Sailing the British Virgin Islands Part I

In April we were able to do something we've dreamed about for years and planned for over a year: sail a small craft through the British Virgin Islands.  We were invited by Bruce and Pat, cousins of our good friends Jon and Geri, to join them as crew of a catamaran.  They've done this trip multiple times; it's one of their "favorite things."  We flew into Charlotte-Amalie, St Thomas, the capitol of the US Virgin Islands, and stayed at a very nice place, the Sunset Gardens, for the next three days.  This is the view from our balcony:

There's a cruise ship to the right; St Thomas is the cruise ship capital of the Caribbean, docking sometimes 5 at a time. 

 We planned the trip without knowing that it was "Carnival" in St Thomas, but that event provided some extra fun.  We shopped a little for T-shirts and ate some local dishes in the cultural fair.  Our favorite? Seafood  Kallaloo! (link to a recipe) It's mixed seafood bits in a soup of greens, like spinach.  Really good!

We hiked all over the downtown area, finding a few geocaches (of course!) as we explored.

This is the entrance to the Hotel 1829, a landmark built that year.  We enjoyed cold drinks on the veranda.  Blackbeard was said to have been in these parts.  There's a distinct "pirate" theme to the islands which adds to the fun, but it's hard to separate fact from lore.

There are beautiful flowers everywhere in the islands, as well as birds that are unique to the Caribbean.  We spent a morning at Magen's Bay Beach, proclaimed by National Geographic to be one of the world's Ten Most Beautiful Beaches.

A couple of the local birds joined us at the beach: a pearly-eyed thrasher and the pretty Bananaquit.

We had a wonderful time at the beach, then went on a taxi tour of the island. 


This is a view of Magen's Bay from the top of the nearby hill:

This is "lobster-claw", a gorgeous tropical plant that is found around the islands.

In downtown Charlotte-Amalie we found an unexpected bit of history: Santa Anna fled from Mexico (one of several times) and lived here in the islands.  This courtyard, along with a well and house, belonged to him and are now a very pleasant outdoor restaurant where we enjoyed some cold drinks and sandwiches.  Next stop: the British Virgin Islands!