St Thomas USVI

Having been to St Thomas before, we figured that we knew the routine. We should know better than to get cocky because that's when things tend to go off the rails!

Turns out that the cruise port that we have come into before is at the other end of town, so we had to completely reorient ourselves. And, the store that we were specifically looking for has long since left town! OK so it was 28 years ago, but still...

We did find our favorite place downtown for an ice cold freshly squeezed lemonade (it was only 10am and we are trying to mend our ways).


We contemplated going with the hordes to Magens Bay,but it was sooo hot and we would have had to go back to the ship for our gear-- so we decided to do a "cultural tour"!

We visited the 2nd oldest Jewish Synagogue in the U.S. It was the only place that welcomed Jews during the war--when the US and Canada and other countries were turning them away. It has a traditional sand floor and they invited bar mitzvah kids to come here when their synagogues were destroyed by hurricane Katrina.



From there we visited the Dutch Reformed Church, but they must have been practicing their Klompen Dancing because it was closed.



Then our final stop was at the Lutheran Church. They must be conserving energy because all of the lights were off, but it was interesting just the same. The pews were all little boxes.






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Grenada

The Perfect Day!

A day spent like this:

Eggs Benedict
Water Taxi to Grand Anse Beach, Grenada (the Spice Island)
Miles of white sand beach
Rum punch
Reading sappy novels on a padded chaise under an umbrella
Snorkeling in bath tub like water with a mask that doesn't leak (and actually seeing cool fish, coral, anenomes and other things you can't identify)
Rum punch
Chatting with interesting people in the next chaises who do curious things like "rendering chicken feathers into protein that boosts milk production in cows" (more reason I'm sticking with almond milk!)
A sandwich delivered to you under your umbrella
Beer
Bobbing in the gentle surf
A water taxi back to the ship where the man next to you says "you're never that age" (he almost got a kiss) and his wife is in the credit card business so we traded war stories for 15 minutes!
Lemonade and cold towels on the pier
Lemon pie on the way to the cabin!

Life is very good and I am grateful for every day-- especially ones like today!















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Dominica

Today we were in Dominica (Dom-in-eek-a) home to about 70,000 people including the 3,000 remaining Caribe Indians. Today we also went with plan B when our charming taxi driver, Chris, convinced us to go on his tour rather than straight to the beach. So we started with the Botanical gardens, where the most interesting sight was a truck squashed by a large tree in a hurricane-- the tree is still growing!


From there we journeyed up the long, winding, potholed mountain road into the rain forest.


Dominica is a volcanic island covered with amazing vegetation. They grow lots of fruits and vegetables and spices. So, while it is one of the poorest Caribbean countries they eat pretty well.

In the National Park we hiked down to Emerald Falls where some folks even went swimming. While white leather flats weren't the most appropriate shoes for a rain forest jungle hike, they weren't the silliest foot wear that we saw!


Our guide, Chris, was telling us that the local unemployment is about 20% yet the government has signed all kinds of agreements with the Chinese to build roads and bridges, schools, and a brand new $27 million white house government palace. The Chinese bring all of their own equipment---and workers! In fact we passed a group of Chinese workers painting crosswalks. I suggested that perhaps the current prime minister wouldn't survive the next election as a result, but he said that all kinds of "new residents" arrive just before the elections, vote him back in, and then disappear!

Our guide was a really interesting guy who was also very double jointed. He could grab his hands behind his back and bring them up and over his head still clasped. Fritz suggested that it wouldn't make sense to put him in handcuffs if he could do that--very PC Fritz! I hope this video works so that you can see for yourself.
After the rain forest we did end up at the beach, although it was too rough for snorkeling. The sand is crushed volcanic rock, so it is almost black. Following ou tradition, and because we were thirsty after our hike we sampled the local Kubuli beer which came in very dainty 250ml bottles.





One note about our table mates. The Swedish couple informed us tonight that they believe that they can take 20 liters of liquor EACH back with them to Sweden and have been shopping accordingly! The other four of us just sat with our mouths open! I hope for their sake they're right.

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St Kitts

Having purchased new snorkeling equipment in St Croix yesterday we headed for the beach in St Kitts today. And, yes, we did buy new snorkeling gear last year, but it is at home and it was cheaper to buy than rent repeatedly. Plus, snorkels are like shoes--you can never have too many!

We tried to go to Sand Bank Beach as recommended by the guide book, but the taxi captain wouldn't take us. He first suggested it was private, then switched to it was a Nude Beach, then said we would be the only 2 there and they couldn't take responsibility for putting tourists in a dangerous position. I believe he just needed to fill a van going to Cockleshell Beach, so that's where we went. Our taxi driver did say that Sand Bank Beach was nice, but didn't have any services (beer and bathrooms) so we were happy to end up where we did.

