The Jewel of the Seas visited Frederiksted on St. Croix. Taran and I rented a Jeep Patriot. Taran drove and was challenged by the fact that people drive on the left on St. Croix even though it is a U. S. territory. With narrow roads and no white lines, it takes some getting used to for those of us from the mainland.
We had a most interesting day. Our first stop was at the Estate Whim Plantation. Next, we sampled the rum at the end of a tour of the Cruzan Distillery. Then it was on to the main historic city on the island, Christiansted, where we saw the principal sights and ate some excellent Caribbean food. Returning to the Frederiksted area after lunch, we drove through a rain forest and up a coastal road where we saw the ruins of some old plantations, mostly overgrown by rainforest vegetation.
Estate Whim Plantation Great House
Main entrance to the Great House
Toilet cabinets
The Great House consists of three main rooms
Young men who came courting would sit on this
The dining room. Notice the chandelier
Child and nanny
The cookhouse was separate from the Great House
The domestic quarters
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The family’s privy
The chimney
The sugar factory (c. 1797). The animal mill (L), the wind mill (C), the steam mill engine (R) which was installed in 1865
The windmill (1779)
Al in front of the windmill
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Cruzan Rum Distillery
The corporate headquarters was originally a plantation house
Making molasses
Preparing the rum for shipment
After the rum is aged, it is transported to the port in trucks and loaded aboard ships bound for the U. S.
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Aging the rum
The rum is stored in barrels for at least two years
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Marking the barrels
Our guide explains that the rum is shipped to Jim Beam in Kentucky for bottling
Bananas growing
Date palm
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Fort Christianvaern (1749) was built by the Danes after they purchased the island from the French
Interior of the fort
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Slavery was practiced on all the Caribbean islands and slaves were brutally punished
View of the harbor from the top of the fort
Protestant Cay, the island in the bay, houses two luxury hotels
The Old Customs House where Alexander Hamilton once worked is the National Park Headquarters
The Old Scale House
Rum and sugar were weighed on these scales
A walk along the wharf
The waterfront boardwalk
You can see the fish in the clear water
This building was formerly a Lutheran Church
Typical Danish style architecture
Everywhere you look in a Caribbean town, you can see chickens in the road
Another typical street
Before leaving Christiansted, we had a delicious pork Caribbean meal at Harvey's
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A drive through the rainforest North of Frederiksted
Our Jeep Patriot near the Lawaetz Museum
Coast line North of Frederiksted
Plantation building ruins
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More plantation ruins
Fredriksted, St. Croix, Customs House Square
Customs House
Fort Frederik was built by the Danes in 1760
Fort Frederik taken from the dock
The Vision of the Seas at the Frederiksted dock
