One of my favorite parts of the cruise was to wake up and immediately go outside on our balcony to see our new port of call. The picture above is my reflection in the balcony doors with St.Thomas behind me.At St. Thomas, we did the Magen’s Bay/Blackbeard’s Castle excursion. We loved it! Our excursion began with a tour of the island in an open-air safari vehicle en route to Magen’s Bay. We started on the Caribbean Sea side of the island and ended at the Atlantic Ocean side of the island. Even though St. Thomas is a U.S. Territory, the cars drive on the left-hand side of the road, which is really odd given the cars are made for American driving and have the steering wheel on the left side. Below are pictures I took from the Caribbean side of the island.
Above is an iguana in a tree. We saw these large creatures roaming all over the island. Next, our tour took us to a scenic overlook on the Atlantic side of the island. The first picture is of beautiful Magen’s Bay; one of the top 10 beaches in the world.
Our next stop was Magen’s Bay, and it lived up to its reputation. Gorgeous, tranquil blue water, white sand, and few crowds. The water was so clear, you could be in it up to your chest and still see your feet. You could also see the fish swimming around your feet. This gave me the willies, but Scott thought it was neat. We also enjoyed watching the occasional pelican or seagull dive head-first into the water and pop up with a fish in its beak. Below are pictures of Magen’s Bay.
After we spent a couple of hours relaxing at Magen’s Bay, it was time to set off for Blackbeard’s Castle. What could be better than pirates and rum? Blackbeard’s Castle was never owned by Blackbeard, rather it was a Dutch watch tower used to keep a watch out for pirates and shoot them when necessary. Today, it’s a fun tourist stop and the place where Blackbeard’s Castle Rum is aged and bottled. We enjoyed tasting the varieties of rum available for sale. After touring Blackbeard’s Castle, we began the 99 steps down to the Charlotte Amalie and the shopping district; stopping here and there to check out the various shops and sites. 
Giant statue of Blackbeard (Edward Teach).
Blackbeard’s Castle
Learning about the rum.
At the top of Blackbeard’s Castle.
Walking the famous 99 Steps.
Above me, in the tree, is a rather large iguana.
Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas.As we set sail on the water taxi to go back to our ship, one of the workers on the water taxi told us a funny story. Not too long ago that year, the weather on St. Thomas got down to 64 degrees. The people were frantic. They flocked to K-Mart in search of parkas, gloves and ear muffs. They called it a “blizzard” and decided it was too cold to send their kids to school. I guess if the average temperature year-round is 80 degrees, 64 degrees can feel pretty cold. It’s all relative.
We had a wonderful day in St. Thomas and, without a doubt, it was our favorite island!
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