Day 34 - 12/23 - Cruz Bay, US Virgin Islands

The Caribbean is growing on us. We woke up just as the ship began its positioning maneuvers for the anchor position here at Cruz Bay. We used the ship's tenders to reach shore in about 15 minutes. For the tenders that we rode, the tenders bobbed up and down pretty significantly requiring great vigilance in boarding them from the ship and when returning to the ship. Since we had a HAL snorkeling / catamaran excursion, we met in the Ocean Bar and we were the second group called. Once at the pier, 40 of us boarded the large catamaran, The Dolphin, which was tied up next to the tender. In addition there were many. 'Taxis' (one ton American trucks with rows of seats in the back and a shade roof over all the seats). HAL seemed to have most of them contracted for.

After a safety briefing, Captain Dave sailed us out past the Volendam to Turtle Cove where we would be snorkeling. I entered the water and immediately noticed that it was quite murky or cloudy. Later, when back on board, the crew said it was due a storm front and tidal action. I never saw any turtles, but Angela did. Near a bleached reef there were more fish and they were very hard to photograph. At the conclusion of the snorkel, we re-boarded the catamaran and Captain Dave sailed us under sail power out in to the open waters and around an island. All the while we enjoyed beverages of choice and a fruit and cheese snack. It was a very relaxing time and a good introduction to the US Virgin Islands. St. John is the more rustic of the islands and we were the only cruise ship here today. Over on the neighboring St. Thomas Island, we heard that there were 5 ships in port. One of those was the Veendam which had some cruising friends, Carol & John onboard with family. So close and yet so far away.

Back at the pier, we walked around the small village. We visited the National Park Office and got our National Parks Passport Book stamped and purchased some souvenirs and Christmas gifts. I also took a picture in front of the US Post Office which is part of my regimen when traveling as was photographing the local fire station for a motorcycle friend who is a fireman. We found a brewpub and enjoyed a nice pizza for lunch. While walking back to the pier, we noticed a sign on a local tour company business offering partial day tours so we stopped in and were offered a tour for $85 per person for 2 hours which we thought was too much. We walked to the pier and there was a local cab driver who offered a 2 hour tour to the same places for $25 per person. So we and two others took it.

The tour took us along highway 20 which gains and loses elevation and passes by scenic overlooks and beaches along the west coast of the island. There are some of the sharpest hairpin curves on this road I've ever seen. At the end of the island road is Annaberg trail which goes around the ruins of the former sugar cane processing plant that was active in the 16-1700's. There were lots of lizards and one deer there. We could also see turtles in the water below the ruins. They were hard to photograph however.

We made it back to the dock by 4:10pm and immediately boarded a tender back to the ship. We showered and cooled off and met our friend Larry in the Lido for a leisurely dinner. He had done the taxi trip earlier in the day, and we compared notes. After dinner, we attended the first show this cruise segment of 5 O'Clock Somewhere and Tabitha's rendition of Hallelujah brought tears to my eyes. We then found seats at the Billboard on Board (Dueling Pianos). It was standing room only for their 9:15pm set which was 70's tunes. I downloaded pictures from my cameras to my iPhone and did some picture editing while the show was going on. We then adjourned to our stateroom to get some sleep for another active day tomorrow in Sint Maarten where we are going snorkeling again off. Yet. Another catamaran. Hopefully the water clarity will be better.

As I noted at the beginning of today's blog, the Caribbean is growing on us now that we've visited ports other than those where there is a huge emphasis on shopping. We've been to Sint Maarten before and are doing something totally different than we did previously when we were there on the Eurodam 4 years ago.

Also, I would note that for Cruz Bay, if you are first time visitor, purchase a HAL excursion. It's hard to come up with anything else. The town isn't much although there's lots of places to drink and eat. If you are a beach lover, fantastic beaches are within walking distance or a short taxi ride. There is also a major hike from the National Park Visitor Center which leads to several beaches. We'd come back here in a heartbeat.

There'll certainly be more tomorrow. Stay tuned.