Day 4: St Thomas, US Virgin Islands

Monday, Feb 2, 2015

It's pitch black when I wake and for a moment I don't know where I am. After fumbling around in the darkness a bit I realize it's still early and slip out onto one of the forward decks in time to watch us sail into Charlotte Amalie.

Yay, our first cruise port!

I lie back down, but it's not long before we have to get up to get ready: we're going on a guided tour of Saint Thomas! At just over 31 square miles (80 km²), St Thomas is the second largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands. It's also the busiest cruise port in the entire world!

There's a breakfast buffet on the lido deck and while Sandy looks around there, I head over to the omelet station for an arugula, bacon and cheese omelet. Both our breakfasts are very good and I cap mine off with a vanilla soft serve.

After hanging around for a while, we take the elevator down to deck 0 where we disembark. It's a simple process where you show your sign & sail card and a picture ID. They also take another picture of you at the check-in booth.

A couple of pictures-for-purchase later (going down the gangplank and striking a pose with a good looking sailor) and we are free. The port area is lined with taxi's and tour buses, but we're not sure where to go to meet for our tour. Uh oh. We wander around aimlessly and ask a few people, until finally we spot a sign with Sandy's name on it held by non other than Queen Marian herself.

Yes, today we are touring with Queen Marian – the only Queen on the island as she'll tell you – and her reggae man partner Tony. She leads us over to where RCL's Adventure of the sea is docked and tells us we have to wait for a few more people. Tony gets us set up with beverages and gives us a brief outline of the tour wile we wait, and an hour later we are on our way.

Fort Christian, the oldest building in the Virgin Islands, was built sometime between 1672 and 1680 and is in scaffolding undergoing renovations. We're given a minute to take a picture, but I'm the only one to get off the bus so I just snap a quick picture before hurrying back.

Next we drive past Emancipation Park with its reproduction of the Liberty Bell. Historians disagree on whether the original Liberty Bell was rung to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence, but through time it has become a symbol of American freedom.

The main shopping street in Charlotte Amalie is an endless string of jewelry stores, broken only by the occasional liquor store. It's baffling to think how these stores manage to compete with each other and stay in business.

We pause briefly at the base of the 99 Steps (with random guy ... I so hoped he would get up, but no)

We pass the Government House where Lieutenant Governor, Osbert Potter, waves to us on his way in to work.

"Yeah, right!" I think when Tony tells us that's who it is, but Google confirms it's really him.

A bit later when we arrive at Blackbeard's Castle, the gates are closed. I had read that they recently closed their doors on Mondays and I'm surprised that Marian doesn't know this, but she says to give her a second and she's going to make some calls ...  lo and behold, the gates are opened and in we go. Touring with the Queen has its perks!

Tony is a great storyteller and jumps onto the base of Blackbeard's statue where he launches into a passionate account of the life and death of one of the most feared pirates in history.

If you're interested, check out this article for some background information at About.com: The Death of Blackbeard

Arrr matey!!  ---  Edward Teach AKA Blackbeard the Pirate

 Does this count as a crazy caution sign? I'll add it just in case!

Close-up

The pool is stunning!

Skytsborg Tower was built by the Danes (the island was under Danish command until 1917) to keep watch over the harbor of Charlotte Amalie and alert Fort Christian of any incoming ships. How and when it became known as Blackbeard's Castle is unknown, although legend has it he himself took command of the tower sometime during his reign.

View from the back of the property

Oh dear ...

Released from my imprisonment, we walk around back to take some pictures of the Three Queens.

This fountain commemorates the "Fireburn," a rebellion against the Danish Government in 1878. Although slavery had long been abolished, people were still living and working under deplorable conditions. The situation worsened after several years of bad crops leading to a fiery revolution led by the three "queens" Mary, Agnes and Mathilda.

 Cute flowers everywhere!

There were a few other things we saw in the historical center, but that's too much for one blog. Let's continue at Drake's Seat, from where British explorer Sir. Francis Drake would keep watch.

