St. Croix, US Virgin Islands – August 2012 (Part Three: Historic Christiansted)

DAY THREE:  Monday, 6 August 2012

            I was able to greet the sunrise properly this morning.  Since my patio is east-facing, I got to watch the sun come behind the clouds on the horizon.  A few doves wandered by, probably attracted by the smell of my cereal bar.  They didn’t make that familiar “cooing” sound, but they gave me a bad look they way a pigeon would, and then turned and walked away.

          After that, I wandered up and down the beach a couple times, to soak in the morning sun.  I then secured my room key in my swim suit (within a small waterproof container I’d purchased before coming down), and walked in the water, making a few passes in front of the resort.  I went as far west as I could (to cement break-wall), and then back east around the point, to an old dock.  It was about a half-mile from one side to another.  I probably could’ve gone further eastward, but the beach became less, and I was getting into private property areas.  While all the beaches in St. Croix are considered open to the public, I still didn’t want to range too far out from familiar territory.  The width of the beach narrowed significantly here too, so there wasn’t much to walk along any way.

            At one point, when I was walking in the section of the beach in from of the shaded groove of palm trees (where the couple had gotten married yesterday morning), I saw something small and brown dart from behind one of the shrubs to behind some low-hanging branches.  What I saw was “squirrel-sized,” but a lighter shade of brown (not tan), with a long smooth tail.  It certainly wasn’t a squirrel, as the tail wasn’t fuzzy, but smooth the way the rest of the fur was.  The critter popped its head up from behind the leaves to look out at me, similar to the pictures you’d see a meerkat do.  I could only see the head and part of the shoulders.  It was a rodent-type critter, with small ears folded back on its head.  I knew it wasn’t a meerkat (this isn’t Africa), and certainly wasn’t a squirrel (at least not a species I was familiar with).  I guessed it was a particular type of mammal, but dismissed it, because I’d never heard of those critters being here.  Any of the information I’d read said there were no snakes on the island.  We stood and watched each other for a few moments, and then it disappeared into the shrubs.  After the walk, I came through the front desk area and mentioned what I saw.  They confirmed what I’d guess had been correct.  I’d seen a mongoose.  Hi, Riki Tiki Tavi!  They were an introduced species, which came over with the sugar cane in the 1600s, and have been here ever since.

As it had been suggested to visit the local attorneys in person and hand them my resume (as opposed to emailing it), that had been the plan today, as I was going to explore Christiansted.  From what I’d seen earlier, when I drove through it yesterday, I couldn’t easily find a place to park on the streets, so I’d have to find a lot.  The travel books had commented about the possibilities of muggings in Christiansted during tourist season or after-dark, but after seeing what it looked like yesterday, I decided to be a little more prudent.  One of other items I’d also secured in my pre-trip purchases was an “inner pocket” to wear under my clothes so be able to keep my wallet and phone.  I secured it next to the waistband of my pants.  It wasn’t very comfortable to sit in the car with, and was annoying to walk with, but I’d figure it was worth it if it served its purpose.

With the road map I’d gotten earlier, I was able to find a place to park in Christiansted, which was a pay lot (as it was easier to get in and out of, than trying to park on the street).  There were a lot of people loitering about, so that made me wary.  A guy (wearing a shirt with a logo for the lot) asked if I wanted to have the car washed, and I politely declined.  I had on my white pants, and a white polo shirt (matched the white car nicely), so I must’ve either looked like a local, or at least someone there on business.  I went up and down a couple of the pedestrian streets, past a few shops, and looked for any attorney offices that were nearby.  To walk in other parts of Christiansted wasn’t the smartest thing to do, also because of how narrow the streets were.

Closer to the water’s edge (which was Christiansted Harbor), the streets were one-way, which were wide enough to have one vehicle parked, and one to drive past.  There was no other room on the streets, as that’s where the buildings began.  In most areas, there weren’t sidewalks really.  There were portions of the ground-levels of the buildings which set further back than the rest of the structure.  These sections were open to the outside (excepting for the routinely-placed support posts), and were covered walkways for foot traffic.  That would keep the pedestrians in the shade and out of the rain, and out of traffic.  Most of the pedestrian streets just had the entrances to the businesses (shops or pubs) open right to the street, without any type of sidewalk (covered or otherwise).

I came down the Boardwalk, walked to the eastern point (by the Seaborne Airlines Terminal), and then went along the west portion until it ended at Fort Christiansted.  Seaborne Airlines was the private charter if you wanted to take seaplane rides around the area, or even to some other places (like St. Thomas, or more remote areas in the British Virgin Islands).  Along the Boardwalk facing the water were many pubs, and some water-front hotels.  There was also lot of docks where many private boats were berthed.  I had to get a chuckle because the only boat I saw that was flying any flag was one that had a Texas flag.

