Lights on the bay,
originally uploaded by serdir (at home).

8 Days to Embarkation

Someone else took this picture of Charlotte Amelie, St. Thomas. This will be one of our ports of call.  That may even be our ship in the foreground.  Although it is the capital of the US Virgin Islands, its population is only about 19,000 –  not very many people to divvy up the money spent by about 2 million tourists per year.

Although I’ve heard that the shopping is good here, I really haven’t seen anything online to confirm that.   Frankly, I’m not much of a shopper.  The exception to that is that Joy and I really love having art from our travels around our house.  So, if you can recommend a gallery or artist, we’d love a heads up.  (That goes for any of our ports of call.)  I’m going to start lobbying Joy now for a trip to Camille Pissaro Art Gallery.  Not only does it sell local art, but it is also where Pissaro was born in 1830.

Coki Beach on the northern shore is supposed to be one of the best places to snorkel in the Caribbean.  Unfortunately, it is said to be quite crowded when the cruise ships (we) are in harbor.  This will probably be the first opportunity we have to dip mask in water.  It has been way too long.  We learned at Hanauma Bay in Hawaii that it pays to be there before the tour buses if you want the best experience.  Joy, do you want to go for an early breakfast than grab the first cab we can get after disembarking the ship at 7:30 am?

After we try to beat the crowds to Coki Beach for some snorkeling, we could head to the top of the mountain for a view of Magen’s Bay.  Of course, if we want to just do a little swimming we may go straight to the beach at Magen’s Bay and give it a try. Anybody want to share a cab?

Hopefully, we can grab lunch at the Fat Turtle or Wikked (or is the yacht haven too far from where the ship will be?).  If there is any time left we’ll hit the art gallery and maybe do a little shopping before re-boarding the ship for our evening meal.  Am I missing anything that should not be missed?  Heah, what do you think the comments are for, anyway?