Check out this sweet postcard of the U.S. Virgin Islands! Shown here is Charlotte Amalie, the capital of the island of St. Thomas. Uh okay first of all – I should mention that the U.S. Virgin Islands can be found in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of the States (look for Florida, and then look down-right on the map). All right so now that we know where we’re at… let’s talk a bit about Charlotte Amalie! This is the largest city in the Virgin Islands, originally colonized by the Danish in the 1600s. Before that, though, it was a huge refuge for pirates. Insert “Pirates of the Caribbean” joke here 😉 The harbor was later developed and thus came Taphus – the original name of Charlotte Amalie – which means “beerhouse” (naturally, since many taverns came about during this time). The pirates’ base gradually gave way to being a trade port, and a few centuries later it became what it is today – a popular city getting a ton of guests. I’m talking, over one million visitors arriving via cruise ship! What brings so many people here? Well, in Charlotte Amalie, there are tons of places to shop and eat! Materialistic desires and culinary exploration are among my top loves, not even gonna lie. There are also plenty of attractions, such as Blackbeard’s Castle (which is said to actually be unrelated to the pirate Blackbeard) and Fort Christian, a 17th century Danish fortification that houses a museum. Oh, and if your interest was piqued when I mentioned “beerhouse” and “taverns”, those establishments are also abundant in number! Charlotte Amalie is the spot! (Perhaps the one that the X marks, eh? Sorry, I’m trying hard to think of a pirate joke to conclude with…) Thank you tons for sending this to me from your trip, Willa!
