Real Pirates of the Caribbean, Part 1

People of St. Croix care very much about you when you are moving to the island. They are there to help you, to lend a hand (an open hand), give you all kinds of guidance, etc. They make sure that you have all that you need, so long as they get or even think that they will get what they want. God help you if you ever leave. They know if you are leaving, they can do anything they want to you and get away with it. After you are gone, you will probably no longer be able to give them any benefit, but you will also have no recourse in a dispute.

I will first give you Fleming Transport. The matriarch, Ruby, was full of "God Bless, Thank You, etc." when I was moving on to the island and while I was there. When I moved off, I went back to them, of course. I was told that it would cost about $2,000 to move my car and that it would take about 3 weeks. It took 6 weeks, so I had to rent a car. They charged my card for $2,500, and they damaged the front end of my car! Their own documentation, which I still have and may upload here with after photos, at some point, shows no damage to the front of the car when I gave it into their care. They now claim that the damage was already there. They lie! When I went to my credit card service, I was told that a service was done, i.e.: the car was delivered. I was told that I would have for file a claim in the local court. Well, no longer being on St. Croix, how would I do that without excessive cost to me? In short, my transport of my car for $2,000 cost my about $6,000. BEWARE! Beware of Fleming Transport!

Sugar Birds

CRUCIAN BY CHOICE wanted everyone to see the Sugar (or Yellow) Birds that flock to her feeder every morning. There are many wonderful creatures on St. Croix like these native ones. There are also the endemic ones such as the Senapole cattle and the Guineas that fly in flocks around the island, but my favorites are the mongooses. I don't know what I like them so much. Maybe I like the story of Rikki-tikki. In any event, this is why there are no snakes in the Caribbean.

Things They Don't Tell You

As a tourist or even as a visiting student, one stays in a hotel or a guest house. All seems fine. If the power goes out for a little while that is no big deal, right? What they don't tell you in all of the lovely brochures and relocation information is that the infracture is so poorly managed that the telephones and internet connections could go out for days, and that the power could be out for days,too. And, that only the hotels and the most well-to-do have back up generators. Public water and sewer is basically non-existant, cisterns are powered by pumps, so the water will not be run either. So, if you can't afford the generator and the mega-dish at your Virgin Islands hide away, don't expect to be able to communicate with anyone for long periods of time and make sure that you have lots of batteries and candles. Oh, and make sure that you have a lot of storage space for all that water (cold water) for those baths and to flush those toilets.

Teddy's Dream

I had always wanted to live and work in the Caribbean. I studied Caribbean history and culture, and I was completely fascinated with the cradle of America. Well, I tried and tried to find a meaningful job somewhere - anywhere. I had given up, then I got my chance. It has been a very young person's dream. I was middle-aged when I did get the chance. So, there I was on St. Croix. I had made it to paradise. What I found was a paradox. The story the will unfold here, with friends and others, is of paradise imagined. The story of who creates and who spoils paradise. The story of an environmental and of a human paradise and paradox.