4/3/17, “Finishing Up”
Moored, Adventure,
Caribbean Sea (Buck Island Reef National Monument, United States Virgin
Islands)
Well, my time in the United States Virgin Islands is
coming to an end. We are now moored off
of Buck Island after spending some time on the island itself, which allowed me
to claim it as my 276th NPS Unit and say, “United States Virgin
Islands Complete.” It has been a wonderful four
days, and, other than a brief stop in San Juan, all that remains is The Return
Journey. It is now slightly before noon,
and we will not land at JFK until after midnight tonight. When the final reckoning comes, I am sure
this trip will rank highly. I have loved
every minute of my time here, and it pains me that this trip is now coming to a
close, but I can rejoice in the success this trap has been. This is definitely a fitting vista for my
last entry that I will write in the USVI.
After I closed last night, I heated up my dessert with limited success. The ice cream was a mush, and it was mess,
due to the fact that they had just wrapped it up with plastic wrap, rather than
actually putting a lid on it. In the
end, it didn’t matter, since it was all going the same place, anyway, and it
was delicious. I then went outside to
smoke a Headley Grange before collapsing.
I slept well enough through the night, waking up around 7 AM before my
alarm clock. I made some coffee in the
room, ate the bagel crackers I had bought in Saint John, and heated up the
other half of the breakfast sandwich from yesterday, which was a mess, but it
tasted good.
I then lit up a Caoba,
packed, and got ready for the morning. I
headed out, stopping at the VC to get a new brochure, the old one having been
damaged. I then went to check-in for my
boat tour. That was when I learned some
good news. We would be back on land at
12:30 PM, so maybe the 9:30 AM departure was actually the original
schedule.
We soon boarded the small boat
with about 20 passengers, including small kids of various ages, and we were
underway. Before long, we landed at the
island, and then I discovered a bit of an issue. (It’s ironic because, I was walking from my
hotel this morning, I was thinking there is a ranking of negative things that
could occur while I’m travelling: disaster, problem, issue.) The issue was that we have climb a sea ladder
to get to the beach. That meant, I
couldn’t wear my cargo shorts, and there would be issues to bring my brochure,
water bottle, and cigar ashore, all of which were necessary to properly claim
the NPS Unit. Well, there was a
solution. I changed into my bathing
suit, put my water bottle, cell phone, brochure, cigar, and lighter into the
plastic bag, and one of the crew members kept the bag over her head as I went
ashore. That worked.
The NPS sign was right ashore, so I first
took that picture. Then, I lit up my Don
Carlos the cigar I had been saving for this occasion, took my ceremonial
picture, and declared, “United States Virgin Islands Complete.” I had done it. I was very proud of myself, and rightly
so.
I then walked around a bit and found
an even better spot, where I took some more pictures. It was so scenic, one of the most beautiful
places I had ever been. In fact, it
reminded very much of an Island from Moana, even though this was the Caribbean
and that was the South Pacific.
Before
long, it was time to go back aboard, and I put everything (other than my cigar)
back in the bag, and we repeated the process.
We then looped around the island and moored in the reef. I didn’t want to snorkel, so I stayed
aboard. I sat down in spot with a good
view of the island, where I proceeded to write this entry, which I will now
close, as we are about to return to the island of Saint Croix.
San Juan, Puerto Rico
At long last, I have arrived at the spot of the
inscription photo for this WHS, which means my trip is winding down. It has been an intense hour of seeing the WHS
and making up for what I didn’t get to do without my folder when I came here a
decade ago, but it’s all been done now.
All that remains is to take a ceremonial picture at the Capitol before I
can say, “American Caribbean Complete,” and fly home. It’s been a great trip, and I am very much
looking forward to the final reckoning.
I have about an hour before I need to leave for the airport, and I don’t
want to use all of that time, so I will be brief.
After I closed on the boat, we soon took off
and headed back to Saint Croix. They
passed around some rum punch, and I only wanted one small cup, having already
had some straight rum while I wrote my entry, but the captain was
insistent. I had three, and it hit me
hard. Very hard. I actually had trouble walking straight when
we got ashore. As I mentioned, timing
was tight. Very tight. Everything was planned to a tee, and I had
faith in my ability to execute it, but there was almost no margin for
error.
I called Andy immediately to
confirm my 1 PM pickup, and then I walked to the Eastern National shop to get
my souvenirs. I was all set. I went back to the hotel and changed and
repacked. It was a couple of minutes after
1 PM, and Andy wasn’t there yet. I
called him again, and he was on his way.
We got to the airport exactly at 1:30 PM for my 2:30 PM flight.
The Seaborne counter had no passengers, so I
feared for the worst, but they said I was fine.
Then came the next hurdle: border control. I didn’t have my passport, so I didn’t know
what to expect. There was almost no
line, and I handed the officer my driver’s license. He took a verbal declaration of my
citizenship and asked a few questions.
