After two very relaxing sea days we docked in St Thomas, USVI yesterday (Wednesday, Jan. 10). St. Thomas is a US territory with a Dutch and pirate history. A couple of it’s previous residents were the notiourous Blackbeard and Sir Francis Drake. Blackbeard was a pirate to the core. Drake’s legacy is a little more ambiguous. He was the second person to circumnavigate the world. He was knighted by the queen for this feat. He was also a slave trader who enjoyed attacking and looting other ships, particularly the Spanish. No pirates now, just a beautiful tropical island with friendly people who had a very tough 2017.
The island, like many others in the Caribbean was hit by not one but two devastating Category 5 hurricanes. Evidence of the destruction was easy to see around the island. Roof’s were missing from some buildings, other buildings were completely destroyed, roads were washed out and some folks still are without power. There was a small, older cruise ship docked next to us that was housing FEMA workers who are continuing to provide assistance.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/us/virgin-islands-hurricanes.html
It’ll take a while but the island is returning to normalcy and the resolve of the people is admirable. We visited one of our favorite and most scenic beaches, Meghan’s Bay. It had been closed for over a month after the storms. The debris had been removed, trees replanted or replaced and they were doing a bustling business. It was a little surreal because as we sat there we could see power company trucks working in the distant hills and hear the faint sound of chainsaws still clearing downed trees.
I’ll post pictures when I can but the Wi-Fi has not been completely restored yet. A minor inconvenience for me. These good people have bigger fish to fry.
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| Welcome to St Thomas! |
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| Meghan’s Bay |
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| Meghan’s Bay |
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| FEMA Assistance Ship |
