First, I want to thank you for your prayers. They propelled me up that hill today. However, any good thoughts you might have had regarding the bare chested male pole dancers must have fallen on deaf ears. Apparently God doesn't get involved in those sorts of things.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. And this day that started fairly ordinarily turned so extraordinary by its end that I really must start at the beginning.
As I mentioned last night, we were at Havensight, and not only were we at Havensight but we had the first berth there. The two ships docked behind us were the Norwegian Sun and the Seven Seas Navigator. The Ruby Princess was at Crown Bay, as expected. This was the third time in five visits to St. Thomas this winter that we have been at Havensight, which is especially noteworthy as last winter we weren't here even once in ten visits. It depends primarily on the other ships in port on any given day, and beyond that it's up to the harbor master.
So, anyway after breakfast in the dining room, we first spent a couple hours taking care of business using AT&T cell service and 3G internet. The furnace at home is holding up (we can tell from our webcams); that is always our first concern. Then we both had several calls to make, and so took care of those. We also, for the first time, using an iPhone, snagged a PDF file of our brokerage account statement showing our 100 shares of CCL stock, and, using an iPhone, obfuscated parts and added the information required by Princess and then, also using an iPhone, faxed it to Princess Shareholder Relations to secure our on board credits for our February cruises (what I've just said will be Greek to most people but will make perfect sense to Princess cruisers.) The amazing thing is that we did it all from an iPhone. And just to clarify, when I say we, I mean G. But I stood by giving moral support.
I had a few items that I've been carting around since right after we received our box of mail from home that had to be mailed, and for this reason alone it was especially fortuitous for us to be at Havensight, as the post office is located right there. While we were off the ship tending to that duty, we went to the Scotia Bank also located at Havensight (so, you can see, it really was a good thing we were there today) and got money. Money! We now have money! We were down to $6, and that only because I found a $5 bill lying at the base of a shrub yesterday on St. Kitts. Isn't life funny? Here I am thrilled by finding a $5 bill, just as I was with the $12 savings last turnaround day by walking down to Publix, at the same time we're spending 120 days on a cruise ship. Welcome to my world.
Our next stop was a jewelry repair shop that is truly hidden, tucked away on the back side of Building 1 at Havensight. My favorite pair of earrings, enamel ones I purchased for about $10 two decades ago broke yesterday...the post broke off one of them. I was hopeful I might find a repair shop on St. Thomas, and especially hopeful when I found out that we were going to be at Havensight, but was crestfallen when I was told that there is no fixing it; enamel can't be welded. An end of an era. :-(
But on our way back to the ship...how lucky! We popped into a jewelry store (actually, G was looking for something and dragged me in there. Really.) and I saw the most beautiful display of enamel jewelry. Google "Belle Etoile angel fish jewelry" and you'll see what I mean. I was really taken with this design, and it seemed providential. I mean, I break an enamel earring in a sand dollar design one day and find enamel jewelry in an underwater sea life design the next. Sure, the prices weren't exactly in the same ball park (or on the same planet); the pendant was $199 and the bracelet $675, but I would be given the amazing price of $775 if I bought both pieces. Wow!
G quickly lost interest in the shop (I think he was getting scared by that point), so we left, but on the way back to the ship I made my case: my birthday is next week AND we have a major anniversary (our 30th) coming up this year. Surely 30 years of marriage warrants a gift of that magnitude. Apparently it doesn't. Or it would, if it hadn't already warranted at winter at sea.
Now I know.
Back on the ship, we had lunch in the buffet, our iPhones plugged into sockets meant for vacuum cleaners. That's our biggest issue on St. Thomas and in Fort Lauderdale- keeping our phones charged. Those are the only days I really wish we had a balcony cabin instead of an inside, because we could be in our cabin interneting instead of the the buffet.
Finally, we were Internet-satiated and I said that I thought it would be a good idea for us to climb that hill up to the top of the Paradise Point tram. Yes, let it be known that, this time, I was the one pushing to do it. And so we did. Of course, by this time it was 2:30pm and getting hot, but a good portion of the walk was in the shade. We were lucky that it was just the last, steepest part that was in unrelenting sun.
As usual, G started with me but soon picked up his pace (I swear...it wasn't because I started to lag!) and was out of sight. That was fine. I no longer had to suffer in silence; I could talk to the road as I climbed. I'm telling you, this is one steep road. If you ever do it (and it's a great training run), turn left at the Harley Davidson store and start climbing; the road immediately goes up, and gives you a pretty good idea right away of what you're in for. G, always looking out for me, stood at the top after he made it, waving and smiling and taking my photo as I crawled the last 100 yards. What a pal.
Now, I had been promised a ride back down on the tram. It didn't happen last time because it wasn't yet open for the season. And it didn't happen this time because it now costs $10pp just to ride down (it used to be free). Once again, here we are. We won't pay $20 to ride the tram down yet we're spending the winter on a cruise ship. Maybe it's because we won't pay $20 to ride the tram down that we're able to spend the winter on a cruise ship.
So, after a brief (too brief) stay at the top, wiping sweat and drinking lukewarm water, we started back down the hill. And just when I think there is nothing worse than climbing a hill that steep, I became aware of the fact that walking down that hill is even more painful. Because it really was. And the most difficult part was that, not only was there not even one short, level spot to stop to rest (because there wasn't- not even a spot as long as my feet), but also because it was 4pm and we had to be on the ship by 4:30pm. No margin for error, like a trip and fall. No pressure.
We survived (of course), and felt altogether more healthy and holy for having done it. I just hope we're not docked at Havensight again this year, 'cause I've had it with empty promises of Bushwackers and rides down, and hallucinations about male pole dancers.
Photos: flowering shrubs around Havensight, Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
