One of the six amazing sunsets we experienced on St. Croix.
We just got back from a beautiful trip to St. Croix in the Virgin Islands. It was warm and humid and perfect, to my thinking. The Caribbean water was almost as warm as the air. Snorkeling was wonderful. Off the Fredricksted pier we swam with a hawks bill turtle as well as a million fish. I love it when the schools of fish look like a moving cloud in the water. The pier is a great place to snorkel. The water is so clear, and the pylons are the home of so many creatures and fish.
One day we went to Buck Island, which is a National Monument and first US underwater national park. We sailed over on a catamaran run by Big Beard Tours. (I highly recommend them!) It was amazing. There’s a canyon (they call it the grotto) of coral and rocks that you can snorkel through. The park service has installed plaques under the water that tell about the fish and coral you are seeing. Besides all the amazing coral and plants, I saw parrotfish, barracuda, tangs, squid, and so many more that I have no idea of how to name. Being from Wyoming, I thought all jelly fish were dangerous, so when a huge clan (school? pod? family? group?) of little mushroom-shaped jellies surrounded me, I got a little concerned. After the fact I was told that unless a jelly has tentacles it probably will not sting you – who knew?- but even though I was a little scared, it was pretty cool how the jellies swam by me. I felt them skim lightly across my skin a few times. Now that’s a pretty terrific encounter in my book.
My other favorite snorkeling moment was being encompassed by a huge school of fish one afternoon. I don’t know what they are called, but they were very blue and about 8 inches long. They had long, skinny noses. Really, they are funny-looking fish that give the impression that they aren’t very smart but that they’d be fun at a party. Anyway, a massive cloud of them envoloped me an swam around me for a few minutes. What a gift.
No wait, there’s another favorite moment. Karl and I were snorkeling on Sunset Beach – just by our condo (we stayed at the SeaBreeze Condo and I recommend it big time!) Anyway, we saw a huge ray. We followed it for a while, just enjoying how it moved through the water.
The worst two moments were when I realized, right before we arrived at Buck Island, that my underwater camera was broken, and when we had to get on the plane and leave. I could so live in St. Croix. Even driving on the wrong side of the road wasn’t bad- we didn’t even have any near misses!
