Ground Control to Major Tom . . . January 11

David Bowie

1947-2016

Gone, but not forgotten

The US Virgin Islands are sort of the US and sort of not. My cell phone works here. The people here are citizens, I think, but they can't vote. They drive on the left side of the road, but most of the cars are like American cars, with steering wheels on the left side.

I had a lot of bad karma today, but I won't go into it. For some reason, a lot of different things, all day long, didn't go well. They were all fairly trivial - nothing to worry about.

We woke up in Charlotte Amalie. Who was she? I think she was a Danish princess. When we were in Copenhagen we saw a Charlotte Amalie Palace, if I recall correctly. I'll try to remember to look it up later. 

Charlotte Amalie is the capital and it is on the island of St. Thomas. The other islands which make up the US Virgin Islands are St. John and St. Croix. Auto-correct prefers St. Croissant. It's not a bad idea.

Our destination today was Magens Bay. It is on the other side of the island from Charlotte Amalie. We went up and down a narrow winding road in a "safari". 

This is a "safari," but it is much nicer than the one we were in. This one is new and has seats that are not torn and a microphone that works.

We stopped at a lookout known as Drake's Seat. It is said that Sir Francis Drake would sit there and watch for ships he could attack and plunder. He was a privateer, which is a nice way to say he was a pirate working for the British government.

Magens Bay, as seen from Drake's Seat.

Magens Bay is supposed to be one of the top ten beaches in the world according to National Geographic. What makes it so special is azure water, fine sand, a horseshoe bay, and national park status that has restricted development.

What makes it not so special is going there on a day when there are more than three ships in port.

After a couple of hours at the beach we went back to Charlotte Amalie.

There are more jewelry stores per square foot there then anywhere else in the world, I would hazard to guess. I was not in the mood for jewelry, so we stopped for lunch at the first place we saw. This was probably not the best way to go about it, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. We sat in a sidewalk cafe in an alley. The alleys are nice little pedestrian shopping alleys. There was a breeze, and the noise and fumes of motorized traffic did not reach us. We had refreshing tropical drinks and panini sandwiches.

This is what a mango daiquiri with practically no rum looks like. On the left is a rum punch, which did contain some rum.

We walked around some of the alleys and streets for a while and then sought out our safari transportation back to the ship. After some confusion we found the place where we were supposed to wait for the bus and someone who knew what was going on. At this time we learned that we were going to go back on an old junky looking boat.

The diesel fumes were pretty bad, but we got seats on top. It turned out that the boat trip was narrated, and it was rather enjoyable and probably much better than being on a safari stuck in traffic and listening to some obnoxious jerk behind us talking about all the money he has and why a whole busload of people who had to wait for him because he was late getting back are uptight.

We returned to the ship and relaxed on our wonderful, sunny balcony until it was time to sail. All aboard was at 4:30 and we were to sail at 5:00. At about 4:45 they started calling the names of those who were MIA. There were 6 or 7. They called a few minutes later, and the list was shorter. They called a few minutes after that and the list was down to one couple. 

We watched the longshoremen waiting for the order to cast off the ropes. A few minutes after 5 they did so. We wondered if the missing couple had returned when we were not looking, or if they had been aboard all along and had been located. We wondered if the ship would wait a few minutes for the couple. Once the ropes were releases the ship began to move away from the pier slowly. Just then two people came running through the terminal area and onto the pier. We had a good view of this dockside drama, but once they got to the pier and ran along the side of the ship, we weren't able to see them, so we didn't know if they made it before the gangway was pulled up. It seemed unlikely.

As the ship moved farther away from the dock it began to pull out into the harbor. Shortly we cleared the dock and could then clearly see a very empty dock . . . Except for the port agent and a two other people.

I thought I knew what bad karma was. Here is what it really looks like.

Sinkits - January 10

As I was going to Saint Kitts,

On a cruise ship with quaint Brits,

We went ashore in Basseterre

Our taxi driver was waiting there.

We passed some vendors hawking trinkets.

"Welcome," said our guide, "to Sinkits."

Yeah. Apparently it rhymes with trinkets.

This was our first time in St. Kitts. We picked up a taxi tour at the dock. Two other couples from the ship completed our group.

We saw a few things in Basseterre, but I wasn't always sure what they were.

