The Virgin Islands: Arrival - Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas - the kayak made it.

   Hello everyone! ETC is just back from the Virgin Islands. We had a great time and are excited about sharing some of our adventures with you this week. 
   The picture above is of the super deep St. Thomas harbor, water access to the U.S. Virgin Islands capital city, Charlotte Amalie. I flew here all the way from Seattle (one flight overnight to Atlanta, the other early morning from Atlanta to St. Thomas). No customs upon arrival (USVI), so pow, there I was.
   I arrived on the island (Eastern Standard Time) at 2 in the afternoon with two pretty big bags (full of kayaking gear...and inflatable kayak). I quickly got a taxi to downtown, 5 minutes and $12. I decided to book a night here (I did it before I left) so I wouldn't have to rush to the water ferry that was to take me to my final destination of Virgin Gorda in the British Islands, a two hour boat ride away. Since I wasn't that worried about where I was staying, I booked a balcony room at the most affordable place I could find, the Galleon House Bed & Breakfast Inn. It was a small hotel in downtown, near the ferry dock, and despite the online reviews of a lot of stairs to the rooms, it looked pretty good from the pics and the price was right.

View from my room

View from my room

   Here's a few quick pictures of the place (don't worry, a full review or our stay at the Galleon House will be posted in the future). The staff was super friendly and there  weren't that many stairs (silly online reviews).  Views were great from the balcony.

   After checking in and relaxing a bit I took off and explored the waterfront. I walked down by where the cruise ships dock and snapped a few pics.

   I woke the next morning and made it down to the ferry dock (Speedy's). My ferry left St. Thomas, a U.S. Virgin Island, to Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. It took only a couple of hours and there were other Virgin Islands in view the whole way. On the boat ride I filled out my customs form (using the captain's pen...the one piece of gear I didn't bring) and turned it in upon arrival at Virgin Gorda. The kayak in my carry-on made it into the country just fine. Stay tuned all this week and share more of the BVI adventure!
   ~Paul    ETC

My ride to B.V.I.