Sint Maarten is the Dutch side and Saint Martin is the French side of the same island in the West Indies. We took a bus tour from Philipsburg (where the cruise ships dock) across the island to Marigot on the French side. A phone call from one side to the other is an expensive trans-oceanic call. Most residents simply carry two cell phones, one Dutch and one French, and use the appropriate one for each call. Dutch and French are the official languages, but most of the signs were in English, apparently the common language of the island.

We arrived on Sunday when most shops and restaurants were closed, but there was a thriving open air market in the central plaza of Marigot. I found a polo shirt for $15. When I asked how much in Euros, the lady shrugged and said "C'est le meme prix: 15 Euros" ("It's the same price: 15 Euros"). Since the dollar is worth about 0.85 Euro, I stuck with dollars.

(c) Copyright 2005, F. W. Schneider, all rights reserved.