St. Thomas Island 圣托马斯岛

Jan 9, 2024: Yesterday was another delightful day at sea. Besides attending lectures, taking several laps around the deck, bird watching and working out in the gym, we savored the exquisite cuisine on the Crystal ship, renowned for offering one of the best dining experiences in the industry.

Today, we docked at St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. Early in the morning, we took a taxi to Magens Bay Beach, renowned as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. When we arrived, there were fewer than ten people on the one-kilometer-long beach. Despite the warning signs about strong winds and waves, the beach was one of the calmest we've ever visited. We spent a long time playing in the water, swimming, and watching pelicans dive for fishes, with small fishes swimming around our feet. When we left the beach, we saw groups of tourists arriving in 20-person taxis converted from trucks. Back at the pier, we noticed another large ship with thousands of passengers had just docked next to ours, and their passengers were noticeably younger. Compared to theirs, our cruise ship seemed a bit quiet and lacking in energy. We had booked two kayaking shore excursions on our cruise, but both were canceled due to low participation.

After returning from the beach, we had lunch on the ship and then went ashore again to explore the town. We walked the "99 Stair Steps" and visited one of the oldest synagogues in the Western Hemisphere.

We walked over 20,000 steps today. In the evening, we dined at Umi Uma by Nobu Again. This time, we skipped the main courses and focused on sashimi, accompanied by sake and white wine. After eating and drinking, we ended our day by watching a show and dancing a little. What a wonderful day, we felt completely satisfied.

一月九日：昨天一整天又是海上行。除了听听讲座，沿着甲板绕船走上几圈或者去健身房锻炼，剩下就是继续享受邮轮上色味俱佳的美食。

今天停靠美属维尔京群岛（US Virgin Islands )上的圣托马斯岛(St Thomas), 俩人一早就下船叫了出租车去梅根湾海滩（Magens Bay Beach)。据介绍梅根湾海滩是世界上最美的海滩之一，我们到那里还早，一公里长的海滩上就不到十个人。在海滩上有大风大浪的警告牌，但对我们来说，这海滩是我们去过的最为平静的海滩之一。在水里玩了很久，一边游泳一边看着从天直下的鹈鹕抓鱼吃，还有小鱼在我们脚边游来游去。当我们离开海滩时，看到成群结队的游客坐着由卡车改装的20人的出租车来到海滩。回到码头时才发现原来我们的邮轮边又来了一艘几千人的大船，而且游客的平均年龄要比我们的船低很多。相比之下我们的邮轮有点冷冷清清，少点生气。我们这次在船上订了两次划船的岸上游，后来都取消了，说是报名的人太少。

从海滩回到船上，先去吃个午饭，接着又下船去市区转一圈，走了＂九十九级台阶＂，又去参观了西半球里最古老的犹太教教堂之一。

今天一天走了二万多步，晚上又去Nobu日本料理店，这次不点主菜，而是以生鱼片为主，再来点日本清酒和白葡萄酒，吃饱喝足后再看一场表演，真是心满意足了。