Photo Journal: Marigot

Marigot’s farmers’ market is a salient feature of the village. An important pulse point, the market only operates on Saturdays. Boats arriving from Anse-à-Pitre dock at the port hours before the sun rises over the village.

The boats are a great way to kill two birds with one stone. On the one hand, they carry goods to Marigot, and on the other, because road conditions are awful, they facilitate the transportation of passengers.

These boats carry people heading to or from places like Savane Zonbi, Thiotte, Anse-à-Pitres, or the Dominican Republic.

The scene at the port is both very Haitian and extremely picturesque. Nimble and hardworking men move packages off the boats and onto the docks.

Wading through water up to their chests, they balance very large sacks of coal, heavy coolers stuffed with fish, and even stacks of packed cardboard boxes on their heads.

From the docks, all these packages are loaded onto trucks headed to other cities, but– careful! These workers move fast, and need you to be out of their way. There’s no time to waste!

The coolers of fish are taken to the nearby fish market; an open building located just a short walk from the wharf. This is where fish is weighed and priced.

As any farmers’ market in Haiti, haggling is a must, and commotion is everywhere; from fish vendors to other merchants crisscrossing the building.

Large amounts of fish and seafood in Marigot regularly make their way to plates in Port-au-Prince, as middlemen come to stock up for the capital’s restaurants every week.