WEST INDIES EXPLORER CRUISE November 29-December 1, 2019: 29 Nov 19 St. Martin (Philipsburg), St. Maarten

This post is based primarily on Don's notes, occasionally supplemented with MT's notes from our cruise in 2019. When information from other sources is added—for further explanation to readers or to satisfy our own curiosity—that is set off in a text box (as this one).

Most of the photos that accompany this post are from Don’s camera (with a caption indicating the time it was taken); those from MT’s iPhone are indicated by “MT” placed at the beginning of the photo caption. Photos from any other source (such as the public domain Wikimedia Commons), occasionally used for clarification, indicate that source in the caption.

The weather forecast in the Viking Daily newsletter was “Partly Cloudy 82° F / 28° C.”

The Viking Sea was scheduled to arrive in the port of Philipsburg, St Maarten at 7:30 am.

The Viking Daily newsletter described this day’s stop as follows:

“ST. MARTIN (PHILIPSBURG), THE NETHERLANDS & FRANCE

“St. Martin is a fascinating mix of France and Holland, lush with Caribbean beauty all its own. The island has been shared by the two nations since 1648. The early economy relied on cotton, tobacco, salt and sugar. A large salt pond remains, once harvested by the Dutch East India Company for trade. Today, the Dutch side of the island, anchored by its capital, Philipsburg, is dotted with resorts and casinos; the French capital, Marigot, exudes the romance of a quaint village. The renowned Rotary Lookout Point offers stunning international views of the vast Simpson Bay Lagoon and surrounding islands. And the famous Orient Beach is a stunning 1.5-mile swath of white sand.

Viking Map of St. Martin/St. Maarten.

Saint Martin (French: Saint-Martin; Dutch: Sint Maarten) is an island in the northeast Caribbean Sea, approximately 300 km (190 mi) east of Puerto Rico. Collectively, the two territories are known as St. Martin/St. Maarten.”

Map showing location of the island (By TUBS - Own workThis W3C-unspecified vector image was created with Adobe Illustrator.This file was uploaded with Commonist.This vector image includes elements that have been taken or adapted from this file: World location map (W3).svg (by TUBS)., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15452979).

The island is divided roughly 60/40 between France and the Netherlands, but the two parts are roughly equal in population (40,917 and 36,824). The Southern Dutch part is one of the four constituent countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands; it uses the Netherlands Antillean guilder as its currency. The Northern French part comprises the Collectivity of Saint Martin , as part of France proper, is part of the European Union; it uses the Euro as its currency. However, almost every store on the island also accepts the US dollar. A local English-Based creole language is spoken on both sides of the island.

Map of St. Martin/St. Maarten (By Hogweard - Saint-Martin Island map-en.svg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=89588053).

It is commonly believed that Christopher Columbus named the island in honor of St. Martin of Tours when he encountered it on his second voyage of discovery. However, he actually applied that name to the island now called Nevis when he landed there on the feast day of St. Martin in 1493. The confusion of numerous poorly-charted islands in the Leeward Islands led to this name accidentally being transferred to the island now known as St. Martin/St. Maarten. In Columbus’ time, St. Martin was populated, if at all, by Carib Amerindians, whose territory was not completely conquered until the mid-17th century.

The Dutch first began to use the island’s ponds for salt in the 1620s. Then the Spanish captured the island in 1633 and asserted their claim to the salt pond. In 1648, the Kingdom of France and the Dutch Republic agreed to divide the island. There was a massive influx of African slaved in the 18th century, with the development of sugar plantations by both the French and the Dutch. Slavery was abolished in the first half of the 19th century.

We woke at 6 am and went Mamsen’s, the onboard Norwegian deli, around 7:30 for breakfast.

Friday, November 29 7:28 AM – St. Maarten: view to west across Great Bay, from Mamsen’s window.

7:28 AM – St. Maarten: view to right of that, from Mamsen’s window, with more of port.

7:34 AM – St. Maarten: Mamsen’s waffle with fruit and cone-shaped pieces of a brown Norwegian cheese, which we learned was called brunost, with extra banana on side.

Norwegian waffles, although cooked and served in a circular form, are actually five heart-shaped waffles joined at the center. Most commonly, they are topped with a touch of butter and jam, a dollop of sour cream and jam, or a slice of brown cheese (brunost).

Brunost with metal cheese slicer (CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=342608).

Brunost (meaning “brown cheese”), also known as gjetost (meaning “goat’s cheese”), is a Norwegian brown cheese that is eaten daily by many Norwegians for breakfast, lunch, or as a snack. This tan-colored “whey cheese” (mysost in Norwegian) has a distinctive caramel flavor. Whey is a byproduct of the cheese making process; so brunost is technically not a cheese, and it does not taste like cheese. It is made by boiling down the whey of goat’s milk or a blend of goat’s and cow’s milk, which caramelizes the milk sugars and produces a brown, cheesy spread. The resulting gloop is left to cool and then set into small blocks. Firm, but slightly softer than Gouda cheese, it lends itself well to cutting and shaping. The most common way to serve brunost is by using a unique cheese cutter that is an integral part of any Norwegian kitchen. A slither from the block can be eaten atop toast, on a crispbread topped with strawberry jam, or even with waffles.

Brunost with crispbread and cheese slicer (By Bihor - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=33784938).