It is ... rather boring.

But, of course Sir. Francis Drake himself didn't sit and stare at this bench all day either ... it's the view over Magen's Bay and the British Virgin Islands that's the real attraction at this spot.

Queen Marian explained that the dark spots in the water are leakage from the mangroves that is slow to leave the bay due to it's horseshoe shape. This makes for poor snorkeling.

This spot is hugely popular and on every tour company's itinerary as evidenced by the 10+ tour vans crowding the little pull off. Sandy unsuccessfully tries to get a picture of me without other people in it, but when Queen Marian offers to take a picture of the two of us together everyone quickly clears way when she asks. Everyone respects the queen!

Btw, check out the Puerto Rico bag we bought at CVS!

Our last stop is Beacon Point for a sampling of banana daiquiris. I want to try the passion fruit instead, but they want me to empty my banana sample first so I get to try both. Tasty, but a bit pricey for someone who doesn't really like alcohol. For full disclosure: if you do buy a drink they will let YOU add the rum!

I'm a bit bummed we went to Beacon Point, instead of Mountain Top, because the view at Mountain Top is better and they have a shop with all kind of touristy junk us tourists like to buy, but at least we got to try the famous banana daiquiri.

We've now finished the historical tour and this is where Queen Marian really shines because she tries to accommodate everyone's requests: dropping several people off at Coki Beach, the two of us at Sapphire and another couple back in town for dinner with friends.

Coki Beach looks very crowded when we stop to drop off the others and Queen Marian arranges for someone to get the others set up with chairs and drinks. She warns us there are very few facilities and service at Sapphire Beach, but that's not going to deter us from going.

The road to Sapphire is flooded and we have to take the longer way around, but before long we crest a hill and gorgeous aquamarine waters stretch out before us. The couple sitting behind us are oohing and aahing along with us and agree that that view alone would be worth going to Sapphire.

Ooh ...

Aah ...

The ocean at Coki had looked rough with snorkelers bobbing up and down on the waves and it looks no better here, but it'll take more than that to keep me out of the water.

Marian had warned us that Sapphire is very rocky and I seem to have forgotten my reef socks. Doh! Half the time I can't even see where the rocks are because the sand is so churned up, but I manage to slowly back in through the powerful shore break.

 Of course, visibility sucks and the "best" pictures came out like this.

It's tricky because there's a strong pull out, followed by a surge towards shore as the wave picks you up and spits you out. That would have been more enjoyable if visibility had been better, but it took a lot of concentration to steer clear of the corals. Aside from hurting like heck and possibly causing infections, coral is very fragile and can take hundreds of years to rebuild so you should NEVER touch it or stand on it!

The coral here is different than in Hawaii and I don't see as many fish (maybe due to the rough seas). I loved the cool brain coral though!

When visibility starts resembling blizzard like conditions it's time to get out and I lie down on my towel for a while. Somehow we both doze off! When I drift back into consciousness there's only an hour left before Queen Marian will be back to collect us, so we throw our stuff in the bag and set out to explore the bay.

No iguanas are to be seen, but we do find a flock of ducks floating around in the resort pool.

While we're still giggling about the not-so-rubber-duckies, three big iguanas coming running out of the bushes. Oh my, I am in iguana heaven! They are very curious and will come right up to you.

   

Sandy's standing near the pool, safely away from the iguana action, when suddenly one of them runs straight through her legs! Just as I start to warn her, it flicks her with its tail … let's just say, that iguana is lucky it didn't get trampled in the screeching exit that ensued.

Unfortunately, no footage of that.

The resort security guard comes over to chat and asks how I got the iguanas to come running over to me, but I have no idea ... I assumed that's just what they did, but apparently I got the special treatment. Yay! He tells us that my favorite, the bright green one, is the youngest. They lose their color as they age.

My little dinosaur

My buddies agree to pose for a quick group shot before we walk over to the point.