Looking out across Christiansted Harbor was an island called Protestant Cay, which was just big enough to contain a resort (aptly named “Hotel on the Cay”).  Figure since it had a private beach on one side, it was probably one of the more expensive places to stay.  There was a wide-open park near the Fort.  I quickly checked out the Scale House (where trade good had been measured, and not much to see there), and went over to the Customs House (which was currently closed).  The park contained a gazebo and a single large tree.  This entire area is considered the Christiansted National Historic Site.

I entered the large yellow structure which was Fort Christiansted.  It was a self-guided tour of the Fort, so you could go at your own pace.  Once through the main gates, it was a large open area (the assembly area), and there were rooms within the buildings which made up the walls.  Most of the rooms were empty, and the tour pamphlet detailed what had previously been in there.  Some rooms had exhibits (like the powder room, and barracks), but there were bars installed to keep the public from venturing into area.  A section was listed as the infirmary appeared more like a prison area because of the barrier.

A large flag pole rose from the area with a small American flag on it.  Four large cannons faced out on Christiansted Harbor, slightly to the right of where Protestant Cay was.  The elevation at the cannon platforms allowed me to get a better view of the area surrounding the city.  Christiansted spread out from the coast, and as the hills rose behind it, the density of the structures dropped significantly.  Many houses dotted the hills.

Since there really wasn’t much to see of a historical nature in the Fort (other than the building itself), I breezed through it.  I didn’t want to be away from the car for too long, as this was a pay per hour (and wanted to make sure I had enough cash to get out).  I only brought a small amount with me, and ATMs on the island were few.  Also, I wanted to visit the attorneys, and I didn’t want to get too hot before hand.  The ocean breeze was nice, but I didn’t feel it inside the Fort or when on the streets.

The cloudiness of the morning had burned off before I’d left the Palms, so it was now a nice bright sunny day.  At the Fort I was able to get some nice pictures of the area.  A small tour group which I’d seen at the Scale House had now made it into the Fort.  I briefly considered attaching myself to them, but they were speaking Dutch, so it would’ve done me no good.

I looked up the streets towards where the Government House, Steeple Building Museum, and Archaeology Museum were, but that’s where the neighborhood started to look rougher, so I figured I’d save that for later.  I then made my way back to the pedestrian streets to pick up some gifts.  I went into a couple different stores, as I was looking for a place where I could get some t-shirts, and perhaps some coffee mugs.  After visiting a couple, the stores started to look similar, so I found a place that had some decent items.  As it was getting closer to lunch, I looked at Fort Christiansted Brew Pub or Rum Runners, which were suppose to be two places for good food.  I had the time, I passed on those places.  I still hadn’t dropped in to see an attorney’s yet, and I didn’t want them to be at lunch when I came around.

The closest attorney office I found from that point was that of Bernard Pattie.  I spoke to the receptionist, and informed her of my plan.  She said that Mr. Pattie wasn’t available today, and I would have to make an appointment via email.

The next attorney I found was Gerald Butler.  The Grateful Dead sticker on the entrance door was a great sign.  I mentioned my idea to the receptionist there, as man (who was barefoot) stood by, and sorted papers into some boxes.  The receptionist said that I should speak to “Gerry.”  The bare-footed man then introduced himself, and had me come into his office so we could chat.  Picture a shelf full of law books on one side, and a desk full of toys, bobble-heads, and other pop-culture knick-knacks.  That was his normal working environment.

We talked for probably about twenty minutes or so.  Gerry mentioned I would have to work through the American Mediation Institute (AMI) to be able to get anywhere’s here, and gave me some contact info.  I figured that was the best information I was going to get, and thanked Gerry for his time.

I did stop into one “specialty” liquor store to see if I could score a bottle of Bambarra (the Turks & Caicos rum) or something else I’d consider “special.”  Angie had mentioned I’d have to go through Customs on the way out, and I had a suitcase designed to hold multiple bottles of booze, so I wanted to see what I could find to fill it with.  Looking through the store, I didn’t see anything I couldn’t get at home.  No sense buying any bottles of Cruzan there, as I’ll be going to the distillery soon enough (and was supposed to be able to get things much cheaper there).

I’d spent enough money on souvenirs, so I decided not to have an expensive lunch.  On the way back to the car, I did notice the large number of street people who were just hanging about.  Did I feel unsafe?  Not really, but they greatly out-numbered me.  And with a purple bag from a tourist store, I sure I was now marked.  I got back to the car without any incidents.  I’d only spent a couple hours in Christiansted today, but figured I could come back at another time.  Christiansted reminded me of Syracuse, the outer sections of Baltimore, or even the Riverside district in Austin; a small nice area surrounded by areas which weren’t so nice.