This brown cheese has been common in Norway and other Scandinavian countries since time immemorial. An archaeological find in Jutland (the peninsula that makes up the mainland portion of Denmark) in 2016 determined that a cheese residue found on pottery from around 650 BC is probably brunost.

MT 8:12 AM – St. Maarten: harbor of Philipsburg (mild telephoto 58 m).

At 8:25, we went to the meeting spot on the dock for the “Scenic St. Martin” shore excursion (included).

The Viking Cruise Documents described the 2.5-hour “Scenic St. Martin” shore excursion as follows:

“Island Drive & Gelato Tasting

“Discover an island straddled by two nations and the charms of Marigot, the capital of the French St. Martin. This Caribbean gem—the world’s smallest inhabited island with two sovereigns—is shared by France and the Netherlands. Drive through the colorful port city of Philipsburg, passing island landmarks such as the Great Salt Pond and Hope Hill, en route to Marigot. Just four streets wide, it exudes the quaint, romantic character of a small village. Enjoy free time to explore independently, visit the island’s epicenter, Simpson Bay, or stroll through a tropical garden. Stop at the renowned Carousel Bar and Gelato, where you will find an array of delicious flavors available for purchase. Take a complimentary ride on the old-fashioned Venetian carousel, imported piece by piece from Italy. See the village of Cole Bay and stop at the famed Rotary Lookout Point for sweeping views of the glimmering sea and neighboring islands."

8:28 AM – St. Maarten: duty free shops near dock with “St. Maarten” welcome sign; a Viking representative with the red umbrella said to turn right here for our bus.

Philipsburg (pop. 1,894) is the main town and capital of Sint Maarten. It is located on a narrow strip of land between the Great Bay and the Great Salt Pond. The town was founded in 1763 by John Philips, a Scottish captain in the Dutch navy.

8:46 AM – St. Maarten: Philipsburg – Freedom Fighter emancipation statue in traffic circle.

8:46 AM (Cropped) – St. Maarten: Philipsburg – Freedom Fighter emancipation statue in traffic circle.

The bronze statue of the Freedom Fighter stands in Freedom Fighters Roundabout with his head held high and unshackled hands reaching to the sky. Each year, the people of St. Maarten gather here to commemorate Emancipation Day on July 1, celebrating the official abolition of slavery in the Dutch territories. Freedom for the enslaved population of the southern (Dutch) part of the island was proclaimed on July 1, 1863. In the northern (French) side, it had been proclaimed on May 27, 1848, some 15 years earlier, at which time many southern slaves escaped to the north. The Dutch proclamation allowed those who had fled to the north to be reunited with friends and family they had left behind.

8:56 AM – St. Maarten: Philipsburg – view through bus windshield of sign “Bienvenue en Partie Française – Welcome to the French Side” with our guide Rhana in front right seat.

MT 8:48 AM – St. Maarten: Philipsburg – view through bus windshield of sign “Bienvenue en Partie Française – Welcome to the French Side” with our guide Rhana in front right seat (mild telephoto 49 mm).

Then we entered the French side—St. Martin.

8:59 AM – St. Martin: view toward beach where we would stop, through bus windshield.

8:59 AM – St. Martin: view toward beach where we would stop, through bus windshield, with our guide in right front seat.

9:01 AM – St. Martin: view of island(s) in distance, through bus window (sign in window for “Viking Sea 7” tour group).

9:01 AM – St. Martin: view of larger islands nearby, through bus windshield, with our guide in right front seat.

Finally, the bus stopped at a rocky beach of Rotary Lookout Point for photos.

MT 8:56 AM – St. Martin: Rotary Lookout Point – Don on beach (mild telephoto 42 mm).

MT 8:57 AM – St. Martin: Rotary Lookout Point – Don and MT on beach (mild telephoto 42 mm).

MT 8:58 AM – St. Martin: Rotary Lookout Point – MT sitting on rock on beach.

9:03 AM – St. Martin: Rotary Lookout Point – tourists on beach with view of larger islands nearby.

Rotary Lookout Point (also known as Coralita Lookout Point), on the eastern coast of St. Martin, is a magnificent viewpoint on the Rue de Coralita just north of Oyster Pond (Oyster Bay). The water is very shallow with expansive tide pools, and one can walk in the water to a few small nearby islets, the largest of which is Caye Château. On a clear day, one can enjoy a clear view of the island of St. Barts. There are picnic areas on this shoreline, and there is plenty to do here courtesy of the Rotary Club of St. Maarten.

9:04 AM – St. Martin: Rotary Lookout Point – view, farther to right, of rocky beach with larger islands nearby.

9:05 AM – St. Martin: Rotary Lookout Point – view, yet farther to right, of rocky beach with larger islands nearby.

9:08 AM – St. Martin: Rotary Lookout Point – rocky beach with things that washed ashore, including Y-shaped “shell” that looked like sponge (probably coral).

9:08 AM – St. Martin: Rotary Lookout Point – rocky beach with things that washed ashore, including Y-shaped “shell” that looked like sponge (probably coral), with toe of Don’s shoe to show size.

9:08 AM (Cropped) – St. Martin: Rotary Lookout Point – Y-shaped “shell” (see red circle) that looked like sponge (probably coral).

2:45 PM – Later, back on Viking Sea: Y-shaped “shell” that looked like sponge (probably coral), which Don had saved from Rotary Lookout Point.

Back on the bus, we came to another bay, probably Orient Bay.

A bit farther north on this coast is Orient Bay (French: Baie-Orientale), where there is a clothing-optional beach, Orient Beach. Our guide, who was from the Dutch side, said her side would never allow such a thing.

9:14 AM – St. Martin: view of Orient Bay, through bus windshield, with our guide in right front seat.

9:16 AM – St. Martin: view of Orient Bay, through bus windshield, with our guide in right front seat.

9:18 AM – St. Martin: near town on Orient Bay, view through bus window, with iguana on pavement in foreground.

9:19 AM – St. Martin: near town on Orient Bay - iguana on pavement in foreground (telephoto 119 mm).

9:19 AM – St. Martin: near town on Orient Bay - iguana on pavement in foreground (telephoto 119 mm and Cropped).

MT 9:11 AM – St. Martin: near town on Orient Bay, view through bus window, with more iguanas and tip jar on pavement in foreground (mild telephoto 58 mm).

9:23 AM – St. Martin: past Orient Bay – view, through bus windshield, of bushes with what our guide, in right front seat, said was the national flower (most here look pink but some are yellow).

Lantana camara with mostly yellow flowers (By Alvesgaspar - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2043603).

The national flower of St. Maarten/St. Martin is the lantana (Lantana camara), also known as yellow sage. It is a bushy shrub that forms dense thickets with bright orange and yellow flowers. The small, tubular flowers each have four petals and are arranged in clusters. Even on the same cluster, the flowers can come in many different colors including red, yellow, white, pink, and orange. After pollination occurs, the color of the flowers changes (typically from yellow to orangish, pinkish, or reddish). This is believed to be a signal to pollinators that the pre-change color contains a reward.

Lantana camara with yellow and pink flowers (By PEAK99 - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74930483).

9:28 AM – St. Martin: past Orient Bay – view ahead, through bus windshield, with our guide in right front seat.

Eventually, the bus came to the village of Orient Bay.

9:29 AM – St. Martin: past Orient Bay – view of village of Orient Bay ahead, through bus windshield, with our guide in right front seat.

Orient Bay Village (French: La Village d’Orient) is next to Orient Beach on the bay. It is a mini-town of its own, open to the public (without fee), but with gated entry. It has private villas, boutique hotels, resort, restaurants, grocery store, and many other stores. It is called “St. Tropez of the Caribbean” due to the VIPs that come to enjoy the sun and the sea.

9:30 AM – St. Martin: village of Orient Bay - houses with green roofs and islands in distance, through bus window (telephoto 93 mm).

9:32 AM – St. Martin: village of Orient Bay – houses on hillside, through bus window (telephoto 93 mm).

MT 9:24 AM – St. Martin: village of Orient Bay – houses on hillside and entrance to housing area, through bus window.

9:32 AM – St. Martin: village of Orient Bay – sign for “Les Jardins d’Orient Bay” housing area with turquoise-colored arrow sign pointing right to “Marigot” and pole at far right blue sign at top for “Baie Orientale” (Orient Bay) and below it white sign with arrow pointing left to “[Quartier] d’Orleans - Philipsburg.”

Les Jardins d’Orient Bay (The Gardens of Orient Bay), situated in the village of Orient Bay near Hope Hill, is a secured housing estate of several villas, some on the hillside, with stunning views of Pinel Island.

9:32 AM – St. Martin: near village of Orient Bay – donkeys, through bus window.

9:37 AM – St. Martin: near village of Orient Bay – village or resort on lower slope of steep hillside across water, viewed through bus window.

9:37 AM – St. Martin: near village of Orient Bay – large house (hotel?) on lower slope of hillside, viewed through bus window.

9:44 AM – St. Martin: after village of Orient Bay – view through bus windshield; MT and Don in rear view mirror.

9:45 AM – St. Martin: after village of Orient Bay – what looked like a castle or fort on hilltop (possibly the back side of Fort St. Louis), viewed through bus window.

9:46 AM – St. Martin: near village of Orient Bay – view, through bus window, of part of town and the seacoast with other side of bay in the distance (the bus must have been going uphill).

9:46 AM – St. Martin: town of Marigot ahead to the south, viewed through bus windshield; MT and Don behind driver in rear view mirror.

Marigot viewed from Fort St. Louis (By Zerokarma, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3829615).

Marigot (pop. 5,700) is the main town and capital of the French Collectivity of Saint Martin. The town is located on the west side of the island. It extends from the coast to the west, along the Bay of Marigot and the hills of the interior of the island to the east. On the southwest, it is bounded by the Simpson Bay Lagoon. The entire town is only four streets wide.

Originally a fishing village on a swamp for which it was named, Marigot was made capital during the reign of King Louis XVI (reigned 1774-1792), who built Fort St. Louis on a hill near Marigot Bay. Today, that building is the most important in Marigot. Marigot is typical of Caribbean towns, with gingerbread houses and sidewalk bistros. It features colonial houses and brightly painted Creole architecture. It is perhaps the most French in spirit of all the cities in the Caribbean and in many ways looks like any of the French market towns one would find in Europe.

Marigot Bay or Bay of Marigot (French: Baie de Marigot) is directly to the west of the town of Marigot on the leeward side of the island. On the north, it is overlooked by Fort St. Louis. On the south, it borders on Nettle Bay.

