Coki Beach and Coral World

There has been some unfortunate activity at one of the beaches here.  I'll let others do the commentary on the fall out (short version, a gang shooting, and an innocent girl was shot and killed by the random gun shots).

Just the day before the shooting, I took my Mother there to see the beauty of the beach and the tourist attraction of  Coral World...

Here's Mom and my step-Daddy watching the shark feeding...

They have a great way for non-swimmers to see the fishies... Well worth the trip.

Where I Walk - Part 3 - "Vessup Beach"

Vessup Beach, The "green" part of my walk.  Vessup Beach is one of the few remaining undeveloped natural beach fronts on St Thomas.  Affectionately called the local's beach, Jackie and I enjoy the solitude you usually find here (especially early in the morning, when I walk).

There are areas of the beach that has easy drive up access.  Especially on holiday weekends, people like to camp here.  Sometimes with very elaborate set-ups.  Their camp site may include more than one cooking tent, large speakers for the constant music, gaming area (poker and dominoes for the adults, football (really soccer) for the kids).  Portable showers, generators for power to run the big screen TV (really).

I have seen lots of things on the beach, including the already shown horse swims...

More than a few religious experiences...

All Creatures, great and small hang out at the beach...

Even deer, on a tropical island... Who knew???

Even on days when god's creatures are hiding, the scenery along the mile long beach is still worth looking at...

At a few spots, you have to find a path through the woods to get over the rocks...

But at the end of the beach is Latitude 18... (named for how far above the equator we are... 18 degrees of latitude).

Locals, boaters and occasionally walkers stop for a beer or two on a hot day.

And then we leave the beach for a short walk up a dirt road to...

The Hole in the Fence!

And despite the US Property, No Trespassing sign, everyone does.

But you will have to come back tomorrow to see what is behind the fence!

Where I walk - Part 1 - "Puttin' on the Ritz"!

I have been meaning to do this for awhile...

I have been walking quite a bit since becoming an islander.  When I first started, traveled different routes, did a lot of exploring.  But in the last couple of months, I do about the same route every day.  Getting nostalgic, but pretty soon, I am going to miss this... here's why.

Above, that's home.  My condo is on the left side... On the right side is the Yacht Club.  I walk along my beach...

Then I walk along the rocks that separates our beach from the Elysian condos and hotel.

I always walk as early as possible.  MUCH cooler and less humid.  More often than not, I am awake before most tourists.  But I get to watch the real work of the island as everything gets tidy for the visitors.

What would an island walk be without a hill.  But at the Elysian, I climb stairs.  It is about 5 stories tall to get to the top...

Unlike climbing stairs at work though, there is a nice batch of flowers (many more varieties than just this one). So if I am wheezing, I just stop and smell the roses (or whatever these are).

But at the top of the hill is the Ritz Carlton Hotel...

Voted one of the top ten resorts in the Caribbean...

Wasn't sure which photo made the beach look better, since it's in the top ten, I am showing it twice...

Nice walk along this beach especially...

This beach wraps around to the next landmark, which is a time share condo complex.  $80,000 will get you three weeks in Caribbean a year for the rest of your life (plus maintenance fees).

And from this beach, you get a nice view of Cabrita Point (the tall hill you see in this photo).  It's been all pretty and fun this first fourth of my walk, but the point is more of a challenge... And for that story, you have to come back tomorrow!

Finally, the rain moves on

6 straight days of rain, set a record, over 7 inches.

We made the best of it, reading and enjoying crackers and salsa on the deck...

While the wind was whipping up whitecaps in our normally calm cove.

I did feel very sorry for the tourists who come for just a week.  It was possible they didn't see the sun at all.

But yesterday, the tropical weather finally turned...

We went to the beach.

Sapphire Beach - Best Snorkeling day yet Part The Beach

OK, if you have been watching daily, you have seen several posts in a row Featuring Sapphire beach.  If you are a snorkeler, have a limited time to visit the island, the best snorkeling experience I have had was at Sapphire.

They Ain't in South Dakota no More

Jackie's friends, Connie and Janet came to visit last week...

Mandatory walk on the beach...

Janet meets the locals...

Everyone loves the balcony at the Ritz...

And the Rocking Chairs are a nice break...

But Summer's here, and no matter how many breaks you take, you will still sweat.

The Beach at Secret Harbor

It's much less than a mile from our condo, but it was the first time we visited.

Full service beach, with a dive shop, restaurant and a couple of bars...

Also had a $5 charge for a beech chair, and an enforcer to make sure you didn't use chairs you were not entitled to.

So, we set up shop on a convenient rock, and headed out to see the fishies...

Snorkeling was... a little above average.  Plenty to see, but the extra effort to get there, and the extra effort to get back was not really worth it.  Glad we went, saw fun things, but there is no place like home... Actually, really.  Our little corner of the island (Cowpet Bay) has everything that Secret Harbor has (with no charges).

So, Jackie and I agreed to really enjoy the beech) meaning, we were not likely to return soon.

But we did see another one of these... A Reef Squid...

Ugliest things in the ocean... Tentacles for a nose, big bug eyes and they swim backwards...

And always a treat when we see a big Ray...



It was a great fun time... A little more effort than we wanted, and a bit of an overly aggressive money making machine...

But the fishies were nice!