Day 6: No mongoose but plenty of fish

Woke up, again, to glorious sunshine. Had breakfast and hung out at the cottages while Buzz and Katie went to the university to use the microscope. Camille called to say that she was coming into St. Croix to conduct an interview with a candidate and since we were going to be in Christiansted to take a ride to Buck Island in the afternoon anyway, Camille and I agreed to try and meet up. We left for Christiansted after Buzz and Katie returned and got there around 11:30. It was crowded and we had trouble finding a parking spot. We then walked around the pier area and did some shopping. I met Camille around 12:15 and we walked around for another 45 minutes or so until she had to catch her plane and I needed to eat lunch before our trip.

The boat left at around 2 pm and it was a nice Catamaran. I sat up front with Jonathan and Buzz as we sailed toward Buck Island. Since the current was against us, it got very wet up there and after a while we moved toward the back to stay dry, or rather, not get any wetter. Our first stop was a beautiful beach and we hung out there for about 30 minutes so people could swim and/or walk along the beach. I tried out my snorkeling gear and read a bit on the boat. After everyone got back on the boat, we sailed to a beautiful coral reef. The whole island is a national monument, but the reef is the top attraction. The tour boats have a dedicated mooring site and people can snorkel around the reef. The first mate, Erin, took some of us on a guided tour of an area called the grotto. It was absolutely amazing. The different colors and types of coral were stunning. And the fish!! Oh man the variety and colors of fish was breathtaking. I wish I had an underwater camera, so I could have taken pictures. As it was I swam back and forth looking at the coral and fish. i was hoping to see a barracuda or a reef shark, but saw neither. Of course Matt and Katie saw a barracuda. I did see a huge lobster at one point. It was whole other world!!

After everyone got back on the boat, we turned around and sailed back to Christiansted. For most of the trip back the captain kept the motor off and it was so peaceful sailing back. We pulled into port around 6 pm, and headed back to Fredericksted.

One of the men at UVI that Buzz had been talking to had told Buzz that he was playing in a latin jazz band in the park in Fredericksted. We went straight into the city and found the park, just as the band was finishing their first set. We got some food and drink while we waited for the band to come back. I had a banana rum and pineapple juice, which was 80% rum. It was very, very good. Matt ate some fried plantains and I tried it. They had seasoned it with cinnamon, and it was delicious.

The band then started up and they were fantastic. It was really cool to listen to them and watch all the people dancing and swaying to the music. I couldn't keep still, even though I don't know how to salsa dance. Their second set was from about 7:15 to 8 pm and it was too short! I could have listened to them for hours.

When they were done, we went to Jonathan's favorite restaurant here, The Lost Dog. It is in a 500 year old building and it looked like a college bar such as The Skellar up at Union. It had a jukebox, a foosball table a mural of a naked woman and people had signed the roof. While we were waiting for our pizza, a woman came in and stood next to our table looking for her name. I asked her when she had signed it and expected her to say something like 20 years ago, but instead she said she had signed it last summer when she was down here for her son's wedding. After a while our pizza came and poor Jonathan could barely keep his eyes open. Fortunately he had eaten enough at the band concert so he didn't need to eat any pizza. He fell asleep on Buzz's lap so we eat quickly and came back to the cottages.

Buzz put Jonathan to bed and we hung out for a while. Matt made some really good (and strong) pina coladas for us to drink while he checked out the under water nightlife and we talked. It was really cool to see Matt so excited about what he was seeing just standing in the surf and shining a light in the water.

We finally headed off to bed around 11 pm, our last night here. Tomorrow we leave for home.