Day 3: St. Thomas

We arrived early this morning at St. Thomas. The weather was beautifully clear & very warm! We ate an early breakfast on board the ship, then headed off the ship. We hit Havensight mall first thing on the pier area. There were lots of little shops – selling perfume, jewelry, souvenirs and the like. We meandered through there – then caught a cab to take us over to Maegan’s Bay. The drive across the island was beautiful – and VERY hilly! There are tons of turns and hills (overlooking large cliffs). The cabs there are usually large trucks with built in seating on top of the back of the truck. Pretty interesting – but gives a great view. We arrived at Maegan’s Bay pretty early, and got some great spots right on the beach. We swam around in the water for quite a while before planting it along shore to catch some rays.

After about an hour and a half or so – we left, and went to Blackbeard’s Castle. It was a fun historical visit – then came down through some “original” homes that still had the décor of the day… this led us to 99 steps – another historical place. We pounded down the hill and ate some lunch at a local place – Gladys’ Café. It was yummy food – with fun people there. Someone kept playing “Endless Love” on the stereo in the background – and was belting out the music… but they didn’t really have the best voice. It was pretty comical.

We heard that all the shops closed early because it was Sunday, so we ran out from lunch – split up… Dave went with Jon, and Amber and I went to hit the tent-shops, so we could get some deals. We both found some purses, sarongs and tried our best at bartering… not too effective for a woman to do alone… I’d rather Dave had been there. Nevertheless – it was fun. Dave & Jon had some good luck shopping – the both bought new watches – at a great deal! We met up with the guys in some local shops, and made our way back to Havensight… perused some more, and I found some perfume. I love a good deal!
Once back on the ship – we lounged for a while – I napped, Dave roamed the ship some, and then we decided to go play a round of Miniature golf on the top deck. I lost by one stroke L I was defeated… dangit. After that (and being totally windblown!), we headed down to get ready for our formal night of dinner. Dinner was great, and our service was too. Our waiter – Alberto – was telling us about his schedule etc. on the ship. He is from the Phillipines, and his wife & 4 kids live there… but he works on the ship – 6 months on (straight – no days off!!), then 2 months off. He has been doing this for 17 years, so he can give his family a better go with education and the like… Anyway – he is a really nice guy!After dinner we went up to the Safari club to watch some Karaoke. It was your typical mix – some really good, and others not so much. I finally got the nerve up to go up there, and when I went to sign the list – they were closed for the night L So – I’ll try my luck again on Thursday.