La Casa Loco and Sailor Sam

Before I bought my one way ticket I had found as many toll free numbers in the Virgin Islands as I could and called to ask people there what it would be like for me to move there. Most people I talked to were friendly and honest. They told me it would be expensive and there were dangerous people to watch out for. I was told that many people did move there without knowing anyone but find work and have a great time. They said it was like any other place in the United States but it was an island. I had all the info I needed and $500. I was ready.

One of the people I talked to at the tourist board gave me the recommendatin of staying at a place where many newcomers go when they first land: La Casa Loco. I made a reservation. A few nights later, when I realized the name of the place translated meant The Crazy House, I called around 2 am and asked Charlie, the owner, what kind of place it really was. He said it was clean and comfotable and I would be safe. He didn't sound very pleased to be awakened in the middle of the night. As it turns out, he may have just gone to bed. He not only lived in and ran the boarding house, he was the owner operator of a patio bar located down underneath the building. It was a very poplular local hang-out. I found out it also would stay open until around 1 am, sometimes 2am and my room was right upstairs.


I stayed at La Casa Loco for about a week. It did turn out to be clean and comfortable and it was a good starting point for my journey but my radio headphones were stolen, by the housekeeper, I believed, and I really missed them because it drowned out the noises. I didn't spend any time there in my room. I was always out. I had a lot of people to meet and jobs to find, fun and exciting things to do and places to go. By the end of my first week on the island I had found a couple of jobs (retail clothes and restaurants) and I met a girl named Tina who needed a roomate so we moved into a small apartment a couple of blocks from La Casa Loco.


Tina had moved there with a boyfriend from St. John and introduced me to several other people. We almost never saw each other at the apartment we shared because both of us were always on the go. It was a good thing that I got that job at The Cruzian Connection selling clothes because my luggage didn't arrive on St. Croix for two weeks. I had bought three cheap t-shirts and a couple of pairs of shorts to wear and made due with those but with my emplyee discount I was able to add a few more, nicer things to my wardrobe. I remember a dress I bought that had a low neckline and a wide skirt to it and a skirt that was a very short mini. I was feeling young, sexy, and free and went around with no underwear on for the first time in my life. It was thrilling but I didn't do it but a few times because once a guy at a bar got himself a free peek by accident and I didn't want that happening again.


That first week, I met Sailor Sam, a ruddy sea seasoned red head who drank lots of rum and promised to teach me to sail. I wanted to learn to sail. Sam introduced me to the owners of a popular bar in the center of Christiansted's waterfront district where I was offered a job. I never showed up for that job, however, because I had the opportunity to go sailing to Buck Island on a sailing yaught with Sam and some other girls. It was a fabulous day. We all went topless and caused a scene! Sam took some pictures and I remember sending a copy of it to his brother, Daniel, in prison, who I had begun corresponding with because he would write to Sam but Sam never wrote back. Daniel said the prison officials kept that picture for a long time before they ever gave it to him. He had to guess which one was me.


Sam and I had fun but things just didn't seem to work out sometimes. He got us a job as charter crew for a nice sailboat. We provisioned it with food and supplies and were ready to go on our first charter to the British Virgin Islands when the customers cancelled at the last minute. We tried again and sailed over to St. John but, again, there was no charter. I was dissapointed because I really wanted to learn to sail and travel around the islands. I did learn two things about sailing: boats take a lot of scrubbing and fixing and when the seas are rough I turn to total mush and am no help to anyone. Sam was laughing at me on our way back from that trip to St. John. We passed through a small but very rough squall and I was so queezy I had to just lie face down on the aft cabin bed and hold on while the mattress and I slid all around the cabin. At one point I made my way up to the doorway and asked him if he needed any help. He was wearing a yellow fowl weather jacket and had himself locked to the boat with a sturdy line and clamp. He was eating some grapes and just laughed at me and told me to go back to bed. I did.

Sam was crazy about me. He said I was the most peculiar girl he had ever met. I think I made him crazier sometimes, especially when I had found other jobs and moved on from him but he wasn't ready to move on from me. I enjoyed our time together but I was on a great adventure and so, like the jobs that came and went, so did some of the people. I was not going to allow myself to get stuck in any job, relationship, or situation for too long. I wanted to experience many things, go to as many places as I could and learn from it all as much as I could.

Here is a picture of Sam and I on the dock in Chritiansted. Thanks for the fun times Sam!