10th March

18 20 N
64 56 W

Weather: sunny with late showers, wind n/a, waves n/a

It was almost like being at home over night, we have spent so much time here in Charlotte Amalie! I think we all slept reasonably well but were up at the usual sort of time needing a coffee fix to get going for the day, I also talked Gerry into making McCoopers for breakfast - a variation on the famous McDonalds sausage McMuffin. Maz thought we were joking about them until they came out of the oven, she didn't leave any so I guess they went down OK! Gerry had a text message from Kirk, who had snuck into the harbor when we weren't looking yesterday, asking if he could hitch a dinghy ride from us into the main town area as he was going out to catch a flight to Jamaica chasing a job and didn't want to leave his dinghy at the dock for 2-3 days. We had sort of planned to take Maz in to have a look around the town so we adjusted our time frame to fit Kirk's need into the equation. We had late showers and collected our trash together to take ashore at the same time and just before lunch time headed over to Kirk's boat to pick him up, our dinghy was definitely down by the stern with everyone, luggage and trash on board so it was a slow and short trip into the town dock. It was a little early for Kirk to go to the airport so we elected to go to our favourite coffee shop and imbibe there for a while. Kirk was the first to leave, catching a taxi out to the airport. We paid a short visit to Moe's supermarket so that Maz could buy her bottles of rum to take back to New Zealand tomorrow then we walked down the "tourist hot spot" street that has all the duty free and jewelry stores, with the vendors trying their hardest to get you to come into their store and spend your billions of dollars on sparkly stuff - we avoided them all! We wound up at the end of the old district and pointed out to Maz where the famous 99 (103 in reality!) steps are located as she had expressed a desire to climb them. As Gerry and I have already climbed them this trip we decided that we didn't need to do it again but were quite happy to wait for Maz whilst she did it. We tossed up about how hungry we were - to decide if we really wanted a roti or just a cold drink, the cold drink won out and Gerry and I pointed out the Tea Garden shop and told Maz we would wait for her there. Off she went with instructions to take photos to prove that she actually climbed the steps and we went to the tea shop. This was the first time we had been inside and were pleasantly surprised with the place, I ordered a cold Passionfruit and Ginger tea from the vast menu of different teas and infusions and Gerry had a beer. The place suddenly filled with a group of tourists from one of the cruise liners who had bit of paper in hand, the lady behind the counter gave them a sample of a tea and asked them to name the tropical fruit that it was made from, there were several guesses and finally someone guessed correctly and she handed them a piece of paper and the group took off. We started talking to her and discovered that one of the cruise liners has a "Fantastic Race" and that the tea shop is the second stop of the race - each stop has a task that has to be completed before they get their next clue. When there was no one else in the shop to guess the clue she poured a small cup for us to have a guess at - we didn't even need to taste it, one sniff and we were well on to it - sorry I can't tell you what it is, but we were incredulous at some of the guesses that people made when to us it was so obvious! The lady then showed us the next clue and we knew straight away where they were headed next, sorry again I can't tell you where but what I will say is that the entire race takes you to all the walking high and historically important spots of the town area. I have no idea if there is a prize at the end but it would be a good way to discover the town area of St Thomas especially if you only have a limited stop over here. We chatted to the lady for some time, she had some interesting insights into the Virgin Islands and also Puerto Rico having spent many years in both. Eventually Maz joined us, a bit hot and sweaty, having climbed the steps and also done the slight extension walk to Blackbeard's castle (still closed but just visible from the street) and the Three Queens Fountain. I never did see any photos she might have taken so have no solid proof that she did any of it but we'll take her word for it just this once! Maz joined us for a drink and we chatted for a little longer with the lady behind the counter before paying up and leaving. We did a small detour around the straw market to see if there was anything that Maz could buy for her mum as a souvenir but came away with nothing that Maz thought Margaret would like. From there it was a short road crossing to the dinghy and we were on our way back out to our boat. What was left of the afternoon was spent sitting in the cockpit sucking in the sun's rays and watching the clouds gathering over the surrounding hills. By 5pm Gerry was dozing and it looked like we were about to get hit with a downpour so Maz and I closed up the boat enclosure and all the hatches - that stopped the clouds from dropping their load! We hung around for another hour and then headed into the cruise liner dinghy dock as we were going to spend Maz's last evening at the Navy Beach bar and restaurant, a short distance from the dinghy dock. It was fairly empty when we arrived but a few people drifted in during the time we were there. So we had dinner, overlooking the Yacht Haven Grande Marina, specifically the 360 degree overwater building which doesn't appear to be in use and watching the sun disappear behind the ever darkening clouds. As we ate it did begin to rain but only for a short time and we managed to finish dinner and get as far as our dinghy before it began again, luckily it was only a light shower the second time and we didn't end up soaked. Back on the boat Maz started to stuff her things into her bags ready for leaving tomorrow, she suddenly realized that she had taken a cap to the restaurant but hadn't brought it back to the boat - it had to still be at the restaurant. Gerry phoned them and sure enough they had it so he arranged to collect it in the morning when they opened and before we took Maz to the airport. We watched a movie called "I am number 4" which none of us had seen before finally calling it a night and going to bed.