206 US VIRGIN ISLANDS: Danish and Hamilton History

I boarded the Celebrity Cruise ship, Equinox, on the pier in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with my cabin-roomie, Siobhan – that I featured in the latest episode.

My name is Palle Bo. Welcome back to all new episodes of The Radio Vagabond. This is Season 7, episode 206, and today we're going to St. Croix – one of the US Virgin Islands.

CRUISING IN A PANDEMIC

This episode is recorded just a few days ago, as cruising is starting up again after the pandemic. And they are taking so many precautions for our safety. As we all know (from the beginning of the pandemic), a cruise ship is not the best place to be if there's a Coronavirus outbreak.

They require that all passengers are fully vaccinated, and on top of that, we all need to have a Covid test to board. Plus, they are sailing with less than half as many passengers as they have the capacity for.

Also, as I mentioned in the latest episode a few days ago, they changed the itinerary, and then at some ports, we're only allowed to leave the ship on port days if we go on one of their excursions.

Everything is to prevent any cases of Covid on the ship. So, we're probably relatively safe – and thank God (even though it could make this podcast go viral).

WELCOME TO SAINT CROIX

As we set foot on land at the first stop on the cruise, we're greeted by local dancers, a DJ, and some guys on stilts. It's a special place for me as a Dane because the US Virgin Islands used to be a part of my home country, Denmark.

But let’s start with seven facts about where we are:

1. YOU STILL SEE A BIT OF DENMARK HERE

Up until March 1917, they were called the Danish West Indies, and still, there is a lot of Danish history here. Like location names. The street sign in Kings Street also has the Danish name Kongensgade. There's also a Kirkegade (Church Street). Today, I'm visiting Frederiksted and Christiansted – also very typical names for Danish kings.

2. A VERY BIG REAL ESTATE DEAL

Denmark sold the islands for 25 million USD in gold (around 554 million USD in current money). Someone might call it "a very big real estate deal"...

3. THE CAPITAL IS NOT ON THE BIGGEST ISLAND

St. Croix is the largest of the islands in the territory. But the capital, Charlotte Amalie, is located on St. Thomas.

4. THE LAST VIRGIN

Most people know that there are three main US Virgin Islands, but not that many years ago, a fourth was added: tiny Water Island, located off the coast of St. Thomas. And it is tiny – less than one square mile (around two square kilometres), and the USA bought it for a cool $10,000, making it what locals playfully call "The Last Virgin."

5. HALF OF THE POPULATION IS ON SAINT CROIX

The population of St. Croix is a bit more than 50,000 – almost half of the populations on the islands.

6. AN ISLAND WITH A LITTLE MOUNTAIN

The highest point of St. Croix is Mount Eagle, at 355 meters (1,165 ft).

7. TWO CITIES GAVE IT THE NICKNAME

St. Croix's nickname is "Twin City", for its two towns, Frederiksted on the western end (where we dock with the cruise) and the bigger, Christiansted, on the northeast part of the island (where I'm going later today).

ONE COFFEE AND TWO CHATS, PLEASE

I start my day in Frederiksted, before I go on a tour in Christiansted. I went to a coffee shop for some coffee and better Wi-Fi than what is available on the ship. After walking around the city, I ended up in a place called Polly's at the Pier. I got chatting with the owner, Susan.

She tells me that she's from Colorado and came here to the island looking for a warm place to retire. And then she ended up buying the coffee shop in the middle of the pandemic. In my conversation with her, she confirms that there is a thing called "island time" here, and you do get a bit of Island fever. But Susan likes it here and have no plans of leaving anytime soon.

We're sitting in the courtyard behind the café with chickens running around us. And there's also a place where you can rent a bicycle. Here I meet Rebecca, who is she's born and raised here.

Please have a listen to the episode to hear my conversation with these two women. Then you will also hear my alarm going off in the middle of the last chat – reminding me that it's time for me to get ready to go on the tour to Christiansted.

CHRISTIANSTED AND THE TEN-DOLLAR MAN

At the beginning of the walking tour, our guide goes into a 2-minute statement given to her by Celebrity Cruises. They asked her to read it to us, and it's all about the things we need to know about how to act when going on a walking tour in Covid-times. And guess what? We need to wash our hands, maintain social distancing, and always wear a mask. You know all the same things we've been hearing 200 million times in the last 18 months… But good to know that they are taking it seriously.

OUR HEAVENLY TOURGUIDE

Our guide is a slightly older woman with the...