Nettle Bay (French: Baie Nettlé) is located on a narrow strip of land between the Simpson Bay Lagoon and the Caribbean Sea. From it, one can see Anguilla island, the entire Marigot Bay, and its harbor to the north. Its long, flat sand beach is halfway between the prestigious Terres Basses villa community and the French town of Marigot, which is about 2 miles away.

9:47 AM – St. Martin: town of Marigot ahead to the south, viewed through bus windshield, with more lantana bushes on right (mild telephoto 63 mm).

9:49 AM – St. Martin: Marigot – approaching Lady Liberty statue in roundabout, through bus windshield, with our guide in right front seat.

9:49 AM – St. Martin: Marigot – back side of Lady Liberty statue in roundabout, with MT taking photo through bus window.

9:49 AM (Cropped) – St. Martin: Marigot – side view of Lady Liberty statue in roundabout.

The “Lady Liberty” statue in the Agrément roundabout in Marigot represents emancipation. It was unveiled in 2007 to mark the 159th anniversary of the 1848 abolishment of slavery in all French territories, including St. Martin. The Africans who had been enslaved by the Dutch on the other side of the island were emancipated 15 years later. A plaque on the base of the statue is of a full-bodied black woman with short, curly hair, clad in a flowing white dress, and holding a lantern in her toned, strong left hand. Since 2007, celebrations of the end of slavery have been regularly held at the statue.

MT 9:41 AM (Cropped) – St. Martin: Marigot – front side of Lady Liberty statue, showing lantern, in roundabout; plaque on base of statue reads as follows:

“LADY LIBERTY

Freedom Point

EMANCIPATION 1848

In Memory of the Victims of slavery

presented by

MAYOR ALBERT FLEMING

The Dept. of Arts and Culture

June 3rd 2007.”

9:51 AM – St. Martin: Marigot – Fort St. Louis on hilltop, through bus windshield (mild telephoto 81 mm).

Fort St. Louis (By Christine Warner Hawks https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fort_Louis_in_Saint-Martin.jpg).

Fort St. Louis (aka Fort Louis) was built in 1789 on a hill overlooking Marigot Bay and the island of Anguilla. It was built by locals of the town, on the orders of the governor of St. Martin and St. Barth, and named for the king of France at the time, Louis XVI (reigned 1774-1792). Its primary function was to defend the harbor warehouses where valuable goods were stored (salt, coffee, sugar cane, and rum) waiting for export. No ship could land in Marigot from any direction without coming into the range of the fort’s cannons.

Fort St. Louis – cannon covering Marigot and bay (By Richie Diesterheft from Chicago, IL, USA - Cannon Over Marigot Market, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32733762).

Later the fort was abandoned and fell into ruin. In the 19th century, it was restored once more, only to be abandoned again. During this time, it was the site of a battle between the French and the English, who regularly swooped across from Anguilla to raid the warehouses. Now it provides a panoramic view of St. Martin, St. Maarten, the surrounding sea, and neighboring islands.

9:51 AM – St. Martin: Marigot – Fort St. Louis on hilltop, through bus windshield (mild telephoto 81 mm).

Then the bus stopped for rum punch at the West Indies Shopping Mall.

9:56 AM – St. Martin: Marigot – our guide, with “paddle” for “Viking Sea 7” tour group, leading toward yellow building (West Indies Shopping Mall) where we would have rum punch, with Fort St. Louis on hilltop in background; MT at bottom left.

St. Martin: Marigot – West Indies Shopping Mall (By Paul Sableman - le West Indies Shopping Mall, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64080829).

St. Martin: Marigot –West Indies Shopping Mall on the waterfront with Fort St. Louis on hill behind it (By Paul Sableman - Marigot Waterfront, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=64080833).

Le West Indies Shopping Mall (even its web site adds the French article) is in an attractive marbled building on Rue de la Republique, right on the waterfront in Marigot. An awe-inspiring work of architecture, its interior is richly decorated with tropical plants and an atrium.

9:56 AM – St. Martin: Marigot – West Indies Shopping Mall, where we would have rum punch.

MT 9:50 AM – St. Martin: Marigot – atrium of West Indies Shopping Mall.

10:00 AM – St. Martin: Marigot – MT with rum punch, near palm tree in atrium of West Indies Shopping Mall.

We were surprised to see signs for “Black Friday Sale” in the mall. Like the Thanksgiving Day holiday it follows, such a sale is a particularly US tradition. Perhaps the sale was intended to attract US tourists.

10:10 AM – St. Martin: Marigot – Fort St. Louis on hilltop, through palm fronds (telephoto 156 mm).

10:12 AM – St. Martin: Marigot – Fort St. Louis on hilltop, through palm fronds (telephoto 156 mm).

What the Viking Cruise Documents called “free time to explore independently” amounted to a short walk around this part of town.

10:15 AM – St. Martin: Marigot – buildings with balconies on short walk in town.

10:18 AM – St. Martin: Marigot – more buildings with balconies on short walk in town.

We caught sight of Fort St. Louis again, from another side.

10:19 AM – St. Martin: Marigot – street with Fort St. Louis on hilltop in distance.

MT 10:12 AM – St. Martin: Marigot – Fort St. Louis on hilltop (telephoto 93 mm).

