More than 200 cruise ship passengers waded into Crucian history, ecology and culture Friday, taking advantage of walking and hiking tours led by Crucian Heritage and Nature Tourism (CHANT).
It was a high-water mark for the group’s educational offerings for tourists, according to Executive Director Frandelle Gerard.
While thousands of cruise ship passengers from two ships milled about Frederiksted’s waterfront, perusing art, crafts and gifts, or took busses to Christiansted for shopping, those of a different bent wound their way through the wide avenues of Frederiksted. They heard about design elements of the town’s historic buildings like St. Patrick’s Church, the Old Danish School and Fort Frederik, learning a bit about each as they went.
They got to ponder how buildings reflect the Danish Colonial and African influences of the builders, got some local perspective on their significance and learned a little about the trees, fruits, herbs and natural medicines used in folk culture on the big island.
"I really liked the Danish School –it was beautiful," said Jane Kydd of Canada, who gave high marks to the tour. "The old graveyard is beautiful too," she said.
"The churches are beautiful. I especially liked the Catholic Church (St. Patrick’s) of course, maybe because I’m catholic," said Sandra Graham of Illinois.
"I’ve got to give it to our guide," said Rob Oughton of El Paso Texas, referring to V. Celeste Fahie. “She has been so well-informed, I have to say she was wonderful.”
"I thought it was interesting to learn about the herbs and natural medicines people know about here," said Brendan Walsh, a visitor from New Jersey. "We took a leaf off a tree and crushed it and smelled it and heard what it is good for treating. I just wish we could grow them where we live."
“And noni fruit – the juice is very popular, so it was interesting to see one of the fruit," he said.
"She had us taste some baobab too," said Sheila Lalonde of Alberta, Canada.
Inside Fort Frederik, Fahie described plantation life and the fort’s role as a jail as well as a military base, during the colonial era.
"If you were a maroon, a runaway slave like Harriet Tubman, they would put you in solitary here," Fahie said, pointing to a solitary confinement cell within the fort.
After touring the fort, the gaggle of 30 or so visitors following Fahie went on their merry way, and Fahie returned to the pier a to pick up a new crop.
CHANT began training tour guides back in 2009, before cruise ships started coming back to St. Croix, Gerard said. They arrange walking tours of both Christiansted and Frederiksted; scenic driving tours of the island, and a wheelchair tour, she said.
An accessible bus, capable of taking several passengers in wheelchairs and their companions, and outfitted with large windows, drives across the island, Gerard said. It visits the Lawaetz Family Museum, a 19th-century farm up in St. Croix’s "rainforest" – really a dry tropical forest. Then it drives through the St. Georges Village Botanical Gardens, Whim Plantation and Cruzan Rum, among other locations.
"Today we had two visitors in wheelchairs and two people accompanying them," Gerard said. "It was their last stop on an 11-day cruise and they said this was their first opportunity on the trip to do a wheelchair tour and they were thrilled," Gerard said.
The number of people learning about St. Croix’s history, culture and nature through CHANT tours has been steadily increasing, especially since cruise ships started pre-booking the tours aboard ship before arrival, she said.
On Friday, CHANT had 60- plus visitors on walking tours in the morning, then another 76 in the afternoon. Plus, CHANT guides narrated 10 scenic bus tours, with another 60 or so passengers. And herbalist Ras Lumumba took another 16 hardy cruise visitors on a vigorous nature hike up in the forest, bringing the day’s total to over 200, Gerard said.
Of course, CHANT, with its focus on history, nature and culture, accounts for only a fraction of all the tours and entertainments enjoyed by cruise passenger, she said.
"If you count all the other tours, the scenic tours, kayak tours and so forth, over 900 passengers went on outings that we were not involved with. So it was a good day for all the tour operators and especially for CHANT, Gerard said.
To find out more about CHANT and the tours they offer, go to their website, in the related links below.
