getting around St. Thomas

I have been driving on the left hand side of the road for two weeks now - and have graduated from mumbling a repetitive mantra of "keep left. keep left. keep left" to whipping around ring roads like I own the place. Well, almost. Parking lots still result in confusion - but not sure whether that's just me or the other people who own the place.

The island is small - 32 square miles - 13 miles (20kms) long and 3 miles (5 kms) wide. For comparison sake - Salt Spring Island is 16 miles long (27 kms) and 8 miles (14 kms) wide. The main roads are quite good. Other roads including the one to our house are narrow and full of pot holes (as in large areas where cement is missing not places to buy local weed).

Living in the East End - I drive Julian about 6 miles to school. St. Thomas is also a very hilly island with some very steep inclines. A roller coast everyday that I hope the truck brakes can handle.

According to the census, there are over 52,000 people living on St. Thomas. And from the traffic, it appears that most of these people own cars. Children must own cars here too. When you add in a typical cruise ship day - we counted SEVEN ships in yesterday, that's roughly 12,000 tourists -- there's a steady ebb and flow of people and traffic.

There's a clear "rush hour" that starts just after 7:00 and traffic is very steady. While I actually leave the house closer to 7:45, I have a lot of company on the road.

All roads lead to Charlotte Amalie, the territorial capital of the US Virgin Islands. The downtown district still reflects some Danish (and pirate) heritage. While many of the streets have English names - some still bear those given by the Danes such as Dronningen's Gade for Main Street. The Danish flag flew on these islands from the 1600s to 1917 when the US purchased them for $25 million. And where was Canada when they listed these islands for sale?

There is some interesting Danish West Indian architecture. Some of the buildings have the second stories overhang sidewalks for cover from the sun (and tropical rain showers) and rooms are designed to take advantage of tradewinds. The green VI Legislature Building is on the waterfront downtown. Built in the 19th century, it served as barracks for the Danish militia, the US navy, and at one point the only high school on the island.

A popular trading port since its beginnings, Charlotte Amalie (pronounced Ah-mahl-yah) named after the Danish Queen remains the root of the island's economy. All three islands were declared free ports in the early 1800s in the hopes of bolstering the flailing economy at the time. Apparently, a wise move. Today, St. Thomas is the most visited island in the world by cruise ships. On any given day, the jewelery, clothing and liquor stores are overflowing with visitors - continuing their long-time merchant tradition of fleecing consumers of their hard earned cash.

For a small island - there is a lot going on. You may not be able to get there too quickly -- but everything happens on island time.