10:19 AM – St. Martin: Marigot – Fort St. Louis on hilltop (telephoto 156 mm).

Then the bus headed back into the Dutch Sint Maarten.

10:38 AM – St. Martin: approaching Border Marker monument, viewed through bus windshield (telephoto 119 mm).

St. Martin/St. Maarten: Border Marker monument on west side of island; sign at right reads: “SAINT MARTIN – Bienvenue en Partie Française – Welcome to the French Side” (By Ian Sewell, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4111161).

There are two large obelisk-shaped border markers along major roads between the French and Dutch sides of the island. This one is at Mount Concordia, on the west side of the island between Cole Bay (on the Dutch side) and the French capital of Marigot. It is dated 1648 and 1848, The first date represents the negotiation of the Treaty of Concordia, when the two nations decided to split the island between then after Spain abandoned it, rather than fighting each other for full possession. The second date commemorated the passage of three centuries of peaceful relations, the marker having been commissioned and emplaced at that time.

St. Martin/St. Maarten: Border Marker monument on east side of island (By JB82 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9618003).

The second obelisk, on the east side of the island, is on the route between the Dutch capital of Philipsburg and Quartier d’Orléans on the French side. This one, dedicated in 2008, features the 1648 notation for the same reason (but not 1948 or 2008).

10:38 AM – St. Martin: approaching Border Marker monument, with dates 1648 and 1948 above bronze plaque, and “Welcome to [St. Maarten]” sign to its left, viewed through bus windshield (mild telephoto 49 mm).

10:38 AM – St. Martin: passing Border Marker monument, with dates 1648 and 1948 above bronze plaque, viewed through bus side window (mild telephoto 49 mm).

10:39 AM – St. Maarten: marina with some sunken boats, viewed through bus side window (telephoto 187 mm).

The island was severely damaged by Hurricane Irma in September 2018, the strongest Atlantic hurricane since records were first kept in 1851. It is estimated that 95 % of structures on the French side and 75 % of those on the Dutch side were damaged or destroyed. Wind and rough seas resulted in damage and destruction of marinas, docks, and piers. Boats in marinas in St. Maarten and St. Martin lay on their sides, half-submerged in water.

10:40 AM – St. Maarten: mast of sunken boat sticking out of water in marina, viewed through bus side window (telephoto 105 mm).

Our next stop was at the Carousel Gelateria and Bar on Welfare Road in the village of Simpson Bay. Our tour included a sampling of the ice cream and a free ride on the carousel.

11:13 AM – St. Maarten: Carousel Gelateria and Bar – entrance from Welfare Road.

The Carousel Gelateria and Bar is located on Welfare Road in the village of Simpson Bay (some sources say Cole Bay), and the back part with the carousel is on the waterfront of Simpson Bay Lagoon. They make authentic Italian gelato with natural ingredients imported from Italy (except for the fresh island fruits). The old-fashioned Venetian carousel ($2 per ride) was imported piece-by-piece from Italy. The bar has been removed and replaced by a playground for children.

MT 11:13 AM – St. Maarten: Carousel Gelateria and Bar – Don with giant ice cream cone on entrance from Welfare Road.

11:14 AM – St. Maarten: Carousel Gelateria and Bar – view through entrance to blue building housing the gelateria and the carousel (the carousel is on the back, on the waterfront); the white bus in the center with a red Viking Sea “paddle” on the dashboard was ours.

10:59 AM – St. Maarten: Carousel Gelateria and Bar – the carousel with “Venetian Carousel” and Venice canal scenes painted on the rim at the top.

11:00 AM – St. Maarten: Carousel Gelateria and Bar – the carousel with Venice canal scenes painted on the underside of the top.

MT had the carousel operator take our photo with her iPhone as we rode the carousel.

MT 10:53 AM – St. Maarten: Carousel Gelateria and Bar – MT and Don riding the carousel.

MT 10:55 AM – St. Maarten: Carousel Gelateria and Bar – MT and Don riding the carousel with Venice canal scenes painted on the rim and underside of the top.

11:11 AM – St. Maarten: coconut palm across street from Carousel Gelateria and Bar.

11:11 AM – St. Maarten: close-up of coconuts on coconut palm across street from Carousel Gelateria and Bar (telephoto 156 mm).

MT 11:17 AM – St. Maarten: flowers across street from Carousel Gelateria and Bar.

Next, the bus went past the Traffic Man monument.

11:32 AM – St. Maarten: statue of “Osborne Kruythoff – The Traffic Man” in roundabout, through bus window.

11:32 AM (Cropped) – St. Maarten: statue of “Osborne Kruythoff – The Traffic Man” in roundabout, through bus window.

The statue of Osborne Kruythoff, the Traffic Man, is on the Osborne Kruythoff Roundabout in the village of Cole Bay. The bronze sculpture of a thin man with a safari hat on his head, a coat with flowers hanging from the button holes, and a whistle in his mouth. Osborne was a colorful character who grew up working in the sugar cane fields of nearby Dominica. At some time in his life he moved to Sint Maarten, where he is said to have had a job cleaning the seaweed from the edge of the beach at Great Bay when the need arose (which was seldom). At that time, there were only 83 cars on St. Maarten. When it grew to over 200 in the early 1960s, Osborne appointed himself as the first and only traffic warden on the island, directing the traffic at the square in front of the Court House in his off-time. His outfit consisted of a brown khaki uniform, a white safari hat, a machete he used as a baton, and a traffic whistle (which no one knows how he acquired). Eventually, he started putting flowers in his shirt buttons and on his hat. If a car did not obey his direction, he would give it a goop “planass,” which means hitting someone with the flat part of the machete. He became a tourist attraction and would pose for photos with them when not directing traffic.

