March 11 — St. Elsewhere

March 11, 2022

We arrived at our anchorage in the harbor at Gustavia, St. Barts. When they tried to lower the lifeboats, it was determined that it was too windy to conduct a safe tender operation today. But, said the Captain, they were obtaining permission to go  to St. Maarten instead, where we would be able to dock. Within an hour we were alongside the dock in Phillipsburg with clearance to disembark. Such efficiency and nimbleness. Thanks, Oh-she-ann-yuh!

The color of the water today was: azure.

We went to the Terrace Cafe for a quick lunch on the outdoor terrace. It was indeed windy today. We saw a literal “flying saucer.”

Then we decided to walk the 1.5 miles into town to get some exercise. It was an unremarkable walk, with the exception of a group of goats grazing in a vacant lot and staring at us like they were the tourists and we were the wildlife.

It’s been at least 25 years since we have  been to St. Maarten, and it is much more built up than we remember. That is not necessarily an improvement. It’s mostly several new blocks full of joyless little tourist shops, all selling the same crap, mostly from China.

We do remember visiting the charming Guavaberry shop years ago. It was still there, and Ken was able to procure another bottle of their delicious liqueur.

Before I get into our evening, I just want to share one photo of some art on the ship. I will have to get into the ship’s art collection sooner or later, but I couldn’t resist taking this one photo now. It’s one of several installations by glass artist Beverly Albrets, of Naples, FL, located around the ship.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We went to Shabbat services, then had dinner with some folks we met there. It was a very pleasant evening. (The cruise is almost over now, and I have never seen any of the other four couples again. Too bad. It would be fun to talk to them some more.)

This is jumbo shrimp wrapped in zucchini with cappellini.

And this is steak, with frie served in a cute little copper pot.

Now that we’ve been here a few days I have abetter sense of our passengers. About 90% do not wear a mask, even in public spaces, elevators, the theater. We are continuing to weat masks except when outdoors or in our stateroom, and we wash our hands all the time. I don’t know what else we can do other than stay home. 

I would guess that at least 50% of the passengers live in Florida and are able to drive to and from Miami. If they get Covid, they can just drive home. They don’t have to worry about quarantining in a hotel. And who else will be taking another Covid test the day after this cruise ends? Maybe no one else. So we are masking.

Shabbat Shalom!