So, where were we?
Oh yeah, eating lunch at the top of the hill where Blackbeard's Castle overlooks multiple harbors in
Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas. We intended to hire another cab to take us back downtown, so we could shop for a bit. But it turns out that those who venture up to Blackbeard's Castle without a vehicle of their own, are expected to walk back down, along a path called the
99 Steps.
Yep. 99 steps. Down to the city. 99 of them. All down. In the heat.
Luckily, there were lots of landings, and many amazing things to see on the way down. And for the most part, the stairs were easy. Some were old and maybe a little worn and scary, but most were in good repair. but still, 99 steps... and did I mention that it was hot. And thick?
This is a statue of
The Three Queens
A closer view of them.
Lovely flowers.
We stopped and toured a couple of colonial houses on the way down. They're very old houses, and the wear and tear shows. The back yards are not quite as pretty as the front yards.
The sea air is very hard on paint.
Also on cast iron.
A verandah, facing the harbor.
I snapped this shot before the Docent very kindly told me that no photography was allowed.
About halfway down.
Closer to the bottom.
Another government house. I love the sliding doors.
Finally down at the bottom, we were tired and sweaty and no longer in the mood to shop in town.
Charlotte Amalie is a very old city- the streets are very narrow and the vehicles all think they have the right of way. There were several cruise ships docked that day, so the sidewalks were teeming with tourists. We decided to grab a cab and make our way back to the pier.
Which was as beautiful as ever.
Did I buy anything in St. Thomas?
Um... yeah... Rubies and white gold.
And
Larimar, which was far less expensive in St. Thomas than it was in Nassau and St. Maarten. Though there were wonderful and very expensive pieces, we found some real bargains made from this amazingly beautiful stone (and by bargain, I mean the above earrings and bracelet for $18... total...). That almost made up for the rubies... heh...
Tomorrow: St. Maarten
2 comments:
the larimar is gorgeous ~ don't think I've ever seen it before
wonder how many cabbies chuckle under their breath as they drop unassuming passengers off at the top??
at least you got to go DOWN instead of up, eh?
Melissa- did you see that next July's Alaska Cruise (with Trendsetter Yarns as co-sponsor) is leaving from Seattle? I don't know if I'll be asked to teach, but I'm going to submit proposals for it.
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