Our February 13th Visit to the US Virgin Islands

On Thursday, February 13th our Royal Caribbean cruise ship Allure of the Seas docked at Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands, a few miles east of Puerto Rico.  The weather was warm and clear...perfect for sightseeing and enjoying the beach.  After disembarking we found our shuttle and rode up a steep, winding road to a mountaintop where stood a large gift shop prominently touting their banana daiquiris.  We strode through it to the back where they were offering the drinks and cut sharp left through the doors to our real destination: the lookout point over Magens Bay Beach to where we were headed (1st photo).  There Melissa and I changed to our swimwear and enjoyed the mild sand and waters (2nd photo) until we all returned the shuttle and headed back up to where we could view the capital city of Charlotte Amalie along with its harbor and outlying islands (3rd photo).  Upon returning there we walked around the stores (4th photo)...most of them jewelers with aggressive salespeople and owners cajoling the pedestrians to enter their stores.  Melissa and I agreed that it was too bad we weren't allotted more time in that "banana daiquiri" store on the mountaintop: they had by far the best selection of items.  Seeing that there wasn't time to enjoy a full meal at one of the local eateries, we decided to split a candy bar and sit on a bench in a little park area until it was time to get back on our shuttle.  A chicken running loose began to approach from our right and I stupidly encouraged it by making eye contact and sweet-talking it.  Then suddenly around the left a horde of chickens came rushing toward us...we quickly left for the safety of the shuttle!  Later that night we watched the stunning, retreating coastline of St. Thomas as we went back out to sea (last photo).,,

The tour guide/driver told us that the U.S. Virgin Islands...which the United States acquired by purchasing it from Denmark...is 99% dependent on tourism for its economy, which distinguishes it somewhat from Puerto Rico.  There was nothing like that beautiful beach we visited, and the mountaintop and hillside views were spectacular.  On the other hand I didn't care all that much for the shopping and the overbearing people trying to push merchandise we didn't want.  Still, if you're ever there and get in the mood for some fried chicken, just reach out and grab one...