St Thomas, USVI

3/13/12
St Thomas, USVI
18 20.21 N 64 55.90 W


Today (Thurs 13th March) we motor sailed to the US Virgin Islands – we are now anchored in the capital of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Charlotte Amalie Harbour named after a Danish Queen, on the island of St Thomas right next to the cruise ship parking lot – there are 5 cruise ships in port at present.  We only called in here to complete checking in formalities and will probably leave tomorrow for the island of St John – a much quieter island made up of National and Marine Parks with rules and regulations but that is how they manage to keep the island and surrounding reefs beautiful – and it is too shallow for cruise ships – yea !!! We found out after arriving and making a phone call that they weren't interested in us checking in anyway as we had come from Puerto Rico – all considered part of the USA as far as Customs and Border Protection are concerned.

Apart from the cruise ship crowds and all the jewellery shops and hand bag shops (which it is perceived that cruise ship passengers want to buy because it is duty free and so cheap but always seem to be empty even when the ships are in town) it was a good opportunity to stock up on some perishable supplies. Though not perishable, rum evaporates very quickly in this climate so at $9 a bottle (for good stuff too) some found it's way into the shopping cart.

The narrow alleyways between the old colonial stone buildings near the waterfront in Charlotte Amalie were fascinating and cool to wander through.