St. Thomas

What a great day!

We woke up chipper and ready to go. After breakfast, we did the cultural stuff in Charlotte Amalie. The “Trail of 99 Steps” (meaning stairs) was calling. This led to Black Beard’s Castle at the top of a hill, which might not ever have housed the famous pirate, but now showed beautiful sculptures of a wide variety of possible pirates. The views of the bay and surrounding lands were spectacular!

Many of the narrow streets are one-way.
Lots of the narrow streets are gades, Danish for road or street..
Some buildings still show signs of hurricane damage.
A famous impressionist artist grew up here.
We had breakfast the second morning here. Some Christmas decorations are still around.
Interesting building for a church
Do we dare?
It took some time.
Panorama from top

And, around the castle.

Many names show Danish history.
So many great statues! The bottom left photo is of the “Three Queens,” former slaves who led a revolt against the Danish government in 1878.
Tower in the castle with the U.S. Virgin Islands flag.
I should have left him there…wait what?!
Picturesque fountain on the way down the hill
This Lutheran church, dating from 1793, is one of the oldest in the Western Hemisphere.

Exploration continued at the bottom of the stairs, at an old fort with a long history. We had noticed the fort the first day we arrived, because the red walls with green shutters set a striking image.

The receptionist told us to start our self-guided tour in the dungeon —would we ever escape?

Fort Christian
Queen Charlotte Amalie
Portrait of a slave
King Christian IX granted freedom to all Danish slaves in 1848.

Although a lot of objects were exhibited, not much explanation was available. That was OK. It’s fun to explore a place built in 1671.

Governor’s Quarters
Tea service
Kitchen
Cutaway of wall showing bricks beneath plaster

Next, we walked through the Emancipation Park, with its statues, monuments and Christmas decorations. Then a quick lunch, so we could get ready for our next adventure.

Monument commemorating landing of Englishmen bound for Virginia.
Freedom statue in Emancipation Park
Stone House Bar & Restaurant, in an old stone and brick building typical of the Charlotte Amalie waterfront

After lunch, we packed up our gear and hired a taxi, arriving in Sapphire Beach for a stay in a condominium. We set down our stuff and walked directly to the beach!

Our condo is in the first building.
View of the small harbor from our balcony
View from the far end of the beach
Sapphire Beach was busy in the afternoon.

In this area, iguanas are as populous as the chickens were at the last town. Still quite a few chickens as well. Many iguanas were right outside our door, with some interesting color and size variations.

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