The Virgin Islands with Leta and Al

From Montserrat we did an overnight sail to St Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. We had a firm timetable at this point as we were meeting Jeff's sister, Leta, and her husband, Al, in St Thomas.

 It was such a culture shock arriving in St Croix. Everyone was from the U. S. - and spoke English!!!!! And it's obvious St Croix caters to the U.S. tourist....

St Croix is a picturesque island ...

Replete with beautiful high end shops. Even the roosters agree...

Having had enough of the glitter and glamour we high tailed it to the nearest fort...

I liked that the fort and I were color coordinated 

We then snorkeled at a site that was reknowned in the area...

I've never seen anything like it. We had signage telling us about various fish and which direction to swim in ... uh...gee thanks?.....

 Even a sign about my favorite lil' guy.

We stopped in St Thomas, the island of big yachts

 and even bigger cruise ships, to replenish fuel and water.

We then headed on to St John as we had a few days before our guests arrived. As we headed there I remembered the beauty of the Virgin Islands. The color of the water, the distant view of other islands ...

We were both very impressed with St John. It is mostly a national park including all the anchorage areas. They have huge mooring balls to rival Martinique and Guadeloupe. They are not free but rely on the honesty and integrity of the cruiser to pay a daily fee of $15 at a mooring station located at each anchorage.

St John is very lush, quiet and pristine.

Even the iquanas feel protected walking the beach...

We headed back to St Thomas to pick up Leta and Al at the airport. The next morning we sailed back to St John... a great place for R&R after a long flight.

Leta at the helm

Captain Al!

Very close to our mooring in St John was a beautiful snorkeling site. There was a tiny strip of beach to rest ...

Leta looking adorably washed ashore

This is how we "shower" most of the time. We wash, shampoo, condition, shave, etc... in the salt water. Then we do a rinse with fresh water, on the transom of the boat. (Leta was kind enough to demonstrate:))

We took a walking tour of the island...

Hi Grace!

And relaxed...

After a few days we sailed off to the British Virgin Islands. We checked into customs at West End, Tortola.

The British Virgin Islands from Tortula to Virgin Gorda is approximately 15 miles. That's one reason why so many cruisers love the Virgin Islands. There are many islands in close proximity. This affords good protection from the open seas and many stopping points. Most islands have mooring balls so anchoring is rarely an issue.

We moored and snorkeled at Peter Island which is an island midway between Tortula and Virgin Gorda.

We dined at Bitter End, Virgin Gorda.

Leta and me relaxing before dinner.

Waitress was kind enough to snap a photo of the four of us.

The next morning we had a great sail to the Baths in Virgin Gorda. It is one of the most uniquely beautiful snorkeling sites in the world. We moored, quickly donned our snorkel gear and headed to shore.

Into the crystal clear water

Onto the surreal shore

Through the cave

To the other side

The fresh perspective and enthusiasm of guests joining us really brings home how fortunate we are to to be experiencing this great adventure. Thank you Leta and Al!

 A wondrous journey to all,

Pam and Jeff