I am a big, 'ole chicken, so every time we snorkel it is a huge deal for me. I am terrified of drowning, and I always have at least one "near-death" experience every time we snorkel. Okay, not near-death, but if I get any water in my mouth via the snorkeling tube I freak out and start hyperventilating. But, if you're like me and afraid of snorkeling, you should try it in the Caribbean. The water is so salty that you just float on top of the water. That is a comforting thing!
See how sunburned I already was from the last port. Aye yie yie!
On the way back the crew was serving everybody rum punch, so some of our fellow snorkelers were getting quite...silly. We don't drink, so every time we asked for more Sprite they'd say, "Are you sure?!". It was kinda funny.
After we got back we walked around a couple shops, then hitched a ride downtown. Holy cow! The taxis there are kinda crazy! They are basically trucks with benches in the back. No doors. No seatbelts. And, they drive so fast I thought we were going to fall out!
When we got downtown we only made it to one store because all the rest were closed!! We were, like, "It's only 4:00!". I guess in the islands the stores close really early. We thought about hiking up the "99 steps", but the people working in the shop told us it was a bad idea because it would be dark soon and the crime is really bad once the sun goes down. Our taxi driver wanted to take us back to the ship, but we told him we would just walk, since it wasn't very far. He thought we were crazy. Although, I don't know how much of his "concern" for us was based on losing 2 fares!
The walk back was so nice. It was a beautiful evening. Along the way we passed this neat building that used to be an old prison. A nice local walking by took our picture for us, then walked part of the way back with us, chatting about what it was like to live there. That was pretty cool.
On our way back to the ship I was able to text my sister and check on the kids, since St. Thomas is part of the US Virgin Islands. Everything was going great at home. The kids were having a fun time with their Aunt Lizzy. They were playing in the snow while we were swimming. Ha ha!
All in all it was a pretty good day. I wish we'd had a little more time to explore St. Thomas. Perhaps we will make it there again someday. Who knows?
Next time I'll tell you about our stop in St.Martin/St. Maarten...where we almost missed the ship!
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