Author: bdmarsha

Four more Caribbean Islands

Two geeks are heading to the Caribbean in January, this time visiting St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix with a planned day trip to Virgin Gorda.

The U.S. Virgin Islands were purchased from Denmark in 1917. Part of the treaty documenting this transaction also recognizes Denmark’s sovereignty over Greenland. A quote from the internet reads:

The 1916 Treaty of the Danish West Indies, through an accompanying American declaration, included a crucial mention of Greenland: the United States promised it would not object to Denmark extending its political and economic interests to the whole of Greenland.

While the main convention focused on the sale of the islands (St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix) for $25 million in gold, the “Lansing Declaration” (signed by U.S. Secretary of State Robert Lansing) was a key condition demanded by Denmark. At the time, the U.S. had potential claims to parts of northern Greenland based on American expeditions, and the U.S. had previously applied the Monroe Doctrine to limit European colonial expansion in the Americas.

By issuing this declaration, the United States effectively:

Renounced any potential American claims to Greenland.

Recognized Denmark’s sovereignty over the entire island, paving the way for other nations to do the same.

This agreement was integral to securing the transfer of the Danish West Indies (now the U.S. Virgin Islands) to American control in 1917, a move driven by U.S. strategic interests in protecting the Panama Canal during World War I.

This is mentioned here in our blog only because of recent statements by some current U.S. government officials.

Our first (partial) day, wandering without much rest…

The best thing about our long travel day was a Clare side family Zoom at the airport in Denver. Clare heard news from siblings about themselves, our mom and lots of their grandchildren. The later plane, train and taxi rides were all fairly uneventful.

We arrived on St. Thomas Island in the afternoon at the town of Charlotte Amalie, which caters to tourist cruise ships. The taxis, which carry many people, call “Ship, ship!” whenever they saw us, giving people rides back to these giant ships.

Besides people, the most abundant species is chickens, uncaged, roaming the streets. Pretty feathers! Only one small chick.

We wandered around the town, getting a feel and finding possibilities for the next day. Our tiny room, at the top of three flights of stairs sported no microwave or refrigerator, and no restaurant was adjacent. So we needed to find a place to have breakfast.

The courtyard of our lodging, the Midtown Guest House

We visited the Taphus, formerly the name for this entire area. Lots of tap beer at this hus! The buildings in the center of the town are made of stone and brick, dating from the 17th century.

Outdoor stalls selling clothing, mostly.

We walked through tiny alleys and roads, noting that most of the shops sold – can you guess? Jewelry. People stood outside the shops, inviting tourists in with discounts or prizes depending on which cruise ship you were from.

We ate a lite, early dinner and stumbled back to our guest house. Sleeping 12 hours that night helped a lot.

Maps

Using an app on his phone called PolarSteps, Brian tracked his location during the trip. Combined with scans of printed maps, it is easy to see exactly where we were. The large grey dots are places we stayed, underlined in orange on the maps.

Buenos Aires showing drives south to the airport and north to Tigre.

San Carlos de Bariloche, Puerto Varas, and Castro

Punta Arenas, Torres del Paine, and El Calafate

A Hot Day in Buenos Aires

Last Day in South America.

Our friends left yesterday while Brian and Clare stayed one more night to break up the long flights.

The next morning, we thought to get breakfast somewhere besides a hotel, so we marched out onto the streets.

Buenos Aires, at seven AM on a Saturday morning is a lonely place. The streets were empty. None of the shops were open. But the lonely feeling was more than that. For a few weeks, we had visited new places, and everywhere was a friendly face, someone we knew.

We ended up getting breakfast at a McDonalds, the only place we found that was open. The food was different than in the U.S. but OK.

Extravagant statue honoring Manuel Dorrego, former soldier and governor. He was executed after a coup in 1828.

We went back out later to get a jigsaw puzzle that Clare admired at the beginning of this trip, and found a German restaurant for lunch.

View of the Teatro Colón, our goal for the day.

We were scheduled for an English-speaking tour of the famous theater and opera house across the street from our hotel. The theater is known for excellent acoustics. Most of the performances are streamed on YouTube. The tour guide was informative, loving any questions we asked. She told us why the building had so many doors: depending on the price of your seat, you use different doors. People with the least expensive tickets have to stand throughout the performances.

Fancy entrance stairs, only for attendees with expensive tickets

The guide showed us various parts of the building, which was originally completed in the early 20th century.

They recently renovated the building, including the furniture. They tried to replicate the original cloth as much as possible.

In this hall, originally used by wealthy patrons during intermissions, people spoke only in French to indicate their sophistication. Not today!

One hallway featured busts of famous composers whose operas are performed in the opera house.

Inside the main theater, workers were testing the lighting for an upcoming performance. We were allowed to sit quietly in boxes to watch for a while.

Looking across and toward the back. The standing only area was at the top.

Brian sampled some beers, us usual!

Leaving Patagonia

Long travel day, especially for our friends. We took a bus to the Calafate airport and did all the normal travel stuff.

We left our friends as they readied for their flight to the U.S. and walked to the Marriott Hotel, about a mile toward the obelisk on the main boulevard.