LOCATION: Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
WEATHER: Mostly sunny. Highs in 80sThe Air B&B renters downstairs left. One of our "jobs" is to wash the sheets and towels in preparation for the next guests. They have a cleaning lady that does the rest. After our little chores, we headed out and up. Our destination today was Mountain Top, the highest point on the island.
We got a little lost going there, so traversed some scenic roads that were quite scary. We passed many homes with million-dollar views.
Finally, we made it to Mountain Top. They serve "The World Famous Banana Daiquiri", so of course we had to check it out.
From the deck, one can see other small islands that make up the US Virgin Islands and several of the British Virgin Islands.
From there, we wound our way back down the mountain to downtown. Today was one of the few days that no cruise ship was in town. It really makes a difference. Many shops and restaurants don't even open on non-cruise ship days. We had lunch at a BBQ place in one of the marinas.
I'm sure I sound like a broken record, but I just can't get over the number of mega-yachts here and the wealth they represent. This one was docked in front of the restaurant.
On our last night here, we will stay in a hotel, once the homeowners return, as they just have one bedroom. We made a reservation in a downtown B&B, and thought we should locate it. We drove around in circles in the historic downtown area, on impossibly narrow streets.
Our homeowners have asked us to pick up their mail periodically in their box at the post office. The system is that you pick up your mail in the box. If you have a slip of yellow paper in your box, this means that you have a package that you need to pick up at the counter. Each time I've checked their mail, there have been such slips. Since shopping is limited on the island, many people order things online and consequently receive lots of packages. Being the Christmas season, it is probably even busier than usual. Today, I had two slips. I waited in line with about 30 other people. And waited, and waited and waited. The lobby was full. Each time someone entered, he would quietly say "Good afternoon". Then, the entire lobby would chorus, like a church congregation, "Good afternoon". This happened over and over. It was quite interesting. Everyone was very polite while waiting. Finally, my name (the homeowners') was called. There was only one package. So, I had to wait until all the other packages were handed out, and had to inform the clerk that I was missing the second package. Off he went again to the back. I waited and waited. Finally, very politely and with apologies, he brought the second one.
Back home, we relaxed around the pool, then watched the sun set from our deck. What a life!
DINNER: Sautéed shrimp in a tomato sauce over rice.
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