Day 53
OCTOBER 24, 2019
CHARLOTTE AMALIE, ST. THOMAS, US VIRGIN ISLANDS
It seems the reason we have been the only ship in port lately is because high season is just beginning. Adjust your Caribbean travel plans accordingly.
Charlotte Amalie is named after was a 17th century Danish queen. Denmark sold the islands to the US in 1917 for $25 million in gold. - Now you know. Want more? See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Virgin_Islands
The roads here are wider and far better paved than in the BVI. Britain are you listening?
While Karen chose to avoid jouncing on the bus today, I was fortunate to secure an early morning excursion which included the island's highest viewpoints - thus the above photo, taken on Mountain Top, of the harbour with Viking Sun at rest. While we were taking photos, a local fellow, Darren Lawrence, was playing a chrome-plated steel drum nearby and it was truly ear pleasing (I'm not normally a fan of the steel drum). I bought one of his CDs. He proceeded to explain in exquisite detail how his drum was made, which is a far more complicated process than I had ever imagined. Thanks for the education, Darren.
Off we went. Our guide, Francis, was instructive, polite and drove like hell. We're good! Our next stop, Hilltop Lookout, on the north side of St. Thomas overlooked Magens Bay whose beach is described as "one the 10 best beaches in the world", according to National Geographic magazine. This is it:
At the Hilltop stop they serve "world famous" banana daquiris. Karen and I developed a fondness of daquiris made with real bananas during our Barbados days, so naturally I ordered one for comparative purposes. The bartender blended a combination of crushed ice and a banana, poured that mixture into a plastic cup, then he poured a half ounce of rum over that and dropped a marachino cherry on top. So here we have a small amount of rum sitting on slush so you will smell and taste the rum. What a cheap trick! And that for $12 US. Not recommended.
After lunch, as Karen and I were on our veranda watching a turtle about four feet long slowly passing by our ship, occasionally diving and coming up for air every minute or so, when it dove and disappeared completely. About that time there was a downpour so heavy that we were hardly able to see shore. Three minutes later the rain moved on. Again and again the rain returned to repeat this procedure during the afternoon. Heavy clouds, no sun. I felt sorry for those folks who took the same excursion as my sunny one, in such inclement weather. I guess that just goes to prove that life really is like a box of chocolates.
A special hello to our friend Darlene.
CHARLOTTE AMALIE, ST. THOMAS, US VIRGIN ISLANDS
It seems the reason we have been the only ship in port lately is because high season is just beginning. Adjust your Caribbean travel plans accordingly.
Charlotte Amalie is named after was a 17th century Danish queen. Denmark sold the islands to the US in 1917 for $25 million in gold. - Now you know. Want more? See:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Virgin_Islands
The roads here are wider and far better paved than in the BVI. Britain are you listening?
While Karen chose to avoid jouncing on the bus today, I was fortunate to secure an early morning excursion which included the island's highest viewpoints - thus the above photo, taken on Mountain Top, of the harbour with Viking Sun at rest. While we were taking photos, a local fellow, Darren Lawrence, was playing a chrome-plated steel drum nearby and it was truly ear pleasing (I'm not normally a fan of the steel drum). I bought one of his CDs. He proceeded to explain in exquisite detail how his drum was made, which is a far more complicated process than I had ever imagined. Thanks for the education, Darren.
Off we went. Our guide, Francis, was instructive, polite and drove like hell. We're good! Our next stop, Hilltop Lookout, on the north side of St. Thomas overlooked Magens Bay whose beach is described as "one the 10 best beaches in the world", according to National Geographic magazine. This is it:
After lunch, as Karen and I were on our veranda watching a turtle about four feet long slowly passing by our ship, occasionally diving and coming up for air every minute or so, when it dove and disappeared completely. About that time there was a downpour so heavy that we were hardly able to see shore. Three minutes later the rain moved on. Again and again the rain returned to repeat this procedure during the afternoon. Heavy clouds, no sun. I felt sorry for those folks who took the same excursion as my sunny one, in such inclement weather. I guess that just goes to prove that life really is like a box of chocolates.
A special hello to our friend Darlene.
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