St. Thomas, Part 3...

It was the Thursday of our trip before we got into the town of St. Thomas.  Tuesday and Wednesday  saw several cruise ships in the harbor, 6 on Tuesday and 5 on Wednesday.  And just in case you don't know how that works, each of the big ships carries about 5,000 passengers and 1,000 crew, so when these 6 ships hit the port, there was the potential of 30,000 +/- hitting that small town for a whole day of elbow to elbow shopping in a duty-free port.  Our travel agent, all the hotel people, and the restaurant people all told us that this was something we should avoid if possible.  So we held off until Thursday.

In order to get to town from the hotel, one has two options -- the kamikaze cabs or the water taxi.  We chose the water taxi as having the greater chance of getting there and back alive.  It cost $14 per person each way, but very enjoyable and relaxing.

The actual "downtown" area of the town of St. Thomas isn't very big -- only about three blocks deep and maybe 15 blocks long.  However, as I mentioned before, it is a duty-free town so prices there are quite a bit lower than they are back on the mainland.  St. Thomas is part of the U.S., so it's is sometimes easy to say back in the states, but they will correct you on that.  It's "back on the mainland."  Three very interesting things that pop up quickly are 1) there are reportedly 95 jewelry stores in this small town, 2) I did not see any trash on the streets anywhere, and 3) you can barter on prices and not fear getting ripped off.  The tourist business is way too important to allow tourist and ship goers to get ripped off and not come back. 

 All of the shops are connected with little shaded walkways in-between.  This is very appealing as the breezes just gently work their way through the "alleys" giving the tourists a place to cool off, have a drink and savor their purchases.

At the far end of the town, there was a little "tent city" where local vendors had a flea market.  This was the area where you could buy all the T-shirts and trinkets you could carry.  If you were looking to do some bargaining, this was the place. 

There was also a very nice Italian restaurant that all the hotel people recommended.  You needed to make reservations, but since we were going there for lunch, we were able to walk in even though our reservation was for an hour later.  Good food and good atmosphere.

As we worked our way back to the water taxi stand, we came across an old fort that overlooked the bay.  It was being restored, and the guy standing out front had no idea when it would reopen.  I get the feeling that the term "island time" is a universally accepted way of life there.  Things move at a much slower pace, but people are very friendly and easily approachable to talk to, ask directions or just pass the time of day.  That was refreshing and seemed pretty genuine.

We only spent a day in town.  Not really there for a shopping trip.  Besides, I remembered an old Army saying  that I "learned" in the desert -- "If you bring (buy) it, you have to carry it."  I suppose one can spend a great deal of money in this small town, but, again, I am a firm believer that you shouldn't measure the worth of a vacation by how much money you spend.  If that's the case, then something is out of kilter. 

Vacation: a period of travel and relaxation when you take twice the clothes (true) and half the money you need. (Author Unknown)

Hooah