Sunshine over the Atlantic - St. Thomas

If it's Monday, we must be in St. Thomas. 

St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands, a territory of the US is located in the Caribbean due east of Puerto Rico.  If you want to know more, click here.

Our ship, the Carnival Sunshine, arrived on a sunny day at around 1 pm.  Looking for a little adventure, my husband and I booked a 'Kayak, Hike, and Snorkel' excursion.  He had never kayaked and only snorkeled once.  I've done both quite a bit when I was younger.  It sounded like fun, and since neither of us were into shopping, this seemed perfect for us.

We disembarked the ship a little after 1 o'clock.  While in line with about a thousand other people to exit we heard over the loud speaker something along the lines of, "please have your Sign and Sail card and a picture ID."  We looked at each other.  Whoops.  We only had our Sign and Sail cards, which I figured was enough since our photos are embedded.  (We didn't read the FunTimes informational handout!!)  Oops.  Since we were in the crowds and our tour was supposed to leave at 1:30 we shrugged it off and set out to find our tour group.  

The signs for each excursion were clear with lots of helpful guides to get us to the right waiting area.  My husband overheard a conversation between a tourist and the gate guard that left us a little concerned - he didn't have a photo ID.  Too late now, so we joined our group.  

We hopped an open air bus (no windows) with 5 other couples and drove up and around narrow streets for about 20 minutes then pulled up into a nondescript shack.  Once off the bus we were led to a small area with bench seats, maps, t-shirts, snorkels, swim shoes, and the like displayed on the front and back walls.  A very energetic young lady greeted us.  I believe her name was Lisa.  

Our guide gave us a brief history of the EcoTour company, the island, and the area where we would be visiting.  She then briefed us on safe kayaking.  Almost everyone had done it at least once.  They had a free locked storage area for us to leave towels and other items we didn't need or didn't want to get wet.  I mention this because our dining companions were on an excursion and they were told they had to pay for storage lockers.  Don't ever pay for storage on an excursion.  Bring only what you need, pack according to the outing, and use ziplock bags or water bags to keep your stuff dry and with you.  Rant over, time to paddle.

We all boarded our kayaks successfully and head out to the mangroves.  Lisa guided us around and through the clear waters, shallow in some areas, deeper in the middle.  Did you know the mangrove plant has one 'sacrificial leaf'?  It's true.  Toxins or waste from the water are diverted to this one leaf.  It turns yellow and falls off.  We then paddled over to Cas Cay for a short hike to the Blow Hole at Red Point.  (See photos).  During the short hike...well, before that we had a crab race.  It was funny.  Our crab never left it's shell.  So, during the hike, we stopped in front of a small tree.  It's called the Manchineel tree.  It's DEADLY.  The small green fruit it produces are called "death apples".  Don't burn it, the fumes and smoke are deadly.  Don't stand under it during rain, the water that drips off the leaves will burn you.  Don't touch it, you'll have a reaction similar to poison Ivy. What I want to know is - why is it still there?!  I don't think I took a picture of this thing, it was a bit scary.  I'm highly allergic to poison Ivy.  Apparently, early settlers, visitors (pirates and such) died because of this tree. 

At the Blow Hole we took turns taking pictures of the water spraying on us.  I got hit in the face almost immediately.  One couple never got a wave even after 10 minutes.  The waves crashing through the rocks and spraying it's mist was a beautiful sight.  The clear blue sky made for a picturesque scene for everyone and we stayed nearly half an hour just taking pictures.  I took about 50 just in this one spot.  The cliff that stood on the land side of the hole was unattainable.  Lisa told us the rocks were sharp and fragile.  It was too dangerous. Darn, I really wanted to climb it. 

We hiked back to the kayak and put on our masks and snorkels.  Lisa instructed us on how to de-fog the lenses by spitting on them and rubbing it around then washing it off with sea water.  It works!  My camera was an underwater camera that I had never used (underwater) until this day.  With the camera rolling, we swam out towards the reef.  Oh, I forgot to mention, the cay, or little bay had a reef across the entrance where it met with the ocean.  The waves crashed against it and kept the cay side calm.  We didn't go that far but stayed in the protected area marked by a flotation device (I can't spell boyee/bouyee/whatever).   

I swam and floated around taking pictures and video for what seemed like an hour.  It was great fun and saw a lot of fish and coral and someone saw a shark, which I am glad I did NOT.  My husband had a great time, too. After about 45 minutes of playing with the fish and exploring the man-made reefs it was time to head back to the kayaks.  Lisa handed out our snacks, which were mini candy bars.  Luckily, I had brought my own.  

The sun was beginning to set on our paddle back to base.  It was beautiful, it's bright rays dancing on the water.  The other couples seemed to be in a hurry as they raced back.  I took my time, pausing to take sunset photos.  We all made it back to land safe and sound.  Exiting a kayak is tricky on a dock but no one fell in. 

I think this was one of the best cruise ship excursions I have ever been on.  We all had a great time, our guide was informative and fun.  She didn't hurry us along at any point and didn't try to sell us anything we didn't want or need.  I was sad to leave and hope to go back. 

Oh, not to worry, when we got back to the gate to board the Carnival Cruise Ship Sunshine the guard didn't ask for ID.  We showed him our Sign and Sail card and he waved us right in!  God is Good!



see the video here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3_MYBUyGj0