Our driver, Aldopho (call me Dolly) was driving his friends old Toyota van with no headliner, ripped seats, limited a/c which had to be turned off going up hill and questionable brakes. He told us that St Kitts is 68 square miles, 35,000 people and provides free schooling from age 3 through high school. All classrooms have computers and each child is given a laptop at age 12.

He also explained that, as there are 4 women to each man on the island, the men here feel obligated to have multiple girlfriends! He, himself, at age 56, had four! He also had 8 children but had never been married! The men in the van-- a rowdy group from New Jersey, cruising on The Explorer of the Seas, were very interested in the logistics of 4 girlfriends--especially on the return trip after a day in the sun and multiple cold beverages! They wanted such details as "does each one have a day of the week, or does it depend on how they treated you yesterday" (the latter)! "Do they know about each other"? Yes, but they don't come over to the house? "Are they young"? Maybe, but not below the age of consent (18) YUCK! And trust me Aldopho was no catch!

I'm wondering if these taxi drivers sit around and dream up outrageous stories to tell to gullible tourists so that they won't notice how atrocious the potholes are and how lacking the suspension!

I don't have any photos of the beach as someone, who shall remain nameless, forgot the camera! But, suffice it to say, it was gorgeous--white sand, turquoise water, puffy white clouds, adequate snorkeling, a nice shady tree for the wimps from the Northwest who shied away from the rotisserie approach of the New Jersey clan. Couple that with some cold Caribe Beer and some Reggae music and Life is Good!

There were some interesting local additions at the beach: a group of enterprising people wearing surgical scrubs offering Aloe Vera massages. They had big chunks of dripping Aloe, which grows locally, and they would slather it on you and rub it in. Also, Wilbur the pig was a 500lb tusked pig who was comatose under a tree. Apparently he does wander around and paddles in the water, just not today. There were also guys with those little monkeys wearing clothes that they would have jump on to you so that you could have a photo (maybe some other time). We were told that the French brought 2 monkeys many centuries ago and they escaped and there are now 50,000 monkeys. I don't know about that, but they were everywhere you turned!

Here are a couple of guys who looked just like the guys in our van!


When we came back from the beach we grabbed a bite, showered and went into town. Not much going on, but we did taste some of the local Rums--this one was Lime! Don't knock it until you've tried it!



A quick update on the dining issue--we are at a new table with 2 new couples--one from Malmo, Sweden and one from Virginia--both first time cruisers and lots of fun!

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St. Croix USVI

We arrived safely in San Juan, Puerto Rico yesterday afternoon and made it to the ship, the Celebrity Summit around 3:30. Not much time to grab a quick bite and head to the mandatory muster drill. We think that Celebrity must have taken their drill training from Costa because it was the most disorganized, useless, drill that we have ever attended! It was in a lounge without enough seats, with no air conditioning and we were in the corridor so you couldn't even see the person putting on their life vest. Thankfully we have done enough of them to know the routine, but it did not strike confidence in your heart that all would go smoothly in the event of an emergency.

After dinner (seated at a table for 2 instead of 6-- promised to be rectified by tonight) I went to the salon for a much needed trim and color! Ilene from South Africa must be a fan of the 1960's show Mad Men because I think the resulting "do" is very 60's retro!



Today we docked in Frederiksted, St Croix--86 degrees, sunny skies. They have the most organized taxi shuttle service that we have ever seen! Walk off the ship, buy your $16 pp RT ticket, get in the bus and let Griffin whisk you the 17 miles to the other side of the island to the bigger town of Christiansted--all the while he is regaling you with 600+ years of history! The island is part of the US Virgin Islands, a US territory, purchased from Denmark in 1917 for $25 million in gold. 26 miles by 6 miles, home to 51,000 people. They fly 7 flags representing all the countries that have owned them. Curiously, they drive on the left, but the cars are from the US. They have voted down changing three times.


In Christiansted you can catch the ferry to Bucks Island which is a National Monument and has phenomenal snorkeling, but we chose to stay in town, stroll the boardwalk and visit Fort Christiansted and the Steeple Building Museum. We felt guilty not paying the $3 entrance fee, but Fritz's National Park pass got us in for free and the Park rangers were delightful, knowledgeable people. One note, don't sit on the yellow walls in black shorts--it's like milk paint and comes right off making a terrible mess-- and trying to rub it off makes it worse!


Because it was Sunday there wasn't much open, except the churches and because they have been run by so many countries they have every denomination you can imagine. We chose to visit instead a delightful little harbor side bar to refresh ourselves. We sat at the bar, overlooking the water and listened to the steel drum duo. I had a wonderful concoction, described on the menu as the "house special" made from: Cruzan Coconut and Banana Rum (distilled on the island) with Blackberry brandy, grenadine, sour mix, pineapple juice Topped with a float of black strap rum! YUM Fritz had a beer!


Formal night tonight, so had better go and refresh my humidity enhanced "do".

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