Carnival Liberty docked in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

We got off Carnival Liberty on a beautiful sunny day in St. Thomas without any definite plans other than going on the skyride at some point. Sometimes we plan an excursion, but at other ports we just get off the boat and see what’s there.   A slew of taxis waited by the dock, loading groups of passengers in a taxi van for a $4 trip to town.  We hopped in, unfortunately the first ones in that van, so we had to wait for others to join in and fill it up before it left for town.

tourist shopping district, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

The van let everyone off in the touristy shopping district.  We got out next to the shop that had free tanzanite earrings for people who had cards from the port shopping lecture.  After visiting a few other stores to collect the free things they offered to entice shoppers in so they could try and get them to spend money, we  wandered down to the road on the waterfront.  We took a few photos of the Carnival Liberty, some including the Royal Caribbean and Celebrity ships docked near us.

Jewelry booth in St. Thomas

John spied a little flea market across the road set up under a sea of blue tents.  Before we had time to look at much of anything, a little old local guy said he had a bus tour leaving in 10 minutes.  We like random bus tours, and they’re cheap, so we signed up.  We had just time to look at one booth before getting on the bus.  I found a Larimar bracelet I liked for $10.  Unfortunately it did not have the best clasp and I lost it at the airport on the way home.

random bus tour

Within minutes of getting on the bus, it started sprinkling a bit.  We timed that right, getting under shelter since we left the boat in bright sunshine and had not dressed for rain.  About as quickly as it started, the rain stopped and the sun shone again.

Saint Thomas has some pretty big hills with narrow roads winding steeply up, down, and through many Y-style intersections.  When a truck passes by a bus, somebody hangs off into the dirt on the side of the road in some places because even though it is a two lane street it is not wide enough for large vehicles going both directions.  That did not seem to bother any of the drivers.  They’re used to it, they drive those roads every day.  On the wrong side.  The island did not always belong to the USA, so they drive on the opposite side like people in England or Australia.

Magens Bay from above

First the bus stopped at a viewpoint on a hillside where we got some nice pictures of the ship from above.  Next we viewed Magens Bay.  From there we could also see St. John and Tortola. St. John belongs to the US, but Tortola is British.  We came in on the Caribbean side of the island.  From the viewpoint above Magens Bay we looked out on the Atlantic side.  The Virgin Islands lie at the border of the two seas.  A little old guy with a donkey hung around that viewpoint, making his living from people who would give him a few bucks to pose for pictures.  Some interesting plants grew there as well.

Local’s homes in St Thomas

After a short trip downhill, the bus pulled into a parking lot.  From the balcony behind a small local fast food place and gift shop, our guide pointed out areas on the hillsides and in the valley where local people live and shop.  The gift shop had a shirt that would have been the perfect gift for my son, Chris, if it had not had long sleeves.

too bad this wasn’t a t-shirt

Finally he took us to Iggies Beach Bar at Bolongo Bay. He said the resort next to it was the top resort of the area.  It looked pretty peaceful.  It had a nice sandy beach, lots of iguanas wandering around, a hammock strung between two coconut trees for laying in the sun, and jet skies sitting in the serene blue water of the cove with a kayak paddling around behind them.  If anyone wanted to stay for a swim and join the next tour through on that bus, they had that option.   One family considered it, but then decided not to because they did not want to get left that far from the boat in case the next tour ran later than planned.  We had some time to relax on the beach, taking photos and testing the hammock.  Some of the other people tested the drinks at Iggies bar instead.

Iggies Beach Bar at Bolongo Bay

After the tour, the driver dropped most of the other people at the shopping mall near the cruise ship dock and the rest a bit closer to the ship.  We stayed on the bus just a bit longer than everyone else.  He let us off in front of the St. Thomas Skyride on his way back to town.

Lizard at Bolongo Bay

beach at Bolongo Bay