When I was driving out of Christiansted, I did see an Indian restaurant nearby.  A quick investigation revealed they didn’t take plastic, and was a bit more than what I wanted to pay for lunch.  Didn’t want to drop my cash on the stuff I didn’t need to.  I came back to the Palms and had lunch there, as being able to eat on site was one of the reasons why I had decided to stay there.  The chicken fingers and fries were very good, but not anything that I couldn’t get in other locations.

Since there was a nice breeze, and the beach was pretty empty, I decided it was time for an afternoon swim.  I put my keys in my cargo shorts which I wore down to the beach, brought my book, and grabbed a lounge chair before heading into the water.  With hardly anyone on the beach, I figured my stuff would be safe enough.  I still stayed in slight of my belongings as I relaxed in the water and had a nice dip.

I came back out, and then was able to start a conversation with the pair sunbathing near where my chair was.  It was a mother and daughter who’d come down from Tennessee.  Shelly (the mom) mentioned he’d put in twenty-three years working for Frito-Lay, and Hannah turned twenty-one this week (hence the reason for the trip).  I slid my chair over, and spent a lot of time talking to them.  As they hadn’t explored much of the island yet, I told them what I’d learned so far.  They were into snorkeling, and planning to head out to Buck Island the next day.  Shelly and Hannah also signed up for the Monday Night Trivia game.  They invited me to join up with after dinner.  We talked for a bit longer, as these pale people got redder.  I had a good base tan going on, from all the dog walking outside I’d done, so I wasn’t in any danger of burning.

After my meal of roast beast and pepper jack cheese cold cuts on wheat pita bread, and the requisite rum punch from the bar, I went over to the enclosed, more “formal,” dinning area (as opposed to the less-formal area, which was open to the beach) for the Trivia Night.  I sat with Shelly and Hannah, and five other local residents.  During the introductions, names came and went so fast that I didn’t catch them, except for the man across from me (named Robert, or Bob).  We were called “Skipper’s Team,” after the old Navy guy who sat with us.  The two other couples were in the 50’s and 60’s, respectively, so we had a good age range represented.  There were five other tables, each with about eight-to-ten people we would be competing against.

A card was pulled at random from each of the Trivial Pursuit editions in sequence.  All six questions were read by a moderator, one at a time, and then each table had to come up with answers for all six questions.  These were written down, and handed to the moderator, who checked all answers of all the teams at the same time.  That was just the first round (the card from the very first edition).  One point awarded for each right answer the table had.

Even though there was a lot of shit we (“Skipper’s Team”) didn’t know, we had a lot of fun.  When we didn’t know an answer, we decided to come up with some bizarre, just to see if we could go for style.  Funny thing was, as we progressed up to later editions (which focused on more on events of the 1990’s and other recent items, as opposed to the earlier version, which was more things you were supposed to have learned in school), that was most of the questions we missed.  Bob even joked that we all lived through the 90’s, so how did we not know some of this stuff.  We ended up coming in second to last.  The winning table got to take home a twenty-year-old bottle of wine.

During the rounds, we’d all talk about what we were doing, and what brought us here.  Bob (who was part of the couple in their 60’s) personally knew a couple of attorneys on the island (including Gerry).  They said they’d pass my plan along to those attorneys, as Bob and his wife thought it was a great idea.  Bob’s comment was “To be so young, and have an awesome game plan; I’d wish I’d thought of stuff like that.”

I gave them my contact info (and email), too, so they could keep in touch.  Bob also mentioned they’d be leaving St. Croix soon, as they were moving back stateside.  I joked if they needed someone to watch their property if they still wanted to hang on to it, to let me know, as I’d gladly take a job of being a caretaker on the island.  Bob’s wife said (also jokingly) they’d think about it.  All joking aside, that was a serious offer.  I would be a caretaker of a piece of property (as long as someone else can still pay the mortgage).

Who knows if anything was going to come of this, but it didn’t hurt to try.  Once the evening was done, those that were locals left the Palms.  I talked with Shelly and Hannah a bit, but then they headed back to their room.  I went back to my patio to enjoy the cool tropical air, and finished off my complimentary bottle of Cruzan.  Since it was a first-floor room, I kinda wanted to sleep out there, but it wasn’t the smartest thing to do.  Even leaving my patio doors open would have visitors of the critter variety.  I did stretch fully out on one of my deck chairs to enjoy the sounds of the ocean night.

For more information on the places visited or mentioned:

            Christiansted:  http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/sc/csmap.shtml

            Seaborne Airlines:  http://www.seaborneairlines.com/destinations/st-croix-usvi/

            Fort Christiansted Brew Pub:  http://fortchristianbrewpub.com/

            Christiansted National Historic Site:  http://www.nps.gov/chri/index.htm

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