Taking advantage of my cousin’s wedding on the East Coast, I figured it was the perfect EXCUSE, ah er… opportunity LOL, to visit the Caribbean. Anton just rolls his eyes at me and acquiesces, he knows it’s a hopeless cause arguing any travel adventure with me.
HENCE… We had a great time visiting the Virgin Islands. The U.S. Virgin Island of St. Thomas was our home base and the Ritz Carlton did not disappoint! Having your own gigantic bay to swim across is pretty sweet. I felt super safe and untouchable by sharks ha ha!
As you can see, the Caribbean waters were pretty fantastic and oh-so-WARM! My top three vacation essentials? HOT weather, a beautiful beach with lots of water activities, and my fiance’!
Oh yeah- fresh seafood and yummy fresh fruits and vegetables help too. Unfortunately, this was the one difficult thing to find on the islands. They don’t grow veggies on the islands so they are expensive because of their importation. Depending on the season, fresh fruit can be great but you have to time it right.
Fresh Fish??
Yes, it seems odd that fresh fish would be difficult to find. Well… we were told by a lot of people to make sure and ask our waiters if the fish was fresh or frozen because a lot of times they’ll freeze their fish and sell it as fresh. Our first night on the island, the waiter introduced himself to us as “Mr. Big Life,” YES, he was big and tall, and told us his catch of the day was actually yesterday’s. LOL. Although it was still good, the “yesterday’s fresh catch” confession was a bit disappointing. 🙁
Lucky for us, we found some yummy fresh fish at our resort and at a local place in the small city of Red Hook near our hotel. FISHTAILS restaurant has a cute name and amazing fish. We ordered two of their famous albacore tuna dips which I highly recommend. (Anton will tell you I ate most of them, remember I don’t like to share 🙂 ). I actually got home and tried to replicate the dish. YUMMY. I was close. I’ll do a recipe post on that next!
Say “Yes” To Water Sports!
Some of our trip highlights? Definitely SNORKELING around the bay at the Ritz. I mean, the water was so nice and warm and you feel totally safe and isolated from the open ocean. Yep, a few thoughts of “Jaws” crossed my mind as I swam way out but hey, it’s the ocean!
During my snorkel adventures I found 4 great animals in 3 days. Let’s see… my first day I spotted a ginormous lobster under a rock. Anton tried to convince me to reel him in for dinner but I of course could not eat Sebastien the lobster (remember The Little Mermaid guys?) LOL.
The next day in an entirely different area I encountered a gorgeous eel hiding between the rocks and coral. This eel was golden and black. I later found out it was a golden moray eel- not easy to find nowadays. I was super excited I have to say!
The following day I found an adorable octopus blending in with the sand and rocks in yet another location. (Anton now calls me his mermaid since I seem to find every animal.) And to top things off, later that day I found an even bigger lobster. This one I tried to get close to but he was definitely on the defensive, ready to attack. I laughed and promised him I was just admiring his whiskers HAH.
My advice for every snorkeler? Take your time and look at everything! Check out shells and exotic rock formations, dive down and look at things. I made most of my discoveries by looking at different coral formations. I was surprised by all of my findings indeed. But I also put out the intention that I was going to find each of those animals during our stay. LITERALLY, NO JOKE. Life is all about intention and positive thoughts, SERIOUSLY!
And if you prefer to stay dry, that’s okay! There’s something for everyone at the Ritz’s bay water sports shop (All non motor sports are included in your stay btw). Try paddle boarding or sailing. We did both. Of course, sailing wasn’t for me… too difficult to catch the wind and get that little boat going. Mr. nerdy scientist Anton however, LOVED IT! I preferred my paddle board.
Think FITNESS guys! Stay trim and lean by eating and having fun on vacation but doing something active each day! Your body will thank you and so will your mind. Trying new activities and being adventureous is what travel is all about!
BVI Time…
So another thing I highly recommend doing while visiting the VI’s, no matter where you stay, is hiring a boat to take you to each of the different islands. And BRING YOUR PASSPORT! You’ll need it if you want to visit the British Virgin Islands. Virgin Gorda is particulary incredible with its beautiful baths. These rock formations are astonishing and made me feel like Blackbeard the Pirate’s treasure is be buried within those rocks and crevices. Pirate gold waiting for me to discover it HAHA!
Check out these super cool photos… we were there during a full moon and super high tides! I tried the whole maiden in distress thing but Anton wasn’t going for it 🙁 !
Next stop: The infamous Soggy Dollar Bar. Okay, SO COOL. I mean, who can say they’ve had to anchor their boat and swim ashore to the bars because it’s the only way to get on the island?
How fun is that?… and after a drink or two and a few souvenir purchases (they give you sealable plastic bags) you get to swim back to your boat and depart. YEP. So why the Soggy Dollar Bar? They accept your soggy money because that’s the only way you can make a purchase. And unless you’re prepared with a ziplock bag, your swim is going to make your money very SOGGY! Hence the cute name and fun place.
Anyone else have a super fabulous time in the BVI’s or U.S. Virgin Islands that wants to share some cool tips or sightseeing ideas? St. John was also a super cute island we need to go back to and see more of.
Old Fashion Humor…!
Oh yeah- and not to forget my funny story. So you can take a ferry to the other islands if you want to. Except that during our stay, the ferry running to St. Croix was unavailable. Why I asked our boat Captain? Because apparently the ferry ran into the island and sunk on New Year’s Eve (about midnight) when the boat captain was having too much fun with his lady friend in the captain’s quarters while steering the ship!!!
The official story is that the auto pilot malfunctioned but who really believes that? Definitely NOT this blonde.
LOL. So, there you have it. Too much fun for everyone who visits the Virgin Islands!
xx Shanna
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