It was already another beautiful day in paradise by 8 AM today. We were out of the condo before 9, and headed downtown to find the meeting point for our Buck Island Tour.
We parked as close as was feasible, and then strolled on the boardwalk towards the general area where we thought the boat might be.
We found the Caribbean Sea Adventures office without too much trouble, despite Google maps not quite having the correct location.
Out in the harbor, there's a tiny island consisting solely of a resort and a beach, called Protestant Cay.
After signing in and surrendering our shoes, we boarded the tour boat and set forth for Buck Island.
We got a closer look at Protestant Cay, as we passed.
It was about a half hour cruise out to the island, moving at a decent pace through some significant swells.
Along the way, we got fitted for fins...
... and Lauren got a brief overview of how to snorkel, since she'd never tried it before.
The water suddenly got shallower as we approached the eastern point of the island.
We also donned some, uh... buoyancy-assistive/high-vis-safety vests? They have a small internal pouch that can be inflated by mouth using the black tube, for people who want some help staying afloat.
The boat moored in the middle of a reef area, directly at the point..
I volunteered to be the first one in, and then lazily floated around the boat, exploring the immediate vicinity and making sure my waterproof phone case was working.
Eventually, I found Sabrina and the guided tour of the underwater trail commenced.
There were a series of plaques on the bottom, probably about 11"x17", but they were all overgrown with tiny sea life, and thus were mostly illegible.
The tour guide occasionally dove down and dusted off the signs, while towing a life ring behind her.in case of emergency.
Some of the signs identified the type of coral in the surrounding area. It's possible that's what all of them were, I guess, but I could only read a few of them.
This coral is similar to the type that formed the maze where I almost got lost at Isaac Bay, a few days ago.
It always seems much more obvious what I'm taking pictures of in the moment, compared with hours later when it's more of a "... what is this a picture of?" situation. This is partly due to not really being able to see the phone screen underwater, and relying on a vague sense that it's pointed at the right location, and partly due to the fish not cooperating, and instead insisting on hiding.
Not all of the fish are shy, however.
After the tour was complete, a bunch of people went back to the boat. (I think there were only 15 or 16 total, including the 5 of us.)
Once it became clear that we weren't all expected to be finished, we resumed snorkeling, mostly aimlessly, in the area the tour had encompassed.
Mostly, I was going back to follow these barracuda around and take some photos. Sabrina and Rudy came with me, but bailed quickly when the fish showed no signs of leaving.
It isn't obvious, but these fish are about 3 feet long, and they didn't care at all that I was following them.
Rather than get lost in this labyrinth, we turned and lazily swam back towards the boat.
Rudy and I performed our civic duty, and cleaned off the Elkhorn Coral plaque.
It didn't seem like we had a hard deadline, so when we got back to the boat I just sort of floated around looking for more fish to pester.
It didn't take much effort to find them, as it seemed like a few schools were congregating under the boat.
We spent almost an hour in the water; it was some of the clearest water I've ever seen. According to our guide, there's a 3-mile preservation zone around the island, so there isn't much boat traffic to stir up any sediment.
Back on board, I discovered that the guide had dived down to fetch a live conch for show and tell, and she was just about to dive down again to set it free.
Having survived our snorkeling adventure, we shed our gear and prepared for phase two of this boat journey, which involved motoring over to the western shore and finding a beach.
As we half-circumnavigated the island, we could see the eastern tip of St. Croix in the distance. If you zoom all the way in and squint, you might be able to see the monument at Point Udall, where we were on Saturday.
The beach on the other side of Buck Island is pristine white sand, and the water was much calmer on this side.
For once, we didn't quite have the beach to ourselves; there were a few other boats already anchored into the shore, and another came in right behind us.
Rudy and I enjoyed some refreshing beverages on the boat (that we had brought with us, per the confirmation email's recommendation) before heading back into the water. I think we all had snacks, too.
The water here is nearly always 80 F, give or take a few degrees, and it's just as relaxing to swim around in as it looks to be.
We spent another 45 minutes or so at this beach, walking in the gentle surf and enjoying the serenity.
We even persuaded a random stranger to take a group photo.
Eventually, we had to embark once more, back to the harbor.
It was getting unbearably hot in the sun again, but thankfully this boat tour came with a few cups of rum punch, as is appropriate.
We made smalltalk with the tour guide, and I'll make a long story short: we got most of her life story, she got us dinner reservations at a friend's restaurant for tomorrow night (Christmas Eve), and also somehow ended up with Rudy's cell phone number? I think?
During the return trip, the captain spotted some dolphins, and then proceeded to chase them around in (what felt like) a figure eight pattern, causing the boat to pitch wildly and flinging some old guy out of his seat. But hey... dolphins!
As we slowed to enter the harbor area, we noticed the masts of a boat protruding from the surface. "That boat sank in March" was the only explanation proffered.
Back on dry land, we re-shod ourselves, re-applied sunscreen, and saw more chickens. It was just after 1 PM.
We decided to head back to the car to shuffle around some cargo and refill water bottles.
At the edge of the boardwalk, there were about a dozen tarpons cruising around, obviously looking to be fed.
It didn't take long for some of them to succeed in their begging endeavor. This guy was feeding them chicken bones; I saw someone else fling leftover french fries into the water.
Along the route to the car, we scoped out a potential lunch venue, but today was the first day of their week+ Christmas vacation, so we meandered back over to the boardwalk after completing our trunk errands,
As we approached a cluster of waterside dining options, we figuratively ran into our tour guide, presumably on her way home from work. Rudy felt we should offer to buy her a beer, so she joined us in our quest for a lunch location.
We tried to patronize Brew STX, but they shooed us away with the excuse that they weren't serving lunch anymore because they were out of so many menu items.
Instead, we grabbed a table at Rum Runners and enjoyed a tasty lunch and a lengthy conversation with our recently-former tour guide. By the time we were satiated, it was around 3 PM.
Our next activity for the day was a quick visit to the Christiansted National Historic Site. More specifically, to Fort Christiansvaern.
As usual, we had the entire place to ourselves. There weren't even any signs of employees (or park rangers, I guess?).
We took a self-guided tour around the fort, enjoying bit of history and some impressive views.
Everyone likes cannons, right?
The fort was repurposed for a few different uses throughout its history.
The dungeon was so cramped, I couldn't even stand up inside.
(Sabrina for scale.)
Upon completion of our self-guided tour, we strolled back along the boardwalk in the direction of the car.
We were all somewhat tired and hot, so we retreated to the safety of the pool for about an hour, to cool down and maybe grab a nap.
At 6 o'clock, we wandered over to the beach to observe the sunset. I can't decide which ones I like, so here are all the shots I took.
When it finally got dark, we freshened up and ventured forth into the hinterlands in search of dinner, eventually ending up at The Deep End, It wasn't our first attempt, but it had some available tables.
The first place we tried had fire dancers (and an hour-long wait). The Deep End, however, had live music and very decent food.
It was after 9 PM when we finally left. Not much happens quickly on Island Time.
Tomorrow's forecast includes sun, sand, and water.
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