That was that. I went through
security, and then I was at my gate. So
far, so good. I got lunch (hot dog, chips, and soda), but the Seaborne counter was
empty, so I started panicking again, but, at 2:15 PM, they announced our
flight. We boarded immediately.
It was a very short flight and we landed at 3
PM, ahead of schedule. I realized that I
could just check my bag with JetBlue so that I wouldn’t have to lug it around
San Juan. It was a bit of a trek, and I
had to clear the bag with USDA. It was
now 3:30 PM, still on schedule. I took a
taxi to Old San Juan, and the driver messed up, causing him to have to take a
long loop around, but I was at the VC by 4 PM.
That was perfect timing.
I got my
brochure and went to get my stamps and souvenirs. The clerk was very impressed with my WHS
folder. She had clearly never seen
anything like it before. Well, it is a
unique thing, nothing else like it in the world, most like. I took my time stamping, making sure I didn’t
miss anything, and then I found out where to find the Plaque, more Stamps, and
the inscription spot. I figured it would
take at least an hour.
I went to the
Plaque, and I found a nice gentleman who took my pictures exactly the way I
wanted, on his first attempt, no less.
It was now 4:30 PM. I lit up a
Montecristo Open Eagle and took some ceremonial pictures. I walked from there to El Morro, where I went
a decade ago. It was very hot, but it
was worth the exhaustion. At least it wasn’t
raining like last time.
I got a Stamp at
the guardhouse and then went inside the plaza.
There was another Plaque there, this one rusted from the salt water, and
this must have been the one I saw last time.
I found another gentleman to take my picture there and then got another
Stamp and more souvenirs. That was
that.
It was short walk to La Fortaleza,
which was the spot of the inscription photo.
I took my traditional and ceremonial photos there, and I was done. I sat down in the shade, in view of the
inscription photo, where I proceeded to write this entry, which I will now
close so that I can head to the Capitol and fly home. Again, I am quite proud of myself and rightly
so.
Luis Munoz Marin International Airport, Puerto Rico (SJU)
Ah, at long last, the triumphant airport entry, and it is
surely a triumph. This trip went
perfectly, and that is quite an accomplishment.
Perfectly planned, perfectly executed, and elegant to boot. I have done enough reflection on my love the
Antilles, so all that remains is the final reckoning. I think I would say that this has been my top
trip to the Caribbean so far, for the simple fact that it was so elegant and so
relaxing. Cuba had late nights, and the
Hispaniola trip didn’t have the same allure.
The trips shorter than 3 days do not compare.
That just leaves the two Passover trips I
took. Both of those have the added draw
of three new countries and a new WHS, while this was entirely in the United
States and just had a revisit of a WHS.
The 2013 trip also had the benefit of being first. However, the natural beauty and cultural
heritage of the American Caribbean wins out.
It also wins out because it had the draw of being my last trip to the
Antilles for quite some time, and it is being considered in light of the
upcoming trips to Canada, Iceland/Greenland, and American Oceania (Hawaii et
al). I loved being in the capital in
Saint Thomas, I loved the beauty of the National Park in Saint John, and I
loved the history of Saint Croix. There
was not a bad moment in the whole trip, and that counts for something. It was a perfect trip. That all matters.
As for the other trips, I do not think this
can crack the top ten. It fails easily
against the extended trips, including Israel and TLGSRTA/Canadian Prairie,
since that trip was equally relaxing, and it had even more natural beauty and
almost as much cultural heritage. It
fails against Israel, since that was special in a way this was not. However, I think it beats Baja, since it had
more variety, and Baja had failures in a way this did not. It also fails against CA-4, since that trip
was also close to perfect, and it was very ambitious. That trip had a good mix of natural and
cultural beauty. So, in other words,
this places Top Fifteen, but not Top Ten.
I suppose that is all the reckoning that needs to be done, and the
triumphant airport entry has its place.
I will wrap up so that I can publish and close.
After I closed at La Fortaleza, I soon found
a taxi and told her what I wanted to do. We stopped at the Capitol, where I
took my ceremonial picture. That was
that. I had done it. I made my pronouncement. “Puerto Rico Complete. American Caribbean Complete. Time to go home.” I was very proud of my accomplishment. Soon enough, we were at the airport, and I
got out of the taxi. I checked my bag
and all my pockets and started to walk away.
My taxi driver reminded me that I had forgotten my souvenir bag. That would have been a seriously problem,
almost disaster-level. I would have
forgotten it if she hadn’t mentioned it.
I went to security, which was closed. That meant I had to loop all the way around,
and it was quite a trek. After security,
I went to Duty-Free to get some Bacardi.
From there, I walked to the A-Gates, which was where JetBlue had there
gates and went to Popeyes for dinner. I
was starving. I got my usual: chicken
strips, fries, and a biscuit. They didn’t
have seltzer, so I opted for water. I
was very thirsty. I then went back to my
gate and sate down, where I proceeded to write this entry, which I will now
close, along with closing out this epic trip.
Next stop: Florida Panhandle, after two weekends in Scarsdale.
No comments:
Post a Comment