Our first port of call on our 2022 Caribbean Cruise was Charlotte Amalia, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. St. Thomas is one of three main islands that make up the US Virgin Islands. Fifty other minor islands and cays are claimed by the US in this Caribbean territory. The pristine beaches and clear waters will surely bring us back to visit again, along with St. John and St. Croix islands.
We booked a sightseeing tour to the beach that picked us up in a converted pickup/mini-bus for a quick drive up steep, curving roads to Drake’s Seat (an overlook to Magen’s Bay) and then down to Magen’s Bay Beach for a few hours in the sun, enjoying some local drinks and beers. There was a guy everyone just called “the coconut guy” – a 66-year-old man who climbed coconut trees and chopped down fresh coconut and sold them on the roadside – so fresh and delicious, especially after Betsy added a shot of rum at the beach bar!
Afterwards, we had a few hours left, so in typical “Von-Gura” style, we decided to walk to the downtown area of Charlotte Amalie, exploring along the way. We sampled a few local brews at the Virgin Islands Brewery gift store while escaping a brief rain storm. We then went down the block to Taphaus for a couple more beers, then Stone House Cafe Bar & Restaurant for dinner and a couple more local brews. We started with crab-stuffed mushrooms, then split the coconut crusted Caribbean Mahi, served on bacon and pineapple fried rice, topped with a citrus cabbage and arugula slaw with lemongrass coconut cream glaze. Everything was delicious! Dessert was Dizzy Ice-cream from a shop down the street, ran by a former Ohioan – bourbon infused vanilla ice-cream!
We decided for a quick walk back to the ship to help work off all the food and drink, but Betsy was getting a bit nervous by the end, thinking I’d get us lost on a foreign island with our ship leaving us behind! We had a good half hour to spare! 
