After being at sea between Galveston and San Juan, we were happy to be on land for two days in a row.
I fell in love with St. Thomas, to the point I had Curtis checking out flights for a future trip. This would be a great island to spend a few low-key weeks. We found a couple of cute eateries. At Jen’s Island Café on Emancipation Gardens Park, the waitress/bartender talked me into a spicy Bloody Mary (just the way I like it!). And Lois and I split an ahi tuna wrap at Bumpa’s, overlooking the main harbor. It came with a nice bow-tie pasta salad and a beautiful view.
After lunch we took a tour around the island on an open-air ‘bus’. We went up to Mountain Top for beautiful views and refreshing banana daiquiris. Other stops included Drake’s Seat, Magens Bay, and Sapphire Beach. Both beaches are beautiful and are worth a longer visit. Sapphire Beach also had a nice bar with a live band.
As with all cruise ship stops, all we got was a little taste, but it was enough to pique my interest!
So now we’re on day four of our Atlantic crossing. We’ve decided we’re not cruise people. We can’t wait to reach port. Just seeing another ship in the distance today felt like we might be reaching civilization, even though we know we’re not. We’re going approximately 25 miles an hour across this pond. And except for the freighter this afternoon, all we’ve seen for four days is water. The true cruise people love sea days. We’ve met many people who are cruising to Barcelona then taking one or two cruises after this one before going home. We’ve met people who are going straight home from Barcelona. Lois and I just see this as transportation, and our vacation will not even begin until we get to Barcelona.
The water has been so calm since we left the Leeward Islands. We didn’t know what the sea would be like, but would never have expected the water to be calm as glass. We feel like King Neptune has been kind to us.
Speaking of King Neptune, we had a Crossing the Atlantic ceremony on our second sea day after leaving St. Thomas. The crew had fun with the ceremony; crew members had allegedly been caught breaking ship rules, such as stealing paper clips, bringing down the iron fist of King Neptune. They were punished for their crimes by having food – raw eggs, cream pies, whole fish, and cooked spaghetti – smashed over their heads and shoulders.
Our next stop is Ponta Delgada, in the Portuguese Azores archipelago. We’ve booked a whale watching excursion in the morning, then we have the afternoon free. April and May are the best months to see whales here, so we’re hopeful!
