading this will find a way to visit this beautiful and caring island known as "the friendly island", to help them get back to a normal life once again.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

The seeds after extraction.

Items made from the seed.