Unfortunately, the sun is playing hide and seek in the clouds and I don't succeed in getting a shot of the whole sea grape lined bay lit up in sunlight, but it's still a gorgeous spot with the turquoise waters and the waves breaking on the rocks.

(I'm a panorama - please click me for a better picture)

It's not vacation until you hug a palm tree! Seriously, I have a palm tree hugging picture collection that's quite extensive.

While Sandy goes to the restroom one of the other tour operators comes over for a chat (to promote his business – I didn't realize he was a tour operator until the end) and tells me the locals won't enter the bay when the water is this rough and that normally the water is perfectly smooth but today it has been whipped up by the wind.

Just then Queen Marian appears and after looking out at the bay with her for a while we pile back into the van for the drive back to port.

St. Thomas is very mountainous and we are zooming along the twisty, narrow mountain roads in Queen Marian's capable hands. Even though St. Thomas is a United States territory everyone drives on the left side of the street. Apparently they tried to change it three times, but people were having so many accidents that the government finally said, “Forget it, we'll stick to the left."

The Queen & I

After a few pictures we have about an hour left before we need to board the ship and the port area is conveniently lined with shops to your last minute shopping done.

We had noticed a local fruit stand in a parking lot a few blocks back and decide to walk back there. I think I saw some passion fruit and I've been going through serious withdrawals since our last trip to Hawaii. The elderly saleswoman, her face beautifully dotted with moles, tries to get me to take almost all of them off her hands, but since I'm the only one who will be eating them I manage to talk her down to just about half ... all that for just $4!

Having seen the fabulous gym yesterday and realizing we forgot to bring workout clothes Sandy picks up a St. Thomas shirt. I try to find a cute iguana shirt, but they don't really speak to me so after scoring a cute little piece of iguana pottery we head to the ship.

We're surprised to find a line to get back onto the ship. Somehow I never read about this in the reviews I read online. First, we wait in a line to check that our IDs and sign & sail cards match, then it's on to an even longer one to check back in and go through the metal detectors. 

After dropping off our bags we head straight for the Lido deck to take some pictures of the harbor and watch sail away (ok, and have another ice cream), but first we watch for the runners – aka, people almost missing the ship. Three people cut it VERY close, but in the end we sail off without leaving anyone behind.

It's startling when the ship blasts its horn. I'd heard about this, but having left at San Juan so late it never happened and kind of forgot about it, but WOW. That is loud!

We'd planned to go for a quick snack after sail away, but we hang around on the upper deck for quite a while. 

It's now so late we might as well stick around for the sunset and we walk to the other side of the ship where we find super comfortable seats on the 21+ Serenity deck. What a great way to end the day! Although it's so peaceful we nearly nod off again ha ha.

We are famished by the time we make it down to the dining room and a bit disappointed to find a line just to give our names to the hostess, followed by another wait before we get seated. Luckily, it didn't take nearly as long as they'd predicted and we busied ourselves trying to find our pictures at the Pixels gallery. Unfortunately, they are quite pricey and none of this morning's gangplank pictures made the cut.

Our table for two is flanked by another on both sides and this gives us a peak at some of the other dishes as well as a nice conversation with the young couple next to us. Somehow we managed to find people who live about an hour from us and work for the same company! 

Sandy starts off with tempura fried shrimp while I try the Yukon gold potato cream soup suggested by our cute server. It is super yummy and very filling. 

Then it's on to the main course with Sandy's assorted seafood Newburg and my grilled pork chop with sweet potato mash.

Sandy ends the night with a slice of coconut cake, while I order the chilled peach bisque from the appetizer menu. I'd heard their chilled fruit soups make for excellent deserts and they were spot on. Yummy!

By the time we're through with dinner we're both exhausted and ready to sleep. Hopefully we'll have an early start tomorrow so we can work off some of this food in the gym.

Goodnight Bunny!

♥

Breakfast: Lido Deck Buffet and Omelet Station

Snack: fresh fruit 

Dinner: Lincoln Dining Room