St. Croix and St. Kitts

Our first stop was St. Croix. Since it was the first day of our vacation, we decided to play it by ear rather than booking a specific excursion. First thing in the morning, Anastasia asked me where her bathing suit was, and I realized immediately that I'd forgotten the most important article of clothing for any of us. So, we had a mission for ourselves in St. Croix.



The island was unlike every Caribbean island we've visited before. There was a more laid back culture, and a sense that they were pretty unconcerned with how much time or money the tourists spent.



We hopped from shop to shop and learned that temperatures in the high 80s were too cold for the locals to go swimming, so not many stores were carrying any bathing suits at this time of year. Anastasia had a good time shopping anyway, and exploring all the art in town.



We did manage to find a couple of shops with one or two suits in Anastasia's size. I was able to convince her that she would love to wear a blue bikini. She wasn't keen on having her stomach bare at first, but in the end, she loved it.



It was a casual day for us, and we started back for the ship in time for lunch. Then we saw some turtles swimming off the pier, then we spotted a brown pelican and some sandpipers looking for their lunch.





Dinner that night was in the ship's specialty restaurant, and as it was formal night, we dressed to impress. Mark was eager to show off his moves over a drink before dinner.



We ate in the wine cellar of the restaurant. It was a very nicely laid table, with chargers designed from a piece of art from the S.S. Normandie, the restaurant's namesake.



After a decadent dinner (foie gras anyone?) we posed for a photo before splitting up for drinks, gambling, and bed.



Next morning, we woke in St. Kitts, where we had booked a ride on the St. Kitts Scenic Railway, a pretty (if very long) tour around almost the complete circumference of the island. Anastasia was very excited to get on the train, and we brought her camera with us so she could capture the trip for herself.



We learned about the sugar industry on the island, where stone mills were used to process sugar at the plantations prior to the instalation of the railway.



Now, no sugar is produced on the island, and the sugar cane just grows wild across the island. So now, the sugar train, as it used to be called, is just used to show tourists like us the views of other islands. St. Kitt's sister island, Nevis and Monserat in the background.



As we made our way around the island, we saw the island of St. Eustasius, which the locals call "Stasia". Our little Stasia was very excited to take pictures of "her island".



Eventually, the tour ended. Anastasia napped for about 1/3 of the tour. We headed back to the ship to eat a lunch and take a siesta before dinner. We spent a little time learning about our next port and deciding what we'd be doing during our day in Dominica.