Tuesday, January 15, 2002 - St. Thomas Arrived 8:00 a.m./Departed 6:30 p.m.
This is the island where we gave our cameras a rest and concentrated on our shopping in Charlotte Amalie. After all, we had arrived at the commercial trade capital of the Caribbean and there was no possibility that we were leaving this island without our duty-free quality souveniers! Never before had we seen so many gems in so many sizes, shapes and price ranges, all within a 10 block area containing 400 stores - and all that glittered was not only gold. We did find our way over to Magens Bay to spend a couple of hours recouperating from our purchases at the beach party hosted by the Royal Bank. The beer and pizza were compliments of the Bank and the sunshine compliments of the Island.
Just as an aside, Donna felt y'all should be aware that this is where she did almost DIE. Not that she is looking for a lot of sympathy; HOWEVER, we got into an open-air taxi that held approximately 15 people and our "Indy 500" driver took every hair-pin turn going over the mountain with speeds exceeding his speedometer dial.. all the time Donna was gripping onto the roll-bar to avoid being tossed out of the cab. She kept screaming... "I'm going to die - I'm going to die in St. Thomas and I'm going to die falling out of a TAXI CAB!! - I refuse to believe this is MY destiny!!" You can imagine her delight when she heard stories later that evening from other cruisers as to how wonderful their taxi rides were over to Magens Bay... it seems their drivers actually slowed down long enough for them to take pictures from mountaintop! WHATEVER!! next island......
Wednesday, January 16, 2002 - St. Maarten/St. Martin Arrived 8:00 a.m./Departed 3:30 p.m.
St. Martin/St. Maarten is a beautiful 37 square mile island located in the Windward islands of the Caribbean. It is unique because it is the smallest territory in the world shared by two sovereign states. The northern portion is a part of France. The same laws, social services and rights are available to the people on the French side as would be in Paris. The southern part of the island is part of the Netherlands Antilles and has its own Prime Minister and functions with its own government under Dutch law and guidance.
Our ship docked in Philipsburg and we opted to take a narrated island bus tour that also gave us a chance to visit Marigot, the capital of the french side of the island. When we crossed to the French side there was no border patrols or customs officers. The only indications of crossing the border were sign markers and a change in the landscape from the more arid Dutch countryside to the more tropical French side.
When we arrived in Marigot we delightfully found a charming village complete with wrought-iron balconies, colorful awnings and gingerbread trim that decorated the shops and cafes. The French capital is definitely a worthwhile trip.
