These guests are diving in the undersea observatory at Coral World. Although Charlotte Amalie is really the only town on St. Thomas, there are a number of other interesting places on the small Virgin Island. My wife, Linda and I drove our rented Jeep to as many as was possible in one day.

Frenchtown was settled in the late 18th century by French Huguenots who fled from the conquering Swedes on nearby St. Barts. We found it to be a sport fishing center.

The excellent University of the Virgin Islands was located near the international airport on Brewers Bay. It has been named by Congress as being one of the nation’s outstanding 117 predominantly black colleges. There are 3,200 students in its liberal arts and education programs. Magen’s Bay has a very nice botanical garden and scores of high rise hotel resorts. Red Hook is a commercial fishing town.

We stopped at Coral World Marine Park and Underwater Observatory and thoroughly enjoyed its active aquariums. One was an undersea observatory; another was an 80,000–gallon reef encounter, both extremely well done. The park had been washed away during Hurricane Marilyn in 1995, and it took three years to rebuild it.

Warner and Linda always try the local beer whenever they travel. In St. Thomas, Linda appropriately had Foxy’s and Warner had Blackbeard’s Ale. After we filled the Jeep ($5 worth of $1.83 gas) and turned it in, we stopped in the Dockside Pub to try the local beer. Linda had a Foxy’s and I had a Blackbeard Ale. Both were smooth with a slight bite.

While we were touring the island, others from our cruise ship were sailing, snorkeling, kayaking, biking, walking, scuba diving, and rafting. Most of them came back to the ship fried to a crisp and walking like crabs.

The last stop in the Caribbean search of Capt. Lightburn the slave trader was Nassau. As it so often happens, you find what you’re looking for in the last place you look.
Coral Wor ld on St . Thomas has a wonderful 80,000 gallon aquar ium. This sea horse is in one of its exhibits.
Warner and Linda rent a Jeep to tour St. Thomas island.