SXM Part 3-1 (1 of 2, lots of photo's this sunny day)

I tried to limit the number of photo's from this day, but to me a picture is worth a thousand words!, so I'm going to post 2 installments from our.... 1st Monday ever on St Martin! FYI, a very good map that we used during our trip is labeled with "Dutch Side" and "Partie Francaise", we can't read or speak French so I'll continue interpreting that as PARTY!

We woke up early and well rested in our firm bed at NBBC. We sort of quietly slid open the storm shutters to our patio and noticed the sun had a few more minutes to do its thing. The espresso machine was immediately put into operation as we placed our thick yellow cushions on the comfortable chaise lounges. With coffee and tea in hand we were blessed with another majestic sunrise!











As we sat and enjoyed the peace and quiet that is routine at NBBC I noticed a playful island dog amusing itself by zig zagging the beach with its nose to the sand. Not knowing that she was being watched she gradually worked her way towards me then abruptly looked at me striking a pose with one front leg up, I think I heard her say RuhRoh! I let out a quiet whistle and she cautiously approached. We were missing our liver and white Springer Spaniel back home and this island pup had her same disposition. She would be our buddy every morning thereafter, nice. We took our morning walk and stopped in to see if Ma Ti was serving breakfast and unfortunately they weren't, at least I think that's what the French speaking cleaning lady was saying?!









We decided to start our morning in Marigot with a nice breakfast at a backstreet cafe. By the way finding parking in Marigot was easy most times we visited. This street side cafe was nothing to photograph, but the fruit, bread and coffee was good and watching the locals start their morning was fun. It was probably around 0900 hours and the majority of shops around town weren't open for business this early, so we walked through the open air market. This Caribbean market is full of venders selling colorful clothing and assorted bobbles. Just to the side of the venders are several open air stands where we could find great fresh fruits and vegetables, spices and sauces etc.







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After some browsing along the waterfront we walked back to the side streets to explore. Much of the infrastructure here is worn and in need of repair and restoration, but much of the architecture is quite interesting and beautiful.

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We discovered a couple of nice art galleries with beautiful local works. I am never shy to ask if we can look around properties to see what lies beyond the obvious, there are cool little spots throughout Marigot. Two notable stops were at Escale De Isles Arts and Craft and the Roland Richardson Art Gallery. There is serious talent on this island!

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After a lot of walking we were a bit thirsty, so we stopped at Rosemary's LoLo next to the market. The ladies here are wonderful. The Presidente's were ice cold and Rosemary's creole chicken wings and salad were very tasty. I've reached my limit on photo's in this post, but I'll post a few more later.

There is so much to see in Marigot, we loved every minute of our time here. It was early afternoon and the sun was calling our names, so we headed back to the villa to get ready for the beach! Baie Rouge here we come!

To be continued in Part 3-2..... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />