Magens Bay viewed from Mountain Top. A bay is a shielded body of water which coincides
with the Hebrew word (magen).
Looking from above the town out towards the ocean.
Taking a break after a sweaty climb.
“You need rest, more food—look how scrawny you’re getting—we’re going to the beach today,” our 'bossy'
editor informed us. We preferred it when she gave us commands rather than the combination of commands and
personal criticism of how we look. We did agree that it’s time to unwind a little as the near month stay
in Peru took it out of us, particularly the language bits. However, we were not ready to admit it, certainly
not until she withdraws her comments that we used to be so much more loveable when we were carrying a few
pounds more.
After numerous delays, we finally made it to the beach, a rather small cove. We positioned ourselves on
chaise-lounges and prepared for the afternoon’s activities. Perhaps activities might be an exaggeration.
“You have to lie down and unwind, preferably with a book,” she commanded, again. We completed reading
books we brought with us, what with the numerous plane rides and other downtime periods, we were without
material. Instead, we decided we would take in the scenery with emphasis on the Atlantic Ocean as we did
not see much water in Peru.
Looking across Magens Bay towards Hans Lollick Island.
The Norwegian 'Epic' at port, thousands of tourists flood the stores.
At first, we felt a bit awkward. However as time passed, we realized that perhaps this hiking
business is overrated. After all, every time we felt tired, all we had to do was close the eyes and
dream of whatever we wished. Hell, this was proving to be easy. Admittedly, we did get a little bored
after three minutes, maybe less. Let’s make this interesting, we thought to ourselves, deliberately
excluding the editor from our ideas. She can be quite a spoilsport when she’s made up her mind that
we are going to the beach. She also is not above exaggerating a little. Another of her caustic comments
was, “We haven’t lay on a beach for this long in twenty years.” Where she gets her numbers, we don’t
know. However, when she wants to make a point, she comes at us with large figures. We didn’t want to
mention that we thought it closer to thirty years. Let sleeping dogs lie, we thought.
A hazy day unfortunately, Tortola ahead and St. John to the far right.
Talking of dogs, we were starting to get restless, sitting on that chair. We adjusted the position
and continued with our thoughts and activities. What about, we considered, seeing how many times a
minute our eyes blinked. Does each eye blink the same number of times or is there a variation?
We stopped wearing a watch some time ago so that wasn’t a good idea. We had no intention of asking
the editor for hers—we don’t think she would have appreciated the question or the use to which we’d
want to put her timepiece. Instead, we just lay there. We realize there must be something wrong
with us. After all, many people love to relax and sunbathe on the beach.
We are also not allowed to look at other women officially. We know this to be correct and therefore,
we don’t hold it against our editor. Although the beach was almost deserted, whenever a pretty woman
passed, we made certain not to look at her. As insulting as this may be to pretty women, we have a
much higher allegiance both to our lovely, but bossy editor, and our values. (What a wonderful sentiment.
Should one say or write it enough times, one could almost believe it.)
The slogan for this part of the world is 'Home of the world famous banana daiquiri'. Unfortunately, this was
a bit lost on us as we are obviously squares. Nevertheless, we fought back strongly...see below:
When a banana goes off, it blackens quickly, the result...the low calorie dark daiquiri.
With the excitement building, we entered the water and swam around until our editor bumped into
a fish or piece of seaweed or something worse. We often wonder why certain people are surprised that
the ocean might have fish in it and worse, that the said fish, would dare to swim in a bathing area.
Following a refreshing swim, we returned to our chairs to warm and of course, rest. By that stage, we
were wondering whether the resort staff needed assistance in cleaning rooms, even toilets or anything
else. “I think,” we heard the editor pipe up, “We should return to the room and think of a hike for
the morrow.” Now we know why we love her.
A couple more islands. We also saw Tortola and St. John but the air was very hazy for photo's.
The morrow arrived and we headed for the famous place with the original name: ‘Mountain Top’. Clearly,
the locals have run short of names. Unfortunately, there’s no trail up the 1,500 feet mountain nor are
sidewalks built. By the way, apparently sidewalks (pavements) are not considered important in this part
of the world. We had a taxi drop us off so we could turn the occasion into a hike. It certainly was a
good work-out and together with the high level of humidity, we perspired vigorously. The return journey
downwards was obviously much easier but extreme caution on the roadside slowed us considerably. With a
large shop at the top, it’s another tourist haven (trap) like much of St. Thomas.
The islands were originally owned by the Danish. In 1917, the United States, fearing the expansion of
German influence in the Caribbean, purchased the islands at $300 per acre. Even for those times, it
seems a high price.
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
"Oops, where did that come from? Missing Machu Picchu so much...
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