Thursday 2/14 – Day Four of our Cruise, Valentines Day on St
Thomas
The ship was just entering the harbor when I got up and went
for coffee. Getting to the buffet at 6:30am I decided to eat breakfast and give
the girls a chance to catch a few more Z's before getting them up. This let me
watch how the ship was able to pivot in place then push broadsides to the pier
with her side thrusters nearly doing a 180 before tying up to the pier. Since
we had a tour scheduled for 9:30, I took coffee down to Tina at 7:15. She was
already up and getting ready to go. Connecting with Denise we headed to the
buffet for their breakfast before going down to the pier for our tour.
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| Arrival on St Thomas - Another day of adventure |
St Thomas is a protectorate of the US and is part of the US
Virgin Islands. Home to the capital of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Charlotte
Amalie, it has been the heart of St. Thomas’ activities from colonial times to
present. Historic buildings found throughout downtown Charlotte Amalie take
visitors back to the Danish era when the town was a bustling port of trade;
while modern additions of taxis, shops, souvenir vendors and cruise ships in
the harbor remind that it is tourism that currently drives the economy.
Charlotte Amalie is home to almost half of the islands 51,000+ residents. St.
Thomas is largely mountainous. Many roads around the island offer terrific
panoramic views of the island and ocean.
We met our group and headed to the bus about 9:40 for a trip
to the Atlantic side of the island and a photo opportunity. Our next stop was
at an overlook of the Caribbean side of the island for more photos, then it was
on to Blackbeard's Castle and our tour.
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| Blackbeard's Watch Tower |
Blackbeard's Castle is actually a collection of properties
perched on a hillside overlooking the harbor. Entering into the courtyard we
immediately came face to face with a nine foot bronze statue of the infamous
Edward Teach, known the world over as “Blackbeard the Pirate”. Our guide gave
us some of his history as one of the most successful pirates of his time,
having such a fierce reputation that most ships surrendered to him without a
fight. On both sides of us were half a dozen life size bronze statues of
pirates in various poses.
Immediately behind the Blackbeard's statue was a round
lookout tower erected as part of the harbor defenses. Reaching three stories
and made entirely from 'ballast rubble' held together by a mixture of sand,
lime and molasses, Tina and I climbed the winding staircase to the top of the
tower for an unobstructed view of the town and harbor below. Descending the
tower we started through the various buildings and gardens that comprised the
estate. An old hotel, a Dutch East Indies managers residence, a bankers home, pools and gardens wound across
the hillside. Each of the buildings had been restored with period pieces in the rooms, giving a
sense of the conditions that existed at the time for those of higher
station. On our way to the “Bank House”
we walked down a series of steps. Just after Tina reached the bottom, Denise
missed a step and fell on her hands and knees giving all of us a scare.
Fortunately she was unhurt, just a little shaken up.
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| Famous Amber Waterfall |
After leaving the bankers house we continued our tour down
the famous “99 Steps” to the Amber Museum and million dollar Amber Waterfall.
The waterfall is a twenty foot tall by six foot wide wall of Amber, collected
from all over the world, down which cascaded a sheet of water to collect in a
pool at it's foot. Very beautiful!
From the waterfall we entered the museum which had a large
display of amber identified as to type, age and location found. Attached to the
museum were two shops with amber jewelry for sale and very friendly sales
staff. I found several pieces that Tina liked but prices were well beyond what
we were willing to pay. Even so, t was nice to look at such a large collection
of beautiful pieces.
Eventually we made it down the last of the steps to arrive
at Fort Street. As it was now well past noon we stopped in at a small cafe for
lunch. We took a seat at an umbrella table in the small courtyard to the rear
of the cafe where Denise ordered Rice and Beans, Tina chose a Blackened Chicken
Wrap and I ordered a bowl of Conch (pronounced Conk) Chowder in honor of being
in the Caribbean! Everything was very good and our waiter, a young man from
Minnesota, provided some comic relief!
From the restaurant we proceeded to the waterfront and a
series of open air shops or stalls selling everything from jewelery to dresses
to hats and offering to do your hair in “Dread Locks”. Finding little of
interest we crossed Bay Street and headed towards the water taxi stand.
Eventually we came across a group of people from our ship and joined them. As
the group moved along the quay toward a replica pirate ship a two masted
schooner with a pirates flag atop the foremast pulled alongside us and tied up.
Announcing that they were our transport back to the ship we were herded aboard
and took seats along the railing.
As soon as we pulled away from the pier one
of the crew started mixing large pitchers of
rum punch. Passing out plastic cups to all who were willing, one of the
crew began pouring as another began mixing more. In all I saw over three
gallons of rum and four gallons of fruit punch mixed and served. What a fun
trip across the harbor to our ship!
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| Aboard the Pirate Ship |
After landing at the pier we made our way back to the ship and a brief
nap before dinner. After our refreshing naps, we dressed up for dinner in the
formal dining room. Once again we had an excellent meal served by efficient and
friendly wait staff followed by a nice desert. Our table guests turned out to
be two ladies we had shared a table with several nights previous and so we had
enjoyable companions for dinner. After promising to save a couple of seats for
them in the theater we excused ourselves and headed for the evening show. Our
dinner friends made it in just before the show started. The show was a fantasy
production built around a young girls dreams of love and with a very clever
production set took the audience through a series of fantastic dreamscapes with
songs and dance numbers matching the sets, some underwater, some in forest and
some in Las Vegas. It was all very well done and the audience loved it!
After the theater we went to one of the lounges and listened
to a Scots comedian who also played the piano. He was really good without
resorting to crudity or swearing, plus he played a mean jazz piano style all
his own. Leaving the lounge at the end of his act we decided to call it a night
and retired to our cabins.
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