Back to St. Thomas

Dec. 17^th, 2013 Greetings from St. Thomas, USVI

 

View from room



We got into St. Thomas via Spirit Airlines without a hitch. Our bags that weighed less than 40 lbs at home seemed to weigh 43 and 47 lbs here… Can’t much argue with them and paid the $25 over weight fee… It was interesting considering nothing changed between home and here except the humidity… and the humidity is something. Time to adjust after coming down from zero humidity in the Midwest to a pleasant humidity in Florida… 



     We’re staying at the Mafolie Hotel


tonight and tomorrow night before catching the Ferry from St. Thomas to Virgin Gorda. It’s quite a drive from the airport to here and we were treated to spectacular views to get here as we wound up and around the hairpin turns. Our room overlooks the pool and the main Harbor at Charlotte Amalie. I can pick out where we anchored last spring with Celtic Rover and Alibi! The room definitely has a view but the room itself reminds me of Stone town in Zanzibar – it has a canopied bed with mosquito netting and no-see-ums that I would bet will manage to penetrate the canopy over the bed. I’m itching all over where my skin is exposed to the critters. Now if we have a call to prayer at 5am I’ll really feel like we’re back in Africa!



Ahhhhh a nice bed!







     The Mafolie restaurant/bar has a spectacular view of the harbor so we went there for drinks and dinner. The drinks were strong and food was good. I was pretty timid about getting a drink and got a Shirley Temple while Wayne got a Presidente Beer. At dinner I thought what the heck and ordered a gin/tonic heavy on the tonic with a titch of gin. I should have known better… what I got was tall gin and a titch of tonic. But it was delicious – the gin they used was Tanqueray. It went down smooth… yep. Wayne got the Pineapple Mahi that came with Provencal and Island Rice and I got the Danish ribs that came with fungee and breadfruit mash. Provencal is a dish made with pumpkin and christophine (a root like vegi grown on the island). I forgot to taste it until later after dinner when it was too late. Fungi (pronounced fun-gee) is a main staple of the Virgin Islands diet that consists of cornmeal boiled and cooked to a thick consistency with okra. I found it bland but not bad. The Breadfruit Mash had a potato-like flavor and a pasty texture that reminded me of the last Yukon gold mashed potatoes I had at Thanksgiving. Interesting texture but tasty! The ribs were tender, spicy and delicious. Wayne said the Mahi was okay and wouldn’t go out of his way for it (especially for the price). It’s been a long day and needless to say, I’m ready for some shuteye… if the no-see-ums continue to bite me tonight I don’t think I’ll feel a thing…

Dec. 18^th, 2013 Mafolie Hotel, St. Thomas, USVI

Wonderful sleep last night – don’t know if it was the gin or change in weather but I was wiped out.  I scouted out the restaurant and grabbed a couple cups of coffee – one to take to Wayne in our room and one for me as I mill about the place. I’m sitting in the restaurant enjoying the warm humid air with a fruit smoothie that Ella made and a Caribbean rendition of a banana (plantain?) blueberry muffin. I have a 3 legged black cat at my feet watching me to see if I have anything interesting to share with it (nothing it would be interested in at the moment). It should have been here earlier when a fellow showed me how to use an egg/muffin machine to make an egg/swiss/ham/muffin sandwich. What an awesome little machine! Need one of these at home! Wayne’s here now so time to try my new found skill at making a sandwich for him!  More later…