11:32 AM – St. Maarten: view of harbor in Philipsburg from top of Cole Bay Hill with island(s) on horizon, through bus window.

Then the bus seems to have stopped for the view from Cole Bay Hill.

11:36 AM – St. Maarten: view of bay and harbor in Philipsburg from top of Cole Bay Hill with island(s) on horizon.

MT 11:29 AM – St. Maarten: view of bay (on left side of previous photo) near Philipsburg from top of Cole Bay Hill (mild telephoto 51 mm).

11:36 AM – St. Maarten: view of harbor in Philipsburg from top of Cole Bay Hill with island(s) on horizon.

MT 11:29 AM – St. Maarten: view of harbor in Philipsburg from top of Cole Bay Hill with island(s) on horizon (mild telephoto 44 mm).

11:37 AM – St. Maarten: view of harbor in Philipsburg from top of Cole Bay Hill with island(s) on horizon.

11:40 AM – St. Maarten: view of bay near Philipsburg from top of Cole Bay Hill with island(s) on horizon.

11:36 AM – St. Maarten: view from top of Cole Bay Hill of island on horizon.

St. Maarten: view of island on horizon, photo titled “File: Cay Bay Rd, Koolbaai, Sint Maarten – panoramio (4),jpg” (By Remy Gumbs (shady P), CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58500694) (telephoto 73 mm).

11:40 AM – St. Maarten: top of Cole Bay Hill with flagpole, where we were among the few from our tour group that had gone up gravel path for panoramic view and photos; at the lower right is a sign pointing to the sales office of Indigo Green.

Our guide had said that there was a radio antenna on the highest point of the island. However, this is Cole Bay Hill, which has a tall flagpole erected after Hurricane Irma. The flagstaff normally flies the flag of St. Maarten. (See photo of flag on hill at https://www.sxmstrong.com/2017/12/08/time-come-move-rise-aim-higher-saint-martin/.)

Indigo Green is an oceanfront gated community of villas and condos on Indigo Bay (previously known as Cay Bay) in St. Maarten, halfway between Philipsburg and Simpson Bay.

Then the bus passed by the “Salt Pickers” monument.

11:57 AM – St. Maarten: “Salt Pickers” monument in traffic circle.

11:57 AM – St. Maarten: “Salt Pickers” monument in traffic circle; sign for “The Salt Pickers” on outer ring at right.

The history of St. Maarten is the subject of one of the most attractive sculptural groups on the island, the “Salt Pickers” in the center of the roundabout on Walter Nisbeth Road with D.S. Peterson Street-Soualiga Road, near the Great Salt Pond in Philipsburg. Salt is central to the culture of St. Maarten; the island was known as “Soualiga” (the land of salt) by its indigenous people. Indeed, it was interest in salt that first brought the Dutch to the island. They found the Great Salt Pond in 1624. When the Dutch settled the southern half of the island, they exploited the salt deposits found in three large salt pans, loading more than 400 ships per year. The salt workers were not only slaves, but included women, children, and senior citizens and free citizens from both the French and Dutch sides of the island. Each would work at a different special task to harvest the salt. Salt is collected as the sun causes the seawater to evaporate, leaving salt crystals. One method of harvesting involved shoveling and scraping the salt crystals from the ground. Another involved putting stakes in the salt ponds; as the water evaporated, salt crystals remained on the stakes. The salt industry proved profitable for some time and continued in one form or another until the 20th century. In 1949, the Dutch stopped the production of salt on the Dutch side of the island. In honor of the salt industry and the workers, the government of St. Maarten erected this group of statues showing workers engaged in the various aspects if salt harvesting and called it the “Salt Pickers.”

This sculptural group depicts five bronze figures, two of them (both women) gathering salt, two others (a man and a woman) transporting it in a large salt tray, and a man in the middle using a shovel to mine the salt. Rather than celebrating the life of politicians, soldiers, or business tycoons, S’martiners have chosen to commemorate the feats of the unsung heroes of their communities—the salt pickers, instead of the owner of the most successful salt producer in the country.

11:57 AM (Cropped) – St. Maarten: “Salt Pickers” monument in traffic circle; 2 women (outside the inner circle) gathering salt, a man and woman carrying a salt tray (at right), but the central figure of a man with a shovel was missing at this time.

MT 11:49 AM – St. Maarten: “Salt Pickers” monument in traffic circle; a man and woman carrying a salt tray (at right), 2 women (outside the inner circle) gathering salt, but the central figure of a man with a shovel was missing at this time (mild telephoto 71 mm and Cropped).

Near the cruise terminal, we say a statue of Peter Stuyvesant.

12:06 PM – St. Maarten: Philipsburg - statue of Peter Stuyvesant.

St. Maarten: Philipsburg statue of Peter Stuyvesant (By User:AlbertHerring - Images taken by me for Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28795358).

