Last week I shared with you some of the damage from Hurricane Irma and the Blue Roof Program that is helping residents live in their damaged homes until they can be repaired. This week, it’s all about our excursion on the island. One of the things that was unique about this cruise for us is that we decided not to purchase any of the excursions offered by the cruise line. As I see it, the major advantages of purchasing an excursion through the cruise line are that the vendor is vetted and considered reliable by the line. Probably more importantly, if there is a delay due to a problem with the tour vendor in returning to the ship, it’s the cruise line that’s responsible for either delaying the departure of the ship from port until you arrive or to get you to the next cruise stop at their expense. If you “go it on your own”, you take on the risk of missing the ship’s departure and any attendant expense at rejoining the cruise. A decision to go on your own should be done with caution and with the realization that you probably won’t want an all-day tour. Give yourself plenty of time to return to the ship. It can get very expensive if you miss your return time and you aren’t on a cruise line sponsored excursion.

The advantage of going on your own is that the cost for an excursion is much less when you deal with an independent vendor. There are plenty of independent vendors at every cruise stop. Only a few hundred yards from the ship, we were intercepted by a gentleman with an offer to take an open air taxi/shuttle to the top of the biggest mountain. The fare per person was reasonable and fees legislated by the island government. Our open air tour taxi seated about four people per row and maybe four rows for a tour of about 20 people.

Our driver, Connie, described our journey from the cruise terminal through the city and all the way to the top of the largest mountain on the island. The PA system wasn’t the best but it was understandable and it was a nice open air ride on a nice day. At the top of the mountain, we were disgorged at a very large souvenir shop that has a large viewing patio at the rear. We were given plenty of time to browse the store and to take photos at the viewpoint. The gallery includes a few of the photos. The large panorama above gave us a great view of St. Thomas as well as other islands in both the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. The map below is a photograph of a sign at the viewpoint that names all of the islands in view from the mountain top. Click on either image to enlarge it to get a better view.

If you viewed last week’s Travel Tuesday post, you’ll remember scenes of some of the damage we witnessed on the drive to the top. On our drive, there were one-lane sections of road where the seaward side of the road had washed down the side of the mountain. There were several places where we traveled over freshly set concrete roadway. Those areas had washed out the road completely but four months after the hurricane, the road was repaired.

On the way back down the hill, the taxi stopped in a viewing area where there just “happened to be” a man with a donkey who, for a fee, allowed passengers to take photos with the donkey. I doubt very much that this was a chance encounter. >grin<

After some of the guests on our tour opted for the donkey photos, we continued on to another stop where we could purchase water or something more potent and snap a few pics of the side of the island where the Carnival Magic was docked.

We returned to the ship with hours to spare, well ahead of our scheduled return time. There was enough time to stop at the Rum Hut for an adult beverage. It wasn’t the best quality booze, but the price was certainly right. And it was only a few hundred yards from the ship. The gallery of images below features views of St Thomas. In most browsers you can click on an image to enlarge it and to scroll through the gallery.

John Steiner

Our first port of call put us in the capitol city of St Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. I would be remiss if I were to leave out the effects of Hurricane Irma that we viewed on our visit to the island. Next week, I will share some views of the excursion we selected. This week, however, I’d like to mention one program designed to help the residents of this U.S. Territory.

The opening photo shows our first glimpses of the damage caused by Hurricane Irma. Note the fallen chimney and air handling unit on the large building in front. Then look back and to the left to see a two story building with much of its roof gone. Though we saw homes with open roofs, many of the homes and buildings we saw had blue tops covering the damage to the roof as in the image below.

While I was there, I assumed the blue tarps were the quick and expedient way that a home owner protects his property while awaiting repairs. As I started processing these images to share with you, I noticed a sign that I’d captured offering contact information for those affected by the hurricane.

I noticed the bottom item, a phone number to contact the Blue Roof Program. That explained the large number of blue roofs that we saw on our tour. After reading the information found on the FEMA website, it looks like the roof in the opening photo would qualify for the program, but there are other stipulations that may have exempted it from being included. According to the article here dated September 23, 2017, the first residential temporary blue plastic roofing materials were installed on that date.

The image above was captured while we were docking. It was only when I processed it that I noticed some of the buildings protected by the blue plastic tarps. On this side of the island, it seemed there was less damage than on the other side where we saw more damage and more blue tarps. I could be wrong, it was just my impression that the harbor area was less damaged.

The program, administrated by the U.S. Army Corps of engineers, FEMA, and the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands provided homeowners the ability to remain in their homes during what would be a long reconstruction process. The images I captured reflected conditions in late January. How many homes were repaired prior to our arrival, I couldn’t even guess.

Obviously, there was damage that couldn’t be mitigated by the Operation Blue Roof program. Clearly, the building above didn’t have enough roof structure to support a blue tarp. The church below suffered a complete wall blowout, yet the ceiling was undamaged enough to be able to include a blue tarp over much of the roof structure.

Please note that the presence of a blue tarp doesn’t necessarily mean that it was placed there as a result of FEMA assistance or this program. The document I referenced in the link to the FEMA website clearly points out that the program is only open to residences, not other buildings. Apartment buildings are covered if the owner of the apartment applies for assistance and the tenants in the apartment will be able to remain in the structure after the tarp is installed. Buildings like those in the images immediately above and below don’t appear to qualify for assistance, at least not under this program.

I don’t know whether this building was being remodeled before the hurricane or whether it was severely damaged. It was obviously being worked on the day we went by. Given what I read about the Blue Tarp Program, I doubt it qualified for the assistance.

On our tour, we stopped at one souvenir shop. This photo shows only one section of the damaged area inside the store. Though much of the goods didn’t look damaged, the area was taped off, no doubt awaiting insurance action. Next week, a look at our tour to the top of the largest mountain peak on the island of St Thomas. In most browsers, you can click on an image to enlarge it and to scroll through the gallery.

John Steiner

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas USVI.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sprinkling in some photos captured on our recent cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. Later, there will be some full galleries of images captured along with details of the places visited. On our visit to St. Thomas, we skipped the usual cruise ship excursions and grabbed a “taxi” (really an open air minibus,) and got an island tour for $25 USD a person. The tour brought us to the top of the mountain that overlooks the port city of Charlotte Amalie.

About the photo: Our home at sea, the Carnival Magic, parked at the dock in the harbor awaits our return. On most browsers, you can click on the image to see an enlarged view. Captured with my Samsung S6 Cellphone on a bright, sunny day, the exposure picked by the camera was f/1.9, 1/1900 sec., ISO-40. The rule for Cellpic Sunday is simple, the image must be captured on a mobile device.

John Steiner