Gallows Bay,
Christiansted,
St. Croix, USVI
17.44.911N
64.41.908W

We had hoped to get an early start touring the island today but since we needed to get a car rental agency that would pick us up and drop us off when we were done, we were at their mercy. We found one but by the time we actually got the car, it was after 10 am.

We began our tour of the island at the Whim Estate Museum. Whim is a restored sugar plantation from the mid-1700’s. I was particularly interested in the antique furniture and furnishings of the great house which were from the same time period though not the original furnishings. Regrettably, they didn’t allow photographs of the interior. I was able to snap a few of the outside, the windmill and the animal mill.

We next ventured to the top of St. Croix’s semi (as in it doesn’t get the full 200” to qualify) rain forest to where wood workers collect trees that have naturally fallen to carve their pieces. I was a little disappointed in this stop because it ended up being just a big barn. Although I have to admit, the wood carvings within the barn were pretty cool.

Our next stop was the Carambola Golf Course to pick up a couple of souvenir golf balls. After that we stopped for a quick lunch and then headed to the Cruzan Rum Factory. Now, I admit that every island has it’s own brand of rum but if you don’t stop and tour each and every one of them (sampling a taste or two) how will you know which is the best?

I wanted to continue with St. George’s Botanical Gardens but Dale said no; that he’d seen enough botanical gardens to last him for awhile. We also missed the beer swilling pigs and the crab races but we’ll have something to see if we ever make it back.

We made a mad dash back to downtown Christensted so that we could obtain the blessings of the National Park Service before they closed in order to spend the night at Buck Island tomorrow. We made it, but then were told that they wanted copies of our boat papers which we hadn’t brought with us. They were very helpful in saying that we only needed to copy them, fill out the request form and drop them in the door tomorrow morning when we dropped the car back off.

Back at the marina we learned that our mail had arrived. We took the next hour sorting through it before heading out to dinner at a little place Bruce (the outboard repair guy) told us about. Although the outside of a pub called “No Bones” wouldn’t have enticed us in, the recommendation for a good steak house was a good one.

Now that we’re getting ready to leave, we both agree that we thoroughly enjoyed our stay here, although we rocked quite a bit at the dock. Still, the people at the marina, the restaurant, the repair facility and everyone we’ve met, have been wonderful and made our visit very pleasant. In fact, we’d like to come back and check out the marina at Green Cay. Hopefully, it’s a bit more protected and doesn’t suffer from the constant rocking.