Peter Stuyvesant (1592-1672), in Dutch also Pieter and Petrus, joined the Dutch West India Company in his twenties. In 1644, he landed in St. Martin with some 800 soldiers seeking to recover the island, which the Spanish had taken from the Dutch. During the unsuccessful attempt, a cannonball crushed his right leg, and it was amputated just below the knee. He returned to the Netherlands for convalescence, where his leg was replaced with a wooden peg. He was given the nickname “Peg Leg Pete.”

Stuyvesant served as the last Dutch director-general of the colony of New Netherland from 1647 until it was ceded provisionally to the English in 1664, after which it was renamed New York.

12:07 PM – St. Maarten: Philipsburg – plaque on base of statue of Peter Stuyvesant, but difficult to read.

St. Maarten: Philipsburg – plaque on base of statue of Peter Stuyvesant near the cruise terminal in Philipsburg (By User:AlbertHerring - Images taken by me for Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28795356); the plaque reads:

“Pieter Stuyvesant was the last Governor of the Dutch colony of New Netherland (now New York), from 1646 until its surrender to the English in 1664. He was born in the Dutch province of Friesland in 1611 or 1612. After studying languages and philosophy for two years at the University of Franeker, he joined the Dutch W.I.C. (West India Company). In 1638 he was sent to Curacao. He was appointed commercial director in 1642. In 1644 Stuyvesant received orders to recapture Sint Maarten which had been taken from the Dutch by the Spanish in 1633. The island was important for its valuable salt production and as a strategic harbor.

“With a fleet of 13 ships, Stuyvesant set sail to Sint Maarten. He landed at Cay Bay on March 20, 1644, and made camp at Cay Hill. A summons was dispatched to the Spanish garrison at the fort while a delegation under Stuyvesant’s command climbed the battery on Bel Air Hill to plant their flag. The Spanish, spotting them from the fort, fired a cannon in their direction. Stuyvesant was severely wounded in his right leg by this shot. He was taken back aboard his ship ‘De Blauwe Haan’ where his leg was amputated from the knee down. A wooden stump later served as a replacement and from then on he was nicknamed ‘Peg leg Pete’. The battle continued until April 17, 1644, at which time the Dutch, being unable to defeat the Spanish, returned to Curacao.

“Pieter Stuyvesant is remembered in history for his wooden leg as well as being tough, valiant, hard headed and dictatorial. He went on to sternly govern the Dutch settlers of New Netherland ‘as a father over his children.’ He surrendered New Netherland to the British in 1664. Stuyvesant continued to live in New York as a private citizen until his death in 1672. His tombstone can be viewed at St. Mark’s Cemetery in The Bowery in New York City.”

MT 12:02 PM – St. Maarten: Philipsburg – Don and MT by “St. Maarten” sign by duty free shops near cruise terminal.

MT 12:04 PM – St. Maarten: Philipsburg – Don on dock at cruise terminal.

MT 12:04 PM – St. Maarten: Philipsburg – MT on dock at cruise terminal.

12:40 PM – St. Maarten: Philipsburg – view toward island in distance, from deck of Viking Sea (telephoto 187 mm).

Back onboard the Viking Sea, we ate lunch at the World Café buffet.

Then, from 3:00 to 4:14, we walked on the boardwalk by the Great Bay Beach in Philipsburg.

Viking map of Philipsburg, showing Cruise Port (1), Boardwalk Boulevard (3) on Great Bay, and Front Street parallel to Boardwalk.

3:30 PM – St. Maarten: Philipsburg – MT walking of Great Bay Beach.

While Don stayed on the beach looking for a few shells, MT continued along the Boardwalk and found the St. Martin’s Church. She came back and got Don, and we both visited the church.

3:44 PM – St. Maarten: Philipsburg – MT at gate in front of St. Martin’s Church; the gate was not locked, but we had to enter around the left side of the church.

St. Martin of Tours Church (Dutch: Sint Martinus van Tours Kerk) is a Roman Catholic church located at 51 Voorstraat (meaning Front Street) in Philipsburg. One of the three Catholic churches in the Dutch part of the island, it belongs to the Catholic Diocese of Willemstad based on the island of Curaçao.

In 1493, Christopher Columbus reportedly gave the name St. Martin to this island because he arrived there on November 11, the feast day of St. Martin of Tours according to the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. It is not surprising, therefore, that when the first Catholic church was established on the Dutch side of the island in 1841, it was named St. Martin of Tours.

The present church on Front Street has its origins in 1844, when the first stone was laid. However, the parish grew, so that the church was expanded several times. By 1933, the parishioners recognized that construction of a larger church was necessary. Eventually, this was carried out, and the present church was completed in 1952. It sits between shops and cafes along the Boardwalk in downtown Philipsburg. The front of the church is on Front Street, but the Boardwalk entrance with its pretty garden and statue of St. Martin attracts more attention. Also on the church grounds around that side is the Shrine to Our Lady of La Salette. Inside, the church has a tropical atmosphere. Its high ceiling, white walls, and natural light give it a feeling of openness.

3:44 PM – St. Maarten: Philipsburg – St. Martin of Tours Church façade with statue of St. Martin in foreground.

3:36 PM – St. Maarten: St. Martin of Tours Church – statue of “St. Martin of Tours, Bishop 371-397” in front of the church.

The statue shows St. Martin wearing the vestments of a bishop with the mitre and the pectoral cross, holding a crosier in his right hand.

9317a Friday, November 29 3:44 PM – St. Maarten: St. Martin of Tours Church – plaque for “The Life of St. Martin” near the statue in front of the church; the text reads:

“Saint Martin was born in A.D. 316 in Hungary of a Roman Cavalry officer and non Christian mother. A catechumen at age 10, he entered the military at 15, with the episode of the cloak and beggar occurring when 18. Baptism followed and he left the military at age 20. A fierce opponent of the Arian heresy he became a hermit, monk, and evangelizer in northern and western France. After appointment as Bishop in 371 he established the great monastery at Tours which became a major site of pilgrimage. This statue is dedicated at the parish of St. Maarten of Tours, Philipsburg, St. Maarten, In the service of God he now offers the cloak of God’s Grace to us. 11 Nov. 2012.”

3:37 PM – St. Maarten: St. Martin of Tours Church – Shrine to Our Lady of La Salette, the side we first encountered on our way to the Boardwalk entrance of the church, showing Mary sitting and weeping, then standing.

3:37 PM – St. Maarten: St. Martin of Tours Church – other side of shrine to Our Lady of La Salette showing Mary flanked by two children, near the Boardwalk entrance of the church; the plaque on the base reads:

“SHRINE TO OUR LADY OF LA SALETTE

“The Virgin Mary appeared to two children (Melanie and Maximin) at La Salette in the French Alps on September 19, 1846. This is a simplified representation of that event. The children first saw Mary sitting and weeping. Then standing up, called to them, ‘Come near, my children, do not be afraid.’ At the end of her discourse, she rose off the ground, and spoke her final words, ‘Make this known to all my people.’

“OUR LADY OF LA SALETTE, RECONCILER OF SINNERS, PRAY FOR US

“This shrine was blessed by

Bishop Willem Ellis, D.D.

on September 15, 1994

with Rev. Felino S.Paulino”

Our Lady of La Salette (French: Notre-Dame de La Salette) is a Marian apparition reported by two children, Maximin Giraud and Mélanie Calvat (called Mathieu) to have occurred at La Salette-Fallavaux, France in 1846. On the evening of September 19, Maximin and Mélanie returned from the mountain on which they had been tending sheep and reported seeing “a beautiful lady” weeping bitterly. They described her as sitting on a rock with her elbows resting on her knees and her face buried in her hands. She was clothed in a white robe studded with pearls and a gold-colored apron; white shoes and roses around her feet and a high headdress, Around her neck, she wore a crucifix suspended from a small chain. According to their account, she continued to weep even as she spoke to them, first in French and then in their own dialect of Occitan. After giving a secret to each child, the apparition walked up the hill an vanished. The two secrets, which neither of the children ever made known to the other, were apparently of a personal nature.

In the wake of the French Revolution, which had terrorized the church, fewer and fewer people in the parish of La Salette were attending mass. According to the children’s account, the Virgin invited people to respect the repose of the seventh day and to respect the name of God. She sorrowfully threatened punishment, in particular a scarcity of potatoes, which would rot. The context of these punishments places the warning just prior to the winter of 1846-47, which was a period of famine in Europe, and especially in France and Ireland (the Irish Potato Famine). This was one of the factors of the apparition’s popular appeal. The sanctuary of Our Lady of La Salette (Sanctuaire Notre-Dame de La Salette), a basilica in the mountains above the village, is a well-known pilgrimage site.

3:39 PM – St. Maarten: St. Martin of Tours Church – view from rear of nave to main altar in apse (MT at right, toward front).

3:39 PM – St. Maarten: St. Martin of Tours Church – statue of St. Martin of Tours in bishop’s attire at rear of nave.

3:40 PM – St. Maarten: St. Martin of Tours Church – main altar in apse.

3:41 PM – St. Maarten: St. Martin of Tours Church – three panels with scenes from life of St. Martin of Tours: as a Roman soldier, sharing his cloak with a beggar, and as a bishop; at the top of the central panel is “St. Martin of Tours” and at its bottom is the following prayer:

“God, your bishop St. Martin glorified you by both his life and his death. Renew in us your grace so that neither death nor life can separate us from your love.”

Then we walked a bit farther on the Boardwalk along Great Bay Beach.

3:46 PM – St. Maarten: sign for “Great Bay Beach” with map of Philipsburg on the narrow strip of land between Great Bay Beach and the Great Salt Pond.

3:46 PM – St. Maarten: metal map of island of St. Maarten/St. Martin on Boardwalk.

3:52 PM – St. Maarten: statue of Captain Morgan outside liquor store on the Boardwalk; a small sign on the end of the keg says, “Do Not Climb.”

3:53 PM – St. Maarten: view from beach on the Boardwalk back across Great Bay to Viking Sea docked at cruise port.

Then we walked back to the Viking Sea. Don showered and washed the shells he had collected on the beach. MT did some laundry in the free laundry room near us on Deck 3.

Around 5:30, the Viking Sea set sail for our next stop in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas (111 nautical miles).

At 6:30, we went to the Italian Buffet at the Aquavit Terrace at the aft end of Deck 7 (past the World Café). At the World Café, Don put in his pre-order for diner in the Restaurant on Saturday.