St. Thomas

The first drop of water sizzled on my hot skin, the second melded with the salty sweat on my arm. We dodged drops deeking in and out of little souvenir shops as we made our way to the gondolas up to Paradise Point. Our timing was perfect and we were safely in a shoe store when the skies released. Not Carm’s favorite place to wait out the rain - we have a love/hate relationship with shoes.

The rain let up and we ran across the street and sheltered under the roof of the gondola place to wait for our turn to board. A few gondolas came and went and then it was our turn to jump onto the moving ‘vehicle’? Heights are not my favorite thing and Carm might have bruises on his arm as we lurched our way up the hill. The gondola barely slowed down for us to jump out - I was glad I don’t have mobility issues like many on the ship.

The views were spectacular. We made a beeline for a view front table and Carm ran off to order us some famous banana daiquiris. Oh yum! We sat for ages, watching waves of rain pass over the islands in the distance - very pretty - and we couldn’t get enough of the view. Eventually we headed back down to earth and walked back to the ship.

Another dimension.

We were hot and sweaty and ready for a swim. But first a quick lunch (a burger and fries - what!). They were playing a Who concert on the giant screen so we watched that from the pool and the hot tub, and finally a chair in the shade. Gosh, I’ve seen some pretty wicked sunburns. Not me though, I’ve been pretty careful.

An iced latte topped off the afternoon and energized us to hand wash a few things in the sink. Yes, even in this bubble a drip of reality occasionally intrudes.

At supper we sat with people from Kentucky and Alabama. There was a slight political conversation (not about Trump thank goodness) and when Carm mentioned that Obama was a good speaker you could have cut the silence with a knife. Of course - he’s a black man and they are from the south. Very disappointing. It is interesting eating with people as there are so many little oddities that people have when they are eating.

I had a cold pumpkin soup that was fine, but I would have used much more spice. The linguine with clams was good. And of course creme brulee for dessert. I suppose one day I might have something different, but I actually like simple creaminess - the gorgeous chocolate concoctions don’t really appeal.

The show tonight was a comedian. He was pretty funny but I wasn’t rolling on the floor holding my sides, but I had a headache so was perhaps a bit grumpy.

We listened to some steel drums and are now back in the room getting ready to watch a movie. It is tiring being so busily relaxing!