St. Thomas, USVI

We arrived in beautiful St. Thomas Friday evening around 9 and were greeted with chilled shots of pineapple and mango rum, the local spirit of choice. It was warm and muggy in the non air conditioned baggage claim and luckily our bags arrived quickly. We were carrying extra weight because I had to pack for my extended trip to New York so we had our hands full.

We jumped into a taxi and shared a ride with a photographer who was in town on business. We had a room reserved at Villa Olga in French Town, which is a short 5-10 minute ride from the airport. We hook a right onto a narrow winding dirt road and pass a baseball field and several bars and restaurants filled with patrons. The field reminds me of the soccer field in Placencia.

Villa Olga's is at the very end of the small road, overlooking the French Town Harbor and the bay on the other side.

It's late but Jill is there awaiting our arrival. She's very friendly and points out some of the great places to eat and drink in the area.

We lug all our our bags up several flights of stairs, pass the nicely lit swimming pool and up another set.

We finally arrive at room #4 and the a/c is blasting! We quickly freshen up and head down to Betsy's Bar for our first taste of rum and pineapple drink on the island. Ahhh! Refreshing! They were very stout drinks, and we both felt toasty after the first round! Local boaters crowded the bar and stories of sailing trips were the talk of the town.

Back in our room, the a/c hummed loudly to remind us that it was working hard. It was a familiar sound, similar to the a/c in our Enfield house which was more like a jet engine taking off than anything else. Non the less, it was a comfortable room with a gorgeous view of the bay. Waves crashed down below us and the silhouette of a nearby island was faint in the distance.

We settled in for a good night's sleep and dreamed about our upcoming adventures.