San Juan, Our ship, and St Croix

Saturday were got up, packed our bags, then went in search of breakfast in Old San Juan... The doorman at the hotel recommended Malagro, a classic old school dinner a few blocks away...  We sat at the counter... It was old school, not retro, truly old school...  Of great interest was the orange juice machine… a mechanical squiser, with a bin of oranges on top…  The machine is operating as fast as it can trying to keep up... they have to feed the beast... it is tall... of particular note is one shorter, older woman who throws the oranges... she makes a basket... she scores... again and again...

We walked up to the festival for the last time... Things were just starting to open, but it was already noticeably more crowded.  Even as the artist were setting up, the street bars were open, and doing business...  We worked our way down to the Plaza de Armas, got a couple of coffees and sat watching a couple of small children play with the pigeons...  The pigeons were not threatened or scared... The children squealed with delight.

Then back to the hotel to collect our baggage and check out.  Another couple was headed for the boat, so we shared a taxi.   At noon the ride our of old San Juan, to the Pan Am pier where our ship was docked was quick, but traffic inbound was significant.

Once at the pier, the lines to hand off bags, to check in, to have our photos taken, to board, were not just quick, there was really no lines... We were onboard in less than 15 minutes, receiving a glass of champagne as we stepped off the gangway.  The cabins were not yet ready, the passageway blocked by closed fire doors.  We took a few minutes to book some shore excursions... Then lunch in the Bistro on 5... One of several surcharge restaurants on the ship.   It's menu features drapes and paninis... Having eaten, we went off to explore the ship... The room is soon ready, we drop our carry-ons...

St Croix

We docked, 7:30 local time, about an hour after sunrise.  The process, from approach, to gangway down was surreally calm.  Our trip from San Juan was short... And as a result, our speed low... The seas were calm, here in St Croix, in Frederiksted, the seas are glassy.  The ship seemed to simply coast up to the dock.

We walked off, found a shuttle to Christiansted... They drive on the left on St Croix… We pass one of the largest oil refineries in the west… sadly shut down, but possibly reopening… nearby is the Capt Morgan Rum distillery, a similar industrial complex with large storage tanks… It is of course in operation, but closed, for this is Sunday….  There is a Home Depot… it is not closed on Sundays…

Once in Cristinasted,  we walked the boardwalk and explored the National park,  A collection of buildings, once the seat of the Danish colonial government... a customs building with scale,  a fort... (this one yellow) envisioned as a shore battery to defend the island from pirates, the Spanish, the French, and the British...  In fact, it was used to control the enslaved blacks...  across the street stands the church, (part of the National Park) later bakery, hospital, being slowly restored as a church, with donations, not public funds... Never public funds for a church...  This is the problem faced by California's missions, and numerous small churches...

A bit later we pass an active church, and as this was a Sunday, we could hear the hymns of the Sunday service.

St Croix is A place where stores are closed on Sundays... Except the beach bars, rum shops and the tourist stores...  Even without shopping Opportunities the town was interesting... There were Skinny cats, chickens... in the road, under tables… in the beach bar... Wirery chickens... Wary of people... Knowledgeable in the ways of cars, and therefore comfortable crossing the road, not caring about the why... This is after all a Caribbean paradise and we avoid why.

After a couple of beers in the local brew pub (a decent ale, and a nice stout, Tina tried but didn’t like the honey wheat), we returned to Fredikstad, another Danish fort (red this time, third or fourth fort in two islands… I see a theme), and our ship... Now, at a bit after 5:00 the ship has cast off its lines, and we are again at sea…

Now Monday, January 21^st, Dawn, Approaching St Kits…

I rise early (that being the “dawn” thing) and sit in the forward lounge with a cup of coffee and blog (that would be this…)  We are about a mile off, There is a big ship at dock (the Azura),  a third, smaller ship is following us in. There is a barge and tug to our starboard, a tanker is anchored ahead.  Much like yesterday, we are drifting in… slowly, seemingly without effort… but that, will wait for the next post.

P.S.  Word has come from the world away that San Francisco is in the super bowl… Whoopee…