Since my scuba diving tour was cancelled, my plan was just to get on shore and explore the large town of Charlotte Amalie, population of about 8,000 according to Wikipedia. But first, I needed breakfast. Apparently, there were three options: room service, à la carte at Tides Dining Room, or buffet at Windjammer Marketplace. This morning, I decided to try out the buffet, and after picking up some eggs, bacon, and pancakes, I couldn’t find a table, so I finally asked a family of four if I could join them at theirs. Of course was the answer and we got talking. One of the subjects was the large US warship that was docked right next to us.
I ate pretty quickly, grabbed my backpack, and left for deck 2, where I could disembark. The lifts at midship had long queues, so I walked to the front, took the elevator down there, and walked back, much quicker. They scanned my SeaPass upon leaving (guess they want to track who’s on the ship and who’s not), and at 9, I stepped onto the pier.
There were large cabs that could take you “downtown” for $6, but I thought I would walk there and probably take a cab back. During the walk along the waterline, I kept looking at the buildings and cars. Much of it was quite worn down and in bad shape. A cab driver I spoke with later said that much of it was because they were protected as cultural heritage (or such). Well, maybe not the cars. I was a seaplane landing, must be nice to have like 70% of the world as a landing strip. I was surprised to see the cars driving on the left side, usually a sign that it was a part of the British Empire, but the USA bought this island (and a couple of more) from Denmark.
It took me about 25 minutes to reach Fort Christian, which I had set out as the first goal. It was, however, not much to look at. Kept walking for a bit and found my way to a baseball stadium, which I couldn’t see much of either. Next up was some famous 99 steps, but they were closed off for renovation. Not the best track record tourist-wise today. I found a park with a bench in the shade to sit down and rest for a bit. Luckily, some place nearby had an open wifi, so I could get online for a few minutes.
Continued on to a market I passed earlier and found myself a mug for my collection. At 11, I started to look for some transportation back to the ship. It was really warm, and I didn’t really know where to go anyway. While walking along what looked like the large cabs that had picked up people at the pier, a man asked me if I needed help, so I explained that I was looking for a ride to Crown Bay. Apparently, the cars I was looking at were just about to go on a tour. Two other cars pulled up, but when he asked, they were going to the other pier. Then a woman came up and asked him where I was going, and then asked if she should take me. Yes please! So we jumped into her personal car (it looked like) and took off. The ride is just a few minutes, and we managed to go through a couple of subjects. When she dropped me off and I asked how much it would cost me, she said $6. I had expected more since it was a “private drive”, but thanked her and wished her a beautiful day.
When I entered the marina again, a guy asked me if it was my ship and pointed at the warship. “Yeah, I’m taking it home”, I said as a joke, but then he said, “Drive safe and thank you for your service”. Not often do I get mistaken for being in the US Navy.
At the boarding area, on the pier, they had a sofa and a couple of chairs, so I sat down and began looking at the warship. Google Gemini helped me identify it as USS San Antonio. I watched it depart, while soldiers and sailors standing on deck waved back to people on the pier. People were still leaving the ship, either to go to town or go on an excursion.
When I got on board, I switched to swimming gear and went up to the adult pool again. It’s a nice temperature in there, lots of sunbeds, and not so noisy. I got into the pool to cool off and then lay down to read. I had some feeling I should do more, but on the other hand, doing nothing (except reading) is probably a valid activity when you’re on vacation.
When the time was approaching 14, I went down to my cabin to grab my laptop to watch the game between the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings. I returned to the Solarium once again, but took a table this time. They had started to serve afternoon pizza, so I got a couple of slices since I never had lunch in town as I had thought.
Two different people came by and asked how I watched the game. They were Packers fans as well, and a couple of them had even season tickets. The mom had waited 34 years before being eligible to buy in. After halftime, Henry and his grandfather, Tom, joined me at my table, and we watched together. The guys in green and gold played very well and won convincingly.
After the game, I went back to my cabin for a shower, and then I tried the dinner at Windjammer Marketplace, which had a buffet now as well. Got me some minute steak and mashed potatoes while reading. Sat by the window, but couldn’t see anything because it was pitch black outside.
I went up to the pool deck to watch the fourth quarter between the Jaguars vs the Cardinals on the large screen. One of the sons I met at breakfast showed up and joined me. He was a native puertorican so the heat wasn’t an issue for him. I, however, liked it more now when the sun had come down.
I ended the evening in the bar The Pitstop, watching the Chargers vs the Buccaneers while writing this post. Tomorrow it’s time to meet my father and aunt, who happen to be here at Sint Maarten at the same time.