T

Our first stop was Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was worth it just for the view, but it was a cool fort, too.

On the road to the fort we drove through a forest and a green vervet came running down the road. At first I thought it was a dog. These monkeys are not native to St. Kitts. They were brought here by the French as pets and got loose. Oh, what a surprise. Now they outnumber the people on the island. Our photo came out as a dark green nothing. I fiddled around with Photos, changed it to black and white, adjusted something, and got a photo of either Bigfoot or a wild monkey.


The drive up to the fort was very steep, and at one point we got stuck on some rocks. When we got to the top, one of the passengers said he smelled something like burned rubber, so the driver checked out the wheels.


Here are some photos taken from the fort.

We circumnavigated most of the island. Here are some of the sights we saw:

An egret tree. They like this tree because it is thorny and keeps the egg-stealing rodents away.

An abandoned sugar mill. Sugar is no longer produced on St. Kitts.

I bought some pear soda and plantain chips at De Bamboo Pub

 

This area is known as Black Rocks

The Atlantic is on the left, and the Caribbean is on the right. Robert Redford's house is on one of those hills.

A lot of these tiny Caribbean countries without much of an economy have figured out how to achieve 98% literacy and universal free health care. Sinkits is one of them. The island is clean and tidy, too. 

In the evening we listened to a duo consisting of steel drums and electric violin. Very nice.

Becoming a Horsewoman - January 9

I went to the International Pony Club. Doesn't that sound posh? Ladies in hats sipping on mint juleps and gentlemen in blazers drinking gin. . .

There was no "clubhouse" - the office was closer to a shack, with outdoor bathrooms (yes, flush toilets, at least), a chicken coop (fresh eggs $1.00), and a couple of goats.

There were six aspiring horsewomen and one obliging husband (not mine). We each got a hair net and a riding helmet. Then we each got a horse.

Here I am on Stumpy

Our group followed AJ down a wide trail. It was rocky, rutted and unpaved. Not to mention steep. At first I thought it was an alley. I later decided it was not a wide trail, but a narrow road. There were houses facing it with driveways accessing the houses from this road. There was even a little (very little) store or bar or something along the road. A few cars drove by - slowly. Good old Stumpy did a great job on this trail/road.

We rode for about 45 minutes and arrived at a beach. It was one of those nice crescent bays with white sand and blue water. This beach was practically empty. It had practically nothing in the way of tourist infrastructure.

We rode to the other end of the beach and parked the horses. There was a little shack of a store there, and a bunch of dogs lying around.

The dogs did not even bat an eyelash when we rode by them. Then a car appeared out of nowhere. It had some of those little frou-frou dogs inside. The beach dogs went crazy. They all chased the car and barked insanely. One of the dogs ran backwards in front of the car, barking, about 6 inches from the bumper.

The trail bosses unsaddled the horses so we could ride bareback in the water. It was really fun. I have always wanted to do this. Ken has never wanted to do this. 

You never know what you are going to see at the beach.

After some beach time we headed back to the International Pony Club. As we entered the paddock, the heavens opened and it rained hard for about 15 minutes. Then it stopped and we were driven back to Castries and the ship. (I'm not sure that's a good name for a capital. What do you think?)

It is about half an hour to the ship, so we learned a little about St. Lucia (loo'-sha), pop. 170,000. The local language is Creole, but everyone learns English in school. The literacy rate is 99%.They have a good education system, including several off-shore medical schools. I'm not sure, but I think our guide said college was free. 

The island is volcanic and has two distinctive peaks called either the Pitons, or the Dolly Partons, depending on who you talk to. The Pitons are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We tried a local dish called Roti. It is a piece of dough (like a thick tortilla) rolled up around curried vegetables, with or without meat. It was good.

Auto-correct is not trustworthy!! Be warned.

Barbados - January 8

I got this. Pack up a towel and sun block. Walk off the ship, grab a taxi, and head for the beach. I could get used to this.

Today we went to Carlisle Bay Beach, just on the other side of Bridgetown from the cruise dock. The weather was perfect and the beach was perfect. The sand was perfect and the water was perfect.

You can see the cruise ship from Carlisle Bay.

This little guy (gal?) ran under my chair.

It ran sideways, and it was very fast.

When we got back we ordered afternoon tea from room service and feasted on scones, tea sandwiches, cakes and cookies. We were so busy eating we forgot to take photos.

Our travel agent gave us a wonderful gift - The Ultimate Balcony Dinner. (Thanks, Debbie!) The Ultimate Balcony Dinner lived up to its name.

As we sailed away from Barbados, our own personal waiter spread a linen tablecloth on our table and served us cocktails and crabmeat in puff pastry. Oh, no! Our little friend from the beach . . . .

Mojitos are always a good choice under these circumstances. Next we had salad and one of the ship's photographers took some photos of us.  

Then a delicious surf and turf main course with champagne.

Finally, a fabulous chocolate concoction as we enjoyed the balmy Caribbean weather. But there was even more. Chocolate-covered strawberries, cookies and candies. We were too stuffed, so we saved the goodies for another day. Our balcony dinner was such a treat.

for our final activity of the day we went to the piano longe to hear Kory Simon. He is a talented pianist/singer/entertainer. This evening he had a trivia game for us - a combination of Name That Tune, Finish the Verse, and What Movie Is It From? He made it so much fun with his zany commentary.

"Sailed Off to Antigua . . . It Took Us Three Days on a Boat" - January 7

Listen to Jimmy Buffet to get in the mood for the beach: Fins

Today we arrived at St. John's, Antigua. There's not much here, but Antigua is known for having 365 beaches. That's really all you need to know.

We got a cab from the port to Dickenson Beach. (Add link to previous visit). Our driver, Joseph, was very nice and offered to come back for us whenever we wanted to leave. 

The beach was lovely. We rented chairs and an umbrella from the same Rasta man who was there last time. The water was only cold for about five seconds and then it was great.

There were all kinds of interesting things to see at the beach:

Here is my campsite:

The weather was so-so. It was overcast off and on and almost hot, but not hot like beach weather should be. It rained a couple of times while we're at the beach. 

I find it very amusing that people will go to a beach to get sun and then sit under an umbrella. They go into the water, but if it starts to rain, they come running out of the water and and get under their umbrellas. (Sometimes you might want to leave a beach when lightning is a concern, but that was not the case here.) 

After the ship sailed the water got a little rough. Since we are in a cabin on the very aft, we could really feel it. We took ourselves down to the piazza and it was very nice there.

For dinner we decided to try the new gastropub, The Salty Dog. It has been developed by Ernesto Uchimura, a well-known chef from LA. It is wonderful that Princess is trying new things and adding variety to the dining experiences available onboard. It is past time they updated some of their menus.

That being said, this new restaurant needs to be tweaked a bit. It is innovative, but it is confusing, and not everything is good. It is too similar to SHARE, the other new restaurant.

First the waitress brought out three things. One tray had three breadsticks with a small container of cheese dip.

The next item was a bowl of super garlicky French fries.

I am not a garlic fan. She had previously told us we could have either the standard fries or sweet potato fries. Due to garbled communication we got the standard fries without being able to order the sweet potato ones. 

The third thing that came out was a salad on a small tray. It came with three little bowls on the tray - ketchup, barbecue sauce, and garlic mayonnaise. It was not clear what the sauces were for. The salad? Apparently they were for the fries, though they were on the salad tray. The salad had prosciutto and a thin slice of brioche on top and artichokes underneath, again in threes. It is always a little awkward when two people are served three of something. The salad was very hard to eat. I tried to put some of it on my tiny little plate using my fork and knife (all I had) and it was almost impossible. It was also almost impossible to get the pieces of lettuce onto my fork. The whole thing was weird.

We could order three main courses each from a list of about 10 or 12. I ordered a crab cake, asparagus and some kind of broiled cheese, and cauliflower with a mild curry and raisins. The crab cake was terrible. The asparagus and cheese was quite good. The cauliflower was too spicy for my wimpy spice tolerance level. I don't think the menu described this item well.

A person - maitre d'? - expressed concern and offered to get me something else but also seemed to imply that it was my fault for ordering the cauliflower.

I will try to upload some photos tomorrow. It's kind of late now.

After dinner we saw the new show that just opened a couple of weeks ago. It is called Magic To Do. It was developed for Princess by Steven Schwartz, who wrote the music for Wicked and some other Broadway shows. This new show was far superior to anything we have seen on Princess before. The performers were very good, and all other aspects of the show were impressive